The Fund for Innovation in Development (FID), part of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), gives staged grants to innovative projects that fight poverty and inequality: up to €200,000 for a pilot, up to €1.5 million for an impact evaluation and up to €4 million for scaling up. The call for proposals is open all year with no deadline, and any legally constituted organisation can apply, while individuals cannot. At Youth Works Hub, we reviewed the official FID and AFD pages and summarised the stages, eligibility and how to apply.
What Is the Fund for Innovation in Development?
💡 FID selects innovations through a call for proposals that is open all year, for all types of entities and sectors.
🏛️ It operates within AFD, the Agence Française de Développement, and its board is chaired by development economist Esther Duflo.
🔬 The idea behind the fund: many promising ideas, policies and programmes can reduce poverty, but only rigorous testing shows which ones actually work, and innovation needs multiple steps and flexible funding to reach its potential.
🎯 Priority sectors are education, health, climate and gender equality, although FID also accepts innovative projects in all sectors and evaluates each on its own merits.
Not an Erasmus+ or ESC Programme
⚠️ FID grants are not part of Erasmus+ and not part of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). This is a development grant for organisations, not a youth mobility or volunteering programme.
🆓 FID does not charge any fee for submitting, reviewing or assessing an application.
The Funding Stages and Amounts
FID describes seven funding stages geared to the different levels of development of an innovation, from the preliminary phases to scaling up. The official AFD page lists these grant amounts:
🌱 Preparation grant: up to €50,000 to prepare the launch of a pilot project in real conditions or an impact evaluation. This stage is currently being overhauled, and the next application window is scheduled for 2027, with details to be published later.
🧪 Stage 1, Implementation of a pilot project: up to €200,000 to test an innovation in real conditions.
📊 Stage 2, Impact evaluation: up to €1.5 million to test and evaluate the impact of innovations that have already had a pilot project.
🚀 Stage 3, Scaling up: up to €4 million to support the scaling-up of innovations whose impact has been demonstrated.
🏛️ Transformation of public policies: up to €500,000 to develop governments' capacity to integrate evidence-based innovations into their public policies.
You can apply directly for the funding stage you need, even an advanced one, without having received FID funding before. Your team must show that the proposal meets all the criteria of that stage, especially project maturity, proven data and operational capacity.
Who Can Apply
🏢 Any legally constituted organisation that meets the criteria in the call for proposals guide, for example an NGO, public institution, university, research institute or private enterprise.
🤝 Organisations can apply independently or as part of a consortium.
🚫 Applications from individuals (natural persons) are not accepted.
🌐 International and multilateral public institutions are not eligible, such as United Nations organisations, international financial institutions and CGIAR organisations.
📍 Applications can be submitted regardless of where the applicant is registered, except preparation grants, which must be submitted by organisations registered in a country eligible for official development assistance.
Where Projects Must Take Place
🗺️ Projects must be implemented in a low- or middle-income country eligible for official development assistance (ODA), as shown in the OECD list.
🏗️ FID does not finance emergency humanitarian aid or infrastructure projects per se.
👩🔬 FID does not finance the salaries of researchers, or of doctoral and postdoctoral students based outside ODA-eligible countries, except in exceptional circumstances that require justification.
🧾 Indirect costs are covered if they are justified, essential for implementation and proportionate to the project's scale, with no pre-defined threshold.
How Applications Are Evaluated
FID assesses every application against three core criteria:
🌟 Potential impact on improving the lives of people living in poverty.
💶 Cost-effectiveness of the innovation in improving development outcomes.
📈 Potential for scale and sustainability.
The evidence you must show depends on the stage:
🔍 Preparation stages: demonstrate that the problem is relevant and explain the logic behind the proposed approach.
🧭 Pilot stage: define a Theory of Change and provide a rigorous protocol for impact monitoring and evaluation.
🧮 Impact evaluation stage: provide or propose a rigorous impact evaluation that measures the effects attributable to the project through a credible counterfactual.
📏 Scale-up stage: have already demonstrated the innovation's proof of impact and its cost-effectiveness.
Receiving funding at one stage does not automatically guarantee funding at a later stage, since each application is evaluated independently.
Timeline After You Apply
⏱️ FID aims to notify applicants of its decision within approximately three months of receiving an application.
💬 Because of the high volume of applications, FID cannot provide individual feedback during the evaluation, and rejected applicants do not receive detailed feedback.
🏦 Expect about twelve months between submitting the application and receiving the first disbursement.
🔄 You can resubmit a rejected project if you have made substantial changes to address the feedback and meet FID's criteria.
How to Apply
1️⃣ Read the call for proposals guide and the resources on the Submit a Proposal page, including the decision tree that helps you choose the right stage.
2️⃣ Prepare your application for the correct stage, because FID does not carry out preliminary assessments of eligibility or stage before submission.
3️⃣ Submit it exclusively through the official platform, accessible via fundinnovation.dev.
4️⃣ Track the progress of your application on the platform.
🗓️ Group information (Q&A) sessions are held regularly for questions strictly related to preparing and submitting an application, and the registration link is at the bottom of the FAQ page.
📌 Changes cannot be made after submission, and an organisation may submit several applications, but FID recommends prioritising the most developed one and does not usually fund several projects from the same organisation at the same time.
🤖 AI may be used to help draft or structure an application, but applicants stay fully responsible for accurate, verifiable content with no fabricated data.
Avoiding Fraud
🛡️ Applications must be submitted exclusively through the official platform accessible via fundinnovation.dev.
🚨 There is no alternative procedure to bypass a rejection or guarantee the award of funding.
📧 If you doubt a message, offer or payment request, do not share sensitive information and report it to contact@fundinnovation.dev.
Browse all opportunities in the Others category on Youth Works Hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a deadline for FID applications?
No. Applications can be submitted through the call for proposals at any point throughout the year.
Can individuals apply to FID?
No. Only legally constituted organisations can apply, and applications from individuals are not accepted.
Which countries can projects be in?
Projects must be implemented in a country eligible for official development assistance, as listed by the OECD. Applicants can be registered anywhere, except for preparation grants.
Does FID fund humanitarian or infrastructure projects?
FID does not finance emergency humanitarian aid or infrastructure projects per se.
How long does FID take to decide?
FID aims to notify applicants within approximately three months of receiving an application.
Does FID charge an application fee?
No. FID does not charge any fees for submitting, reviewing or assessing an application.
Deadline
⏳ As soon as possible!
Links
🔗 Official FID website: https://fundinnovation.dev/en
📝 Application form: https://fundinnovation.wiin.io/en/applications/formulaire-de-candidature
🏛️ AFD page: https://capvert.afd.fr/en/fund-innovation-development-innovating-against-poverty-and-inequality
📧 Contact: contact@fundinnovation.dev
