Innovations for Poverty Action
Running rigorous field trials to find what actually reduces global poverty — and scaling it
Our editorial assessment
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy organisation rather than a direct-service charity: it runs rigorous randomised trials to determine which anti-poverty programmes actually work, then helps scale the winners through governments and partners. Its evidence has shaped how billions of dollars in aid is spent. Charity Navigator gives it a solid rating, and its program-expense ratio has run in roughly the 78–84% range in recent filings. It is best suited to donors who want to fund the evidence base that makes all other giving more effective.
The problem they're solving
A great deal of anti-poverty spending goes to programmes that have never been rigorously tested. IPA generates the field evidence that separates what works from what does not, so that scarce resources flow to the most effective interventions.
About Innovations for Poverty Action
Innovations for Poverty Action designs and runs randomised evaluations of anti-poverty programmes, then works with governments and NGOs to scale the approaches proven to work.
Where your dollar goes
What your donation could do
Your $100 funds rigorous field research into what actually works against poverty.
Illustrative estimate based on figures this organisation publishes about its own programs — not a statement from the charity itself. Actual impact varies by program and year.
What donors say about Innovations for Poverty Action
Donors signed in with Google can rate Innovations for Poverty Action from one to five stars and share a short review of their experience — whether as a donor, volunteer, or beneficiary. Community ratings are displayed as their own criterion alongside our editorial metrics; they never alter the editorial 0–100 score.
Sign in with Google to rate this charity and read donor reviews.
How this score was produced
The Charity Ranking score is our own editorial assessment, produced with a weighted rubric covering program spending, transparency and governance, evidence of impact, cost-effectiveness, and leadership. It draws on publicly available reports from independent evaluators such as GiveWell, Charity Navigator, and CharityWatch, but it is not a rating issued or endorsed by any of those organisations. The community rating shown above is a separate signal contributed by signed-in donors; it is displayed alongside our criteria but never feeds into the editorial score. Read the full methodology →