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.
Eligibility Criteria
- Public, private, for-profit, and nonprofit organizations, as well as institutions of higher education, public international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the USA and non-USA 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 sub-award 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.
