USAID Grand Challenges (GCs) for Development
Goals & Objectives
USAID's Grand Challenges for Development initiative seeks to mobilize governments, companies, and foundations to tackle critical global development issues by sourcing, testing, and scaling innovative solutions. The initiative aims to address specific global challenges by encouraging new voices and innovative approaches.
Focused Areas & Countries
These Grand Challenges cover various thematic areas including health, agriculture, water, governance, and more. They have been implemented across 84 countries, involving diverse geographic regions such as Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Strategy
The strategy involves using challenge grants, prizes, and other innovation tools to encourage diverse participants to propose and develop new solutions. The initiative emphasizes partnerships with governments, private sector entities, and NGOs to drive collective impact.
Funding Eligibility Requirements
Open to organizations including NGOs, research institutions, and private companies that can provide innovative solutions to the specific challenges posed. Each challenge may have different eligibility criteria depending on the problem being addressed.
Co-Funding Requirements
Some challenges may involve co-funding or matching requirements, particularly to demonstrate scalability and sustainability of the proposed solutions.
Specialized Eligibility Requirements
Depending on the specific challenge, there may be specialized requirements, such as focusing on local innovators or specific technological competencies.
Call for Proposals Requirements
Applications typically require a detailed proposal that outlines the problem being addressed, the innovative solution proposed, and a plan for implementation and scaling. Specific requirements vary by challenge.
Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Proposals are evaluated based on innovation, potential for impact, feasibility, scalability, and the ability to address the specific problem identified by the challenge.
Other Requirements
Applicants must often engage with stakeholders, including communities affected by the challenge, to ensure solutions are contextually relevant and sustainable.
Listed Initiatives & Application Open Dates
Currently, there are various active Grand Challenges, including initiatives to combat infectious diseases like Zika, improve health supply chains, and enhance agricultural productivity. Specific deadlines depend on each challenge, and new opportunities are announced periodically.
Past Awarded Projects
Examples include the "Saving Lives at Birth" initiative, which focused on maternal and newborn health, and the "Combating Zika" initiative, which sought innovative ways to prevent the spread of the Zika virus. These projects have involved partners from a wide range of sectors, demonstrating the collaborative nature of these challenges.
Project Examples
Initiatives such as "Saving Lives at Birth," focusing on maternal and newborn health, and "Combating Zika," which addresses infectious disease outbreaks, are examples. These projects have involved collaborations with global universities and research organizations.
Awardees
Institutions like the University of California, Berkeley, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and NGOs such as PATH and FHI 360 have been awardees.
Contact Information
Details for principal investigators can typically be found in the specific challenge reports or by reaching out to the involved institutions' public relations departments
Projects Funded
| GRAND CHALLENGES(GCs) | Water & Energy for Food Grand Challenge | Countering Transnational Corruption Grand Challenge |
All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development(ACR GCD) |
Creating Hope in Conflict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROGRAM GOALS | WE4F aims to scale up innovations that impact the sectors of water, energy, and food to increase sustainable agricultural productivity, combat poverty, and improve food security and nutrition while promoting biodiversity and climate resilience. | The Countering Transnational Corruption Grand Challenge by USAID aims to tackle corruption globally by fostering innovations that expose and prevent corrupt activities, strengthen accountability, and protect anti-corruption actors. The initiative focuses on sectors like finance, natural resources, and political integrity. With support from international partners, the program provides funding and technical assistance to innovators working to combat corruption across multiple regions. Geographic focus includes countries with significant corruption risks. | Launched in 2011 as a partnership between USAID, World Vision, and the Australian Government, this initiative focuses on advancing EdTech (Educational Technology) innovations to improve literacy outcomes for marginalized children in low-resource settings. The program aims to address key barriers to literacy, such as the availability of reading materials in underserved languages, access for children with disabilities, and the use of technology to enhance early grade reading. | The Humanitarian Grand Challenge, initiated by USAID, seeks to find innovative solutions to address humanitarian crises, focusing on the needs of people affected by conflict, climate change, and displacement. It promotes breakthroughs in areas such as providing safe water, energy, life-saving information, and health care in hard-to-reach and conflict-affected regions. |
| SUPPORT PROVIDED | The program offers technical assistance, investment facilitation, and enabling environment support to help innovators scale their solutions. | Aims to support innovators and organizations globally through competitive funding challenges. | ACR GCD offers financial and technical support through various prize-based competitions to foster innovation. It provides grants for developing and scaling solutions that enhance literacy skills. Key focus areas include creating accessible books in underserved languages, integrating sign language for deaf learners, and enhancing educational content for early-grade readers through technology | The program provides funding to innovators and entrepreneurs who can deliver scalable solutions to the most vulnerable populations. This support often includes grants, mentoring, and opportunities to collaborate with humanitarian organizations and stakeholders to ensure the solutions have real-world impact. |
| TOTAL BUDGET (USD, MILLIONS) | Over $49 million provided by international partners including USAID, SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), BMZ (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. | The budget is not explicitly listed, but substantial funding is allocated to support innovative solutions. | 29.0 | 39.9 |
| SECTOR | Focus on the nexus of water, energy, and food — supporting innovations that enhance food security through sustainable water and energy use in agriculture. | Focuses on anti-corruption, particularly tackling transnational corruption across finance, politics, and natural resources. | Education | Humanitarian |
| START DATE | 2020 | 2022 | 2011 | 2017 |
| END DATE | Ongoing | Ongoing | Ongoing | Ongoing |
| NO. OF AWARDS | Supported 40+ innovators globally (as per the latest available data) | N.A. | 92 | 50 |
| GEOGRAPHIC CON- CENTRATION28 | Regions include Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. | Global focus, particularly on countries with significant corruption risks across various regions. | Global | Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA |
| WEBSITE ADDRESS | https://we4f.org/ | https://www.usaid.gov/anti-corruption/countering-transnational-corruption-grand-challenge | https://allchildrenreading.org/ | https://www.usaid.gov/grandchallenges/humanitarian |