UNICEF and Universidad Católica de Chile forge strategic partnership to strengthen evidence generation and use for child well-being
The collaboration will also promote capacity building in monitoring and evaluation systems in Latin American and Caribbean countries to address critical challenges in children's well-being and development
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Panama City, Santiago de Chile. 9 June 2025. UNICEF and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC Chile) have signed a regional Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen research, training, evaluation, knowledge exchange, and evidence use for policy impact for child welfare across Latin America and the Caribbean.
This new partnership brings together the UNICEF regional office’s expertise and several of UC Chile’s centers of excellence — including the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Latin America and the Caribbean Office (J-PAL LAC), the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Latin America and the Caribbean (CLEAR-LAC), and the UC Center for Public Policy (CPP) — to accelerate the use of evidence for transformative social change.
“Child-friendly public policies should be articulated based on evidence and robust evaluation systems. We are confident that this partnership with UC Chile will drive better results for the generation of effective policies for children in the region,” said Michael Craft, UNICEF’s Regional Evaluation Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The partnership will focus on three overarching areas. First, it aims to advance research and evaluation through proposals that measure the effectiveness of innovative interventions for children. This includes building capacity through specialized training for UNICEF partners and technical assistance to apply evaluation insights. The partnership will also identify scalable solutions to some of the region’s most pressing challenges facing children and adolescents.
Second, it seeks to strengthen national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. Recognizing that strong M&E systems are the backbone of effective policy, the partnership will encourage joint training, technical assistance, and knowledge products to bolster national monitoring and evaluation frameworks. This effort will contribute to support governments and UNICEF counterparts in embedding evidence into decision-making processes, ensuring that child rights initiatives are not only ambitious but also measurable and impactful.
Third, it will foster academic collaboration and knowledge exchange, exploring different approaches for joint research projects. UNICEF and UC Chile will promote public engagement initiatives to foster evidence generation and use.
“As a Catholic University, we are not only committed to contributing to education and the generation of evidence, but also to ensuring that this evidence reaches the 'last mile' of public policy—informing decision-making and translating into social impact. That is why the University also plays a strategic role in engagement, fostering virtuous relationships for the exchange of knowledge with its broader environment. This alliance, which will be implemented by J-PAL LAC, CLEAR-LAC, and the UC Center for Public Policy, will facilitate coordination between the University’s various units and UNICEF to address key challenges related to children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean", said Francisco Gallego, Provost for Institutional Management at UC Chile.
Accordingly, the agreement marks an important step for promoting a more connected ecosystem of research, policy, and practice focused on achieving results for children in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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