CRI-DIV
Photo Credit: Spark Microgrants
CRI & Development Innovation Ventures
Since early 2019, CRI has participated in a partnership with USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) to further DIV’s impact by providing supplementary technical expertise.
The DIV model is an exemplar in evidence-based government funding. A recent paper by DIV co-founder and Nobel Prize Laureate in economics, Michael Kremer, revealed a conservative estimate of 17:1 social return on investment of DIV funded projects.
Photo Credit: Action Against Hunger
DIV is worth investing in, not only because of the high rate of return on their funded projects, but also because of the influence they are having within and outside the agency. Some big wins include:
- France’s Fund for Innovation in Development, created in the likeness of DIV
- The recent creation of the Chief Economist office at USAID, which is tasked with holding USAID programs to cost-effectiveness standards. This represents a massive change in business-as-usual.
Photo Credit: Lwala