About

Fund for Innovation in Development

Our mission

A support fund for innovations with a unique methodology

Created in 2021 and chaired by Esther Duflo, co-recipient of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, FID is an innovative development financing mechanism. At the heart of its approach: synergies between innovation and research teams to pilot, test and evaluate the impact of projects using rigorous scientific methods. FID’s ambition is to contribute, in the long term, to the transformation of public policies by supporting the scaling up of proven innovations in the fight against poverty and inequality.

The call for proposals is open all year round to all types of teams for solutions targeting low- and middle-income countries. FID particularly supports, but is not limited to, initiatives related to education, health, gender equality and climate. It specifically encourages applications from organizations based in, led by, and significantly staffed by people from all countries eligible for official development assistance.

Explore our approach

Identify
We support emerging innovations with high potential
We finance the prototyping, piloting and evaluation of emerging innovations at the first stages of their development. This gives them the opportunity to demonstrate their capacity to significantly improve the lives of the populations concerned.
Accelerate
We promote synergies with research
FID brings together the worlds of innovation and research to increase the potential for impact of solutions. Rigorous evaluation of what works and what does not provides insight for scaling up and transforming public policies.
Support
We support vulnerable populations
FID focuses on solutions targeting low- and middle-income countries, with particular attention to the priority countries in French development policy.
Share
We promote knowledge sharing
FID aims to facilitate the sharing of lessons learned from funded projects with development actors for them to target their efforts and resources on the most impactful interventions.

Our experience

FID funds innovations that address the challenges of poverty and inequality

Our story
The Fund for Innovation in Development embodies the desire to modernise international solidarity mechanisms. It is based on the recommendations of the report "Modernisation of the partnership policy of development aid and international solidarity" submitted to the President of France by Hervé Berville in August 2018 as part of his mandate as a Member of Parliament, also based on the work carried out by Esther Duflo, 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, in support of the fight against poverty.

FID was inaugurated in December 2020 at the Presidential Development Council.
A pragmatic vision of innovation
Guided by its desire to generate an impact on the field, FID considers innovation as any solution or approach that is new in one context, proven in another, or completely new, and that is able to improve the situation of the most vulnerable populations. Depending on the problem that needs to be solved, the innovation may be technological, social or organisational in terms of the suggested approach, provided it is justified by the problem it aims to solve and corresponds to the needs of the populations it hopes to impact.

« Ensuring that policies affecting the most vulnerable in the world are as effective as possible »

Esther Duflo, , Economic Nobel Prize 2019 and President of FID

Board

Our governance

FID is an independent structure hosted by the French Development Agency (AFD) based on an agreement between AFD and the French State. It is governed by its own Board of Directors, which is chaired by the development economist Esther Duflo. The board is made up of the following members.

Organisation

The FID team

Headed by Juliette Seban and Claire Bernard, the permanent FID team is organised around several missions: investment, project monitoring and impact, disbursement, legal affairs, operational follow-up and communication. The entire team shares a common commitment: encouraging and accelerating innovation to meet today's development challenges.

FID's Directorate is composed of Juliette Seban, the Executive Director and Claire Bernard, the Deputy Director.
The FID is composed of a team divided into different areas of expertise.

Our values

FID is based on values that guide its missions, its decision-making and the way it works externally and internally.

Making possible
FID is governed by a desire to foster collaboration with teams from all types of organisations, from all countries (and operating in a low- and middle-income country), working in a variety of fields and, in particular, with those that may have difficulty accessing traditional funding mechanisms. FID is also committed to listening to the teams receiving partner funding in order to facilitate the implementation of projects in line with the existing framework and to adapt to the constraints they face.
Risking innovation
FID wants to give promising ideas the opportunity to become a reality. With its preparatory and pilot stage grants, FID encourages experimentation and risk-taking in projects that need to demonstrate their proof-of-concept in the real world.
Learning together
FID is keen to learn from the projects and research that is funded, together with the teams. By promoting dialogue between the research, development and innovation sectors, FID aims to generate and disseminate new knowledge. This learning can contribute to the wider deployment of innovations that have proven to be effective. Learning and experience will also be used to build common knowledge in the field of combating poverty and inequality.
Respecting a mutual requirement
The process of awarding FID funding is demanding. Applicant teams must be able to demonstrate the potential for impact and scaling of an innovation. FID also pays attention to the design and implementation of the impact evaluations it funds. It also applies this requirement to itself. Through its performance framework, FID is committed to monitoring its results and rigorously measuring the impact of its portfolio.