US Aid - Development Innovation Ventures Requests for Application
07/06/2012 — skennedy

Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) aims to find and support breakthrough solutions to the world’s most important development challenges – interventions with the power to change millions of lives at a fraction of the usual cost. DIV looks for compelling new development solutions, rigorously tests them, and helps scale those that are proven successful to reach millions of beneficiaries. Innovative solutions can include new technologies and new service delivery practices or novel or more cost-effective variations on existing practices.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

USAID/DIV welcomes applications from many types of organizations including:

  • U.S. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
  • Non-U.S. NGOs Faith-based organizations
  • U.S. private businesses
  • Non-U.S private businesses
  • Business and trade associations
  • International organizations
  • U.S. colleges and universities (public and private)
  • Non-U.S. colleges and universities (public and private)
  • Civic groups Regional organizations Foundations

APPLICATION PROCESS

The DIV application process consists of two steps. Applicants must first submit a Letter of Interest (LOI). After a competitive review process described below, DIV will request that successful applicants submit a Full Application.

LOI’s are accepted four times each year.Deadlines are: June 1st, September 1st, December 1st and March 1st. The LOI form can be found at http://idea.usaid.gov/div/how-apply.

Applicants should:

  • Describe the purpose of the project
  • Summarize the project’s goals
  • Include financial information for the project
  • Address other criteria in the LOI

If DIV finds the project proposed in the LOI to be responsive to the selection criteria, then the applicant will be invited to submit a Full Application. Applicants are given six weeks to write and submit the full application.

THREE STAGES OF FUNDING

DIV seeks to test promising solutions while also managing its risk. Therefore, DIV has structured the funding levels of the three stages in order to mitigate its risk of investment.

Applicants can propose a solution in any of three stages without being prior recipients of DIV funding (provided they have sufficient evidence required for the given stage of funding). Applicants must compete to move from stage to the next.

Stage 1: Proof of Concept

Intended to test the real-world viability of an innovative development solution

The application must:

  • Describe how the solution is clearly linked to a development challenge
  • Describe established plans to test the solution in an appropriate setting, and a proposed methodology to assess its feasibility through impact evaluation or performance monitoring
  • Discuss competing or existing solutions, and how the proposed solution represents a departure from current practices and how it is more cost-effective than alternatives
  • Outline how the proposed innovation could lead to significant change in outcomes
  • Articulate the expected pathway to scale and interest from partners who could help to scale
  • Funding Limit: $100,000
  • Timeline: up to 2 years

Stage 2: Scaling and Impact Evaluation

Provided to innovative solutions that have demonstrated success at a pilot or small-scale stage, and now require support to assess if the solution can achieve larger scale development impact and can be successfully implemented at a larger scale.

Stage 2 projects must include:

  • Evaluation component that demonstrates the solution’s impact on development outcomes
  • Cost-effectiveness analysis
  • Implementation at a scale that allows for statistical significance of impact analysis as well as a realistic assessment of how the approach would function and cost at scale
  • Implementation and testing at various levels should be factored into the design
  • Articulation of the possible pathway to scale and interest from partners who could scale
  • Funding Limit: $1,000,000
  • Timeline: up to 4 years

Stage 3: Transitioning Projects to Large Scale

For innovative solutions that have credible and rigorous evidence of development impacts at significant scale. Stage 3 projects will transition an innovation from large scale implementation to widespread adoption in one country and/or replication in at least one other country.

Applications should:

  • Provide rigorous evidence that the innovation has demonstrated cost-effective development impacts and that large scale implementation was successful
  • Identify realistic avenues for scaling to millions within ten years and discuss how potential operational challenges (e.g., policy requirements or legal regulations) will be addressed
  • Describe key stakeholders and partners needed to scale up the innovation, which could include government counterparts, the private sector, and other development organizations, and include indications of interest from those partners where they exist
  • Funding Limit: $15,000,000
  • Timeline: up to 5 years

DIV SPECIAL WINDOWS

As part of this APS, DIV has additional special focus areas, or APS “windows.” These may relate to USAID initiative areas, specific countries or specific topics and sectors. All application forms and rules are unchanged but additional resources are available for applications targeting these windows.

PROJECT EXAMPLES

Illustrative examples of innovative solutions that DIV may support include:

  • New tools for more effective agriculture extension, and testing for the most effective way to reach scale;
  • New approaches for sanitation demand creation and sanitation marketing;
  • Behavior change approaches drawing on insights from psychology and behavioral economics;
  • Solutions that advance equality between females and males, and empower women and girls to participate fully in and benefit from the development of their societies;
  • New methods to reduce absenteeism among frontline health and education workers;
  • Testing proof of concept for a solar lighting system distributed by local entrepreneurs at a price/service point that induces wide adoption;
  • A rigorous evaluation for a larger scale innovative project that will itself be funded by other partners where the evaluation will demonstrate the magnitude of development outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of the project, and such evidence will help the project reach scale.

Visit the website http://www.usaid.gov/div to review the current and past portfolio for additional examples of innovations that DIV supports.

DIV is also interested in applications from partners who can scale already proven innovative interventions. See illustrative examples of innovations the program statement, available at: http://idea.usaid.gov/div/div-annual-program-statement-30 .

Contact Morrison & Company for more information on this program & grant writing services: