Innovation to Action Award

What is the Innovation to Action Award?

The Innovation to Action Award, a USAID Catalyst Award, recognizes USAID staff and implementing partners who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in motivating teams to test or implement innovative approaches through active or recently closed (in 2016) USAID projects/programs to increase program impact. This may also include leadership on projects that are currently in the process of pivoting to incorporate an innovative approach that was not included in the original design.

How are we defining innovation?

An innovation is a new solution or approach that accelerates impact. Innovations include new technologies, approaches, processes, distribution methods, unusual partnerships, or creative uses of existing technology that address development challenges. Innovations can be iterative or transformational. Innovations can be from any sector and at early stages to scale. At minimum an innovation for the purposes of this award must have been in actual use and trial (not an idea only). We ideally hope to see submissions where there are clear partnerships between innovators, development experts, program managers, external partners, and/or policymakers.

What are we looking for in an application?

Successful applications will make the case for an individual who provided leadership or served as the catalyst for a USAID-funded project team to test and incorporate an innovation into its approach that resulted in one or more of the following:

• Greater scale of impact of the project or activity outcomes than had the innovation not been adopted (i.e. innovation reached more or new customers, benefited more people, made the project or activity financially sustainable, etc.).  

• Use of the innovation contributed in a measurable way to meeting the development objectives of the project or activity.

• Use of the innovation helped the innovator and/or project/activity gather necessary information to be more effective in future endeavors.

• The individual (via the project/activity or direct intervention) addressed a barrier to growth for the innovation, which helped accelerate its impact on the project/activity outcome.

• The innovation created an new element of the project/activity, allowing it to exceed the intended positive outputs or outcomes of the project/activity’s original design or perceived impact.

• The innovation continues to be used by the customer or partner post project/activity conclusion.

• The project/activity design incorporated innovative programming mechanisms (such as RFA/RFP language)

• Bonus for applications that include: lear evaluation data on the effectiveness of the innovation (either positive or negative).

Eligibility

All USAID staff (of any hiring mechanism) and implementing partner staff are eligible for this award.

How to Apply

The application period ended on May 31, 2017. Check back to this page for winner announcements in the coming month. 

Recognition of Winners

Winners will receive Agency recognition and public visibility for excellence in adopting innovation, which could include the following:

• A Certificate of Appreciation

• An invitation to deliver a presentation at a USAID event

• Short video profile of the project/winner

• Blog post featuring the winners’ work in Agency publications

Submission Criteria and Judging

The contest will consist of two stages of evaluation. In the first stage, a diverse group of USAID staff and technical experts will review and score each submission based on the criteria outlined below. Each submission will be independently reviewed and scored by no fewer than three reviewers. The highest-scoring submissions will be selected as finalists for a second stage review. In the second stage, the review panel will include USAID staff, technical experts, and non-USAID reviewers.

Contest Judging Criteria:

The Innovation to Action Award judges will take the following criteria into account when reviewing applications. You do not need to clearly demonstrate success in every single category listed here to win. However, the strongest applications will meet many of these criteria.

Leadership in catalyzing a team to test and/or adopt innovative approaches // What unique role did the applicant play in leading or championing the innovative approach that the project or activity team tested or adopted?

Effective application of an innovation or innovative approach //  Did the individual use innovation to make the intervention(s) more effective, cost-effective, and sustainable? What specific development problem was the innovation designed to address, and how? What specific results/impact was achieved as a result of the application of an innovation? Did the individual (via the program or direct intervention) address a barrier to growth for the innovation which helped accelerate its impact on the program outcome? (in the case of a failure, what results were not achieved that the program was hoping to achieve?).

Evaluation and learning // What evidence, reports, or assessments have been done on the innovation or its impact? Was there a systematic effort to understand the extent to which the innovation was effective? Were there documented lessons regarding the applicability of this applied innovation? To what extent were they shared (across the agency, with partners, with other donor organizations, host country, and civil society organizations, etc.)?  

Alignment with USAID and Mission Strategy // How did your work on the innovation ensure it played a direct role in achieving the Bureau/Mission/Program/Development objectives and country needs?

Replicability // Could this approach (or elements of it) be implemented in other regions or countries? Or by other players? How could it be scaled up in the country in which it is currently being implemented?

Partnership // Did this innovation help bring or maximize the strengths of different partners in the process? Was the activity a result of inter or intra agency collaboration?

Feedback Loops // Did this innovation include clear feedback from the beneficiary or customer that demonstrated the value of the innovation? What feedback loops or consultative processes have been planned or undertaken?

Questions?

Email labinnovations@usaid.gov

Application Questions

APPLICATION FORM FIELDS

• Pick One: USAID Staff / USAID Partner

• First Name

• Last Name

• Email address

• Name of applicant’s company/organization

• Where is the applicant’s primary location

• If the applicant is field-based, in which country and/or region is the USAID funded project/activity that adopted the innovation?

• What is the Project/Activity name? What is its period of performance? (i.e. when did it start and when will it close out?) (250 words or less)

• Describe the innovation or innovative approach that was incorporated into the applicant’s project or activity. (250 words or less)

• What problem was the applicant trying to solve by incorporating the innovation? (250 words or less)

• Describe the applicant’s role in facilitating or supporting the adoption of the innovation in the USAID project or activity. How did the applicant lead, champion or catalyze a project or activity team to test or adopt the new approach? What did he or she do that no one else in the OU or on the project team did or was able to do? (250 words or less)

• List other team members and your AOR/COR who should also recieve recognition under this Award (up to 5 people).

• How did the innovation help the program? (350 words or less)

• Were there evidence, reports, or assessments that informed the applicant’s selection of the particular innovation? (350 words or less)

• Was there a systematic effort to understand the extent to which the innovation was effective? If so what did it include? (350 words or less)

• Were there documented lessons regarding the applicability of this innovation? To what extent were they shared (across the agency, with partners, with other donor organizations, host country, and civil society organizations, etc.)? (250 words or less)

• Did the innovation or innovative approach help bring in partners to the USAID project or activity? (250 words or less)

• Is the innovative method or innovation application replicable? (500 words or less)

• Did this innovation include clear feedback from the beneficiary or customer that demonstrated the value of the innovation? (250 words or less)

• How did you hear about the Innovation to Action Award?