Jonathan A. Simonetta is Vice President, International Development at AIR. As Vice President, he mentors researchers, oversees projects, monitors overall project performance, and leads business development for our International Development Division.
Achieving universal literacy is one of the international community’s most engaging and admirable aspirations. AIR implemented the USAID-funded Teacher Citizen Participation Project (2011-2018)—known as Proyecto EducAcción.
Evidence-based policy making and evaluation are a critical part of effective public management and international development. Data and metrics provide a core foundation for planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Governments and organizations are learning to embrace more Open Data and Big Data approaches as a way to streamline and modernize ...
Approximately 135,000 children between three and five years of age live in the departments of Ayacucho, Huancavelica, and Huánuco in Peru, where total poverty and extreme poverty rates far exceed the national averages. AIR is evaluating the impact of a preschool program which aims to improve the quality of early ...
Lebanon hosts 1.5 million Syrians who have fled conflict in Syria, as well as 34,000 Palestine refugees from Syria. Over half of the school-aged children in this population are not enrolled in a certified education program. AIR designed and implemented an impact evaluation of the No Lost Generation ("Min/Ila") child-focused ...
The impacts of climate change are already affecting the health, economic well-being, and security of people across the globe. In this Q&A, Principal Economist Juan Bonilla describes AIR’s efforts to help governments and policymakers mitigate these effects and reduce the growing inequities that climate change can exacerbate. ...
Corruption in higher education casts a shadow on many countries that are working towards more modern and progressive political and economic systems. In order to respond to these challenges, USAID created the program Ukrainian Standardized External Testing Initiative to address profound challenges in Ukraine’s higher education system, which acknowledged that ...
Foundations invest millions of dollars to carry out their missions and change the world. How do they know their investments are working? AIR uses the strongest research evidence and deep experience in systems change across multiple sectors to support foundations, large and small, in fulfilling their missions. ...
Madagascar’s status as one of the poorest countries in Africa, combined with its increased risk for natural disasters and climate change, amplifies the need to invest in social protection, health, and education to support economic growth for a young and growing population. AIR and its partners are conducting an evaluation ...