Deadline: 11 September 2019

The United States Government, as represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Global Development Lab (Lab), is seeking applications for the Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) program.

Through a year-round grant competition, Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) sources innovative ideas, pilots and rigorously tests them, and supports the scale-up of solutions that demonstrate proven impact and cost-effectiveness. DIV’s tiered funding model; inspired by venture capital funds, invests comparatively small amounts of funding in a variety of unproven ideas, and provides more substantial support only to those that demonstrate rigorous evidence of impact, cost-effectiveness, and potential to scale. Taking a portfolio approach to its impact enables DIV to embrace risk – and occasional failure – as it generates an evidence base for open innovation. DIV’s aim is to create a portfolio of innovations across all sectors and geographies in which USAID works, to improve the lives of millions around the world.

DIV funds development innovations, which can include:

• New technologies.
• New ways of delivering or financing goods and services.
• More cost-effective adaptations to existing solutions.
• New ways of increasing uptake of existing proven solutions,
• Policy changes, shifts, or nudges based on insights from behavioral economics.
• Social or behavioral innovations.

Funding Information

• STAGE 1: Proof of Concept / Initial Testing (up to $200,000)
• STAGE 2: Testing and Positioning for Scale ($200,000 to $1,500,000)
• STAGE 3: Scaling ($1,500,000 to $5,000,000)
• Evidence Generation (up to $1,500,000)

Eligibility Criteria

• Public, private, for-profit, and nonprofit organizations, as well as institutions of higher education, public international organizations, non-governmental organizations, U.S. and non-U.S. governmental organizations, multilateral and international donor organizations are eligible under this APS.
• All organizations must be determined to be responsive to the APS and sufficiently responsible to perform or participate in the final award.
• This award is also contingent on USAID obtaining concurrence from the responsible Mission.
• All applicants must be legally recognized organizational entities under applicable law. Local organizations are eligible and encouraged to apply, as well as consortia of local organizations.
• Participation of foreign government organizations under this APS is possible only through an approved subaward agreement with a prime recipient.
• USAID encourages applications from new partners. Resultant awards to new partners may require
• USAID to undertake necessary pre-award reviews of these organizations to determine “responsibility” in regards to fiduciary and other oversight responsibilities of the award.

How to Apply

All interested organizations must submit an application via given website.

For more information, please visit Grants.gov.