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Q&A

Applications

Applying to FID

FID will accept applications under this Call for Proposals at any point throughout the year ; there is no deadline to submit your application.

FID can answer your questions about the application process at contact@fundinnovation.dev. You can also participate in our Q&A sessions on the call for proposals, the review and selection of the applications that take place every 2-3 months online (dates and registration links at the bottom of our home page). However, due to the large number of applications we receive, we will not be able to discuss your specific application until we receive an application and start the review process. Applications must be submitted through the online portal. In the interest of fairness, we cannot consider applications submitted outside of this portal or provide recommendations or feedback on applications prior to submission.

FID aims to review your application, make an initial decision, and notify you of that decision within approximately 3 months of receipt of your application. You will receive updates about your application from contact@fundinnovation.dev, so please ensure this email address is added to your contact list. The review process includes three steps: 1. An Initial Review (2-3 months) in which the FID team assesses the application submitted to the online portal against the evaluation criteria outlined in the Call for Proposals. 2. Additional Information Gathering (1-4 months) in which FID staff may ask follow-up questions, request additional information or documentation, speak with partners on the proposal, and speak with external experts with relevant sector, local, or technical expertise. 3. Convening of and recommendations by the Review Committee. Applicants should expect a minimum period of six months between the submission of the application and first funding disbursement.

Eligibility

FID's eligibility criteria

FID funds activities in all low- and middle-income countries eligible for official development assistance (OECD list) , regardless of the nationality and origin of the innovators, researchers and organizations. Special attention is given to applications for projects in the 19 priority country for french aid (list of the 19 countries). Teams can submit their applications regardless of where the applicant and partner organizations are registered.

Nationality information collected in the application is for informational purposes only. Applicants may be of any nationality; there are no restrictions on the origin or location of the applicant or applicant organization. Please note, FID does not accept applications from individuals without a supporting organization.

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 organizations; and private, for-profit companies. Only individuals applying independently and public international and multilateral institutions are ineligible for funding. FID accepts applications for funding from innovators and researchers of all nationalities living in all geographies.

No, public international and multilateral institutions are ineligible for funding (United Nations and Related Organizations, Funds and Programs & International Financial Institutions).

No, the international research organisations are grouped under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) which is an “independent international organization”. They are therefore ineligible for FID.

FID prioritizes innovations in the education, health, climate and gender equality sectors, but remains open to innovations in all sectors. Applications for all activities are assessed according to the evaluation criteria in the Call for Proposals.

FID is not intended to finance emergency humanitarian projects. It is entirely possible, however, to submit a project implemented in a crisis context as long as it meets our eligibility criteria.

Although infrastructure is a key element of development funding, it can be financed by traditional sources of funding and technical expertise. FID is not intended to finance large-scale infrastructure. If you believe your infrastructure project meets FID funding criteria, your application must clearly state the innovative, scalable, and cost-effective nature of the proposed activities. These activities must be part of a scalable, global approach aimed at empirically testing the potential for greater impact in relation to alternatives and/or the status quo.

Evaluations

FID's evaluation criteria

FID assesses every application against three core criteria: 1. Rigorous evidence of impact on improving the lives of people living in poverty; 2. Cost-effectiveness of the innovation in improving development outcomes; and 3. Potential for scale and sustainability. Innovations are assessed based on their demonstrated record of and potential for achieving each of these criteria. More details are available in FID’s Call for Proposals, available online.

Scientific evidence of impact must be able to demonstrate a direct causal link between the solution introduced and the impact targeted or achieved. The requirements for this criterion vary depending on the stage of funding requested: Applicants for Prepare, Stage 1, or Stage 2 grants should draw on evidence to inform their theory of change, and Stage 2 applicants must aim to have rigorous evidence of causal impact by the end of the grant period. The Fund requires applicants for Stage 3 or Transforming Public Policy grants to show rigorous evidence of causal impact of the innovation on improving the lives of people living in poverty at the time of application, such as from a randomized controlled trial (RCT). This might include: • For a Prepare Grant: descriptive elements, contextual data that demonstrate the existence of the problem and the population(s) affected. • For a Stage 1 Grant: A sound theory of change and monitoring and evaluation plan, involving the collection of data on the implementation and effects of the solution introduced. • For a Stage 2 Grant: a rigorous impact evaluation aimed at measuring the effects strictly attributable to an intervention by means of a counterfactual; that is, by comparing the change in the outcome(s) of interest for a beneficiary population with the change in the same outcome(s) that would have prevailed in the absence of the intervention. The impact evaluation must have sufficient statistical power and include a credible counterfactual of what would have happened in the absence of the innovation. • For Stage 3 and Transforming Public Policy (TPP) Grants: demonstrate the causal link between the innovation and the outcomes achieved previously tested and show that this link can be sustained and scaled as part of the funding requested.

Funding

FID's grant funding

Both direct and indirect costs are eligible for FID funding. No threshold has been set and FID reserves the right to fund such costs on a case-by-case basis. However, these costs must be well justified, necessary for the implementation of the project, and consistent with the scope and timing of the activities. Particular attention will be paid to ensure that indirect costs do not represent a disproportionate share of the proposed budget.

No; FID does not require co-financing from other donors or partners or the applicant organization.

FID encourages (but does not require) partnership and consortium approaches. FID intends to generate fruitful bridges and synergies between innovation and research ecosystems. Mobilizing partners with complementary skills or expertise in the various project components can contribute an improved responsiveness to FID’s core evaluation criteria of rigorous evidence, cost-effectiveness, and scale and sustainability. Any grant agreement resulting from an application will only be established with one lead organization. The roles and remuneration of each partner will have to be defined by the stakeholders themselves within a framework of coherent and transparent governance.

The duration of projects will be determined as part of the funding agreement specific to each funded initiative; FID does not determine project duration in advance. Please note, however, the proposed project duration must be consistent with the proposed activities and budget, the intended impacts, and the stage of development requested.

The recipient organization retains full ownership of its innovation. FID provides grant funds only, acting as Official Development Assistance. These conditions apply to all stages of FID funding. For impact evaluations of funded interventions, FID requires publication of results and encourages the openness and availability of the data collected and the analysis scripts underlying the evaluation.

Selections

FID's selection process

At the end of the first stage of the review process, FID asks applicant teams to provide additional information and documentation that will allow us to understand the project in more detail and to begin verifying compliance requirements. In addition to administrative information on the applicant organization and its partners, applicants will be asked to provide: • A detailed description of the activities to be implemented as well as a proposed timeline or schedule; • A detailed budget of the activities to be funded, accompanied by an explanatory note, presenting how the anticipated costs correspond with the proposed activities and available resources; • A report or presentation of activities related to the project that have already been implemented by the applicant organization, such as previous pilot reports; working papers, publications, or evaluation protocols; or other supporting documentation; • The names, titles, expertise and specific roles of the project team members, as well as the proportion of their time that will be devoted to the project throughout its duration; • The roles of each partner associated with the project, and the amount of funding that will be sub-granted to them (if applicable).

The Review Committees are organized on an ad hoc basis according to the volume of applications received, at a rate of 4 or 5 Committees per year.

Expenses

FID's eligible expenses 

FID is not in favor of funding the salaries of researchers with permanent positions outside of the countries eligible to receive official development assistance (OECD list) with the exception of doctoral and post-doctoral students or exceptional situations relying on a precise justification.

Operation

FID's operating 

FID has a budget of 15 million euros per year. Its resources are allocated by the project aid programs managed by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery.

The Fund for Innovation in Development (FID) and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) are two instruments hosted by the AFD to support innovation, to test them and to share learnings. While these two Funds are closely connected, with frequent experience-sharing between the two teams, they are quite distinct in their mandates, how each identifies innovative projects, and their financing models. The FID’s mandate is the fight against poverty and inequalities, without sectoral focus. The FFEM’s mandate focuses on preserving the global environment, and development. These mandates intersect in the areas of climate, agriculture and waste management, but the type of financing offered by each of the Funds greatly mitigates any risk of overlap: • The FID is involved in financing early stages of development of an innovation (the preparatory and initial pilot stages), for amount up to €200,000 in which the FFEM plays almost no part (with some exceptions); • Anything above €200,000 means the FID specifically requires an impact evaluation, with counterfactual, to be conducted if none has been conducted before; whereas projects financed by the FFEM for a minimum amount of €500,000 have to be supported by result monitoring and evaluation, but no impact evaluation with counterfactual is required. The FID and FFEM also differ in the way they identify innovative projects: the FID has an ongoing call for proposals online, while the FFEM works mainly by identifying projects as they arise, sponsored by the member institutions of its Steering Committee. These two Funds are therefore entirely complementary, and strong synergies exist between them.

Any available openings will be posted on our website and our social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter).