The Development Innovation Fund
Information about the fund.
Background
DFID’s White Paper, ‘Eliminating World Poverty: Building Our Common Future’, outlines DFID’s approach to working with civil society. It highlights the fact that DFID recognises that the work of governments alone will not be enough to eliminate world poverty and that to achieve further and faster poverty reduction, governments must work closely with citizens and civil society groups.
The White Paper states that over the next few years DFID will increase its work with organisations in the UK and overseas who play an important role in development. This will include groups with who do not currently benefit from DFID support. Many of these groups are involved in supporting very small scale, often localised activities which do not meet the criteria we have for our existing centrally managed civil society funding schemes, such as the Partnership Programme Arrangements (PPA) and Civil Society Challenge Fund (CSCF).
To address this, DFID is establishing a new funding stream aimed at community based organisations involved in providing specific small scale, one-off support that directly targets poverty in the developing world and includes a significant development awareness component in the UK. The Fund will be operational for an initial 16 months from 2010.
Details of the Fund and application process
Key elements
• A total of £7m for an initial period of 16 months, with a mid-term review by August 2010 and an evaluation before the end of March 2011.
• An application based Fund.
• Small scale proposals up to £60,000 ceiling
• Up to 100% funding for an application.
• Applications to cover a period not exceeding one year.
• Applications will be appraised at 3 decision making rounds.
• Applications can cover work in any low or lower-middle income developing country.
• Open only to not for profit organisations.
• Applications must show that the intended activities will improve the lives of poor people in the developing world.
• Applications must demonstrate how the intended work will be used to help raise awareness of development issues in the UK.
• A limit of three applications per group/organisation at any one time.
• Successful applicants can re-apply for funding but only after they have accounted for any previous grants provided
Applications must:
• Set out experience, achievements and potential in working on the area of work you are requesting support for.
• Set out what difference you seek to make to the communities you will be working with. For example how will the intended work impact on the lives of particular groups of poor people in that area (such as women, children, youth, disabled, people living with HIV/AIDS, minorities or landless) or on local environment.
• Set out how the work that you are proposing to undertake is ‘innovative’
• Set out how you intend to raise awareness of development in the UK through lessons learned/experiences from the project
• Set out how you will recognise DFID’s contribution to your work
What can’t be funded under this Fund?
• Applications which we deem to be better suited to other DFID funding streams
• Disaster and humanitarian relief projects
• Research work
• Core support
• Funding to governments
• Religious evangelising and proselytising
• Campaigning that takes a partisan political stance
• Discrimination – any element of a project that discriminates between individuals or groups because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or disability
• Scholarships
• Projects which are comprised of only shipping or transport costs
• Land purchase or purchase of buildings
What kinds of activities might be supported under this Fund?
• The Development Innovation Fund can support a very broad range of projects as long as they target poverty in the developing world include a significant development awareness component in the UK
• Examples include: support to health camps, provision of text books, education/learning materials or other appropriate technology materials, skills exchange programmes.
What is the application process?
You must submit a completed application form together with the additional documentation requested in 2.2 (above) to the Fund Manager at dif@dfid.gov.uk.
The Fund Manager will acknowledge receipt of your application and provide you with a unique reference number within 3 days of receipt. The Fund Manager will also inform you of which Funding Round your application will be considered under. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their applications within a week after the relevant funding round.
