Professional Development + Book Purchases

Book Purchases

For FY26, J-PAL NA staff have a $50 book budget for books related to professional development and DEI learning. 

To request a PD/DEI book order, please contact Audrey Cabral (acabral@povertyactionlab.org) with the book title and your preferred mailing address. 

If there is uncertainty about a book’s DEI and/or job or career relevance, please consult your manager. Managers, please keep in mind a book may be considered relevant if related to any of the following areas: your direct report’s current portfolio, an area of work your direct report plans to grow into or needs to build skill in, J-PAL’s broader work/mission, or DEI learning. 

Staff are invited to bring these books into the office library (located next to snack corner opposite supply closet) once they’ve finished reading them in order to share learning with colleagues. 

If staff wish to order additional books and have already spent their $50 book budget, they may use some of their $900 general professional development budget, with manager approval. Such requests must be accompanied by written approval from your manager and an explanation of the purpose of the purchase and its professional development relevancy. 

Please note, in accordance with our general office purchasing guidance, we typically purchase books from our tax-exempt account with Bookshop.org in order to support local, independently owned businesses. If desired, you may request a used copy of your book to be sourced from an independent, sustainable supplier if possible. 

Please also note, we cannot reimburse for purchases made with your personal card, so please be sure to submit your request to Audrey as outlined above. 

Professional Development Purchases

PD Purchasing Guidelines

For FY26, J-PAL NA staff have a $900 budget for general professional development spending. 

This can be used for conferences, trainings, webinars, memberships, or other professional development expenses as approved by your manager. Managers, please keep in mind a PD purchase may be considered relevant if related to any of the following areas: your direct report’s current portfolio, an area of work your direct report plans to grow into or needs to build skill in, J-PAL’s broader work/mission, or DEI learning. 

For ideas, please refer to the PD Resource Guide, updated annually. 

Please note that expenses related to applying for grad school (books, test prep courses, application fees) do not qualify as a PD expenses/are not eligible uses of employee professional development funds.  

Please also note: PD purchases that involve a recurring subscription fee will be considered on a case by case basis only and you may be asked to pay for the purchase on your own and submit for reimbursement.

You are welcome to use some of these funds for PD/DEI books if you have already exceeded your $50 book budget.  Such requests must be accompanied by written approval from your manager and an explanation of the purpose of the purchase and its professional development relevancy. 

For F&O staff: 

To request a professional development purchase, please first get approval from your manager. If the request does not involve travel, contact Audrey Cabral (acabral@povertyactionlab.org) to request the purchase be made using her Pcard. Please note we cannot share card details - you will need to give Audrey the information necessary to make the purchase on your behalf, or purchase in real time on a Zoom call with Audrey. 

If the request requires travel and you have your own MIT travel card, please use your travel card and send the receipts to Audrey and Torey Hart (thart@povertyactionlab.org). If you do not have a travel card, please contact Torey to use her travel card. 

If your request is related to Research and Training or Policy work (ie event staff supporting a research conference), please follow the steps below for utilizing the Asana request form. 

For Research, Training, or Policy staff: 

Please use the Asana request form. Once approved, if the request involves travel and you have your own MIT travel card, please use that card to make the purchases, and send the receipts to Torey and Audrey. If you do not have a travel card, please contact Torey to use her card. 

If the request is local/does not involve travel or is online, please contact Audrey to use her card. 

Please be mindful of timing and do your best to avoid urgent, last minute requests. Same day requests are not guaranteed. 

Keywords: books, professional development, purchasing, budget, library, learning, performance development