France launches Fund for Innovation in Development

France has launched the Fund for Innovation in Development (Fonds d’Innovation pour le Développement or FID), a new initiative to support innovation that contributes to reducing global poverty and inequality. Through flexible grant funding, the Fund enables innovators and researchers to test new ideas, build evidence of what works, and scale the highest impact and most cost-effective solutions.

The objectives of the Fund for Innovation in Development are:

• to encourage and facilitate innovation, from wherever it might come;
• to accelerate global innovation in the fight against poverty and inequality;
• to rigorously evaluate new ideas through collaboration with the research community;
• to support the scale and widespread deployment of the best solutions.

Through this call for proposals, we are inviting innovators and researchers from around the world to apply for grant funding to address poverty and inequality.

What we fund

Open Innovation
FID takes a broad view of innovation, considering any solution with strong potential to achieve development impact at scale in less costly, faster, or otherwise more feasible ways than existing approaches. This can include a wide range of innovations intended to improve the lives of the poor. Our definition of innovation includes, for example, new approaches to improve delivery of essential goods and services, process or managerial innovations, improvements in public services that facilitate access and improve outcomes, as well as new technologies or new applications of existing technologies. New “low-tech” approaches designed to be sustainable and accessible and which can have a significant impact on the lives of the poorest will also be eligible.

Sectors
FID accepts applications for innovations in any sector which addresses poverty and inequality, and specifically encourages applications for innovations in education, health, climate change, and gender equality.

Who is eligible for funding
FID accepts applications from nearly any type of applicant, independently or in partnership with others, including: research institutes and institutions of higher education; governments or public agencies; non-governmental organisations; and private, for-profit companies.

Individuals applying independently and public international and multilateral institutions are not eligible for funding

FID assesses every application against three core criteria:

• rigorous evidence of impact on improving the lives of people living in poverty;
• cost-effectiveness of the innovation in improving development outcomes;
• potential for scale and sustainability

Stages of funding available
The Fund will provide five types of grants,

• Prepare Grants : Up to €50,000
• Stage 1: Pilot Grants Up to €200,000
• Stage 2: Test and Position for Scale Grants €200,000 to €1,500,000
• Stage 3: Transition to Scale Grants €1,500,000 to €4,000,000
• Transforming Public Policy Grants Up to €150,000

How to apply for funding
FID will accept applications under this Call for Proposals at any point throughout the year. In order to be considered for funding, applications must be submitted through the online portal at :

https://fundinnovation.dev/