Blog
A new opportunity for experimentation in Spanish public policy
6 May 2026
In Spain, the use of experimental methods in public policy has historically been limited at the central government level, especially when compared to other European countries. While there have been important advances in evaluation more broadly, the systematic use of experimental approaches, such as randomised controlled trials (RCTs), has remained relatively rare.
There have been notable exceptions. In recent years, the Ministry of Inclusion led a series of RCTs linked to the Minimum Income Scheme (IMV), working in collaboration with organisations such as J-PAL. At the European level, initiatives within the Horizon 2020 Programme have also supported experimentation in Spain, including projects in regions like Murcia and Castilla y León, where IGL has been directly involved. At the regional level, governments such as Catalonia have also been more active in promoting these approaches, supported by institutions like Ivàlua.
The Spanish Evaluation Law
The approval of the Policy Evaluation Law in 2022 marked an important milestone, creating a formal framework to institutionalise evaluation within the Spanish administration. However, the law stopped short of fully embedding experimental approaches within policy design and implementation. During the legislative process, we made efforts to strengthen the text, including proposals to introduce clearer impact indicators and reinforce the role of evidence and experimentation in decision-making. While some improvements were made, the space for experimentation remained limited.
As part of this broader effort, in 2024 IGL was involved in the discussions organised by the Ministry of Digital Transformation around the reform of the evaluation system, including participation in an expert group convened to reflect on how a future evaluation agency should operate. A key theme in these discussions was the need to create institutional capacity for testing, learning and adapting policies before scaling them.
The final document explicitly highlighted some of the core challenges in the Spanish context. As noted, “pilots carried out in Spain have not always met the necessary standards of rigour (…) which has limited their ability to generate reliable and relevant data”, and as a result, “they have not significantly influenced the final design of policies”. In practice, this has often meant that initial policy decisions remained largely unchanged, even when pilots were conducted.
The document also pointed clearly towards the way forward, emphasising that “ex ante and rigorous evaluations of public policies should be implemented to determine which approaches work best”, and highlighting the need for “the provision of funding for the implementation of pilot experiments that allow policies to be tested and adjusted before being rolled out across different policy areas”.
Signals of change across the evaluation ecosystem
This is why the recent launch of the new National Policy Evaluation Agency (AEVAL) represents such an important development. The Agency will be led by Milagros Paniagua, who was previously involved in the RCTs implemented by the Ministry of Inclusion. Her familiarity with experimental approaches is an encouraging sign for the institution’s future direction. But looking more closely at the new Agency’s Statutes, the mandate includes one relevant element that stands out:
“Carry out and promote small-scale experimental evaluations or pilot projects of public policies, to measure processes, behavioural effects, outcomes and impacts of programmes and public policies of the Administration before scaling them up to the national level.”
This is a significant step. For the first time, experimentation is not just encouraged but formally embedded within the structure of a central government institution. The inclusion of pilot testing and behavioural measurement before national roll-out reflects a more iterative and evidence-based approach to policymaking.
Equally important is the Agency’s explicit mandate to collaborate with national and international research institutions, including through formal agreements and academic partnerships. This is a critical element for building a robust evaluation ecosystem, ensuring that methodological rigour and policy relevance go hand in hand. The appointment of Miguel Almunia as an independent expert on the Agency’s Steering Committee (Consejo Rector), who is also part of the IGL Research Network, is an encouraging signal in this direction.
This direction is also aligned with recent work across European and Spanish institutions. We have recently developed a set of strategic recommendations to advance policy experimentation in Europe, building on a range of initiatives carried out in collaboration with the European Commission. In parallel, we have conducted an experimental project with our IGL Member, the Spanish Innovation Agency CDTI, together with academic partners. The results of this work will be shared soon, as we aim to contribute to the growing evidence base on how AI can improve the financial decision-making for social impact projects.
Taken together, these developments suggest that Spain may be entering a new phase in the use of evidence and experimentation in public policy. Much remains to be done to translate these ambitions into consistent practice, but this represents a meaningful step in the right direction, and we are proud to have contributed to this result.