It was great seeing some of you at the I2D meeting today; thank you for the feedback about Friday's expo, and some great suggestions for next year! As discussed, here is some feedback about the DIV grant process based on correspondence with USAID. The DIV was discussed in our first I2D lab meeting (handouts attached), generating questions, which are answered below. If anyone has questions, let us know. Thanks, John Website: http://www.usaid.gov/div DIV Feedback from USAID Is there a deadline? April 15 refers the edition of the Annual Program Statement. Applications are on a rolling basis. The APS with generally republished with minor revisions each year so there shouldn't be any major concern about expectations shifting from one document to the next. DIV encourages people to just apply at their earliest convenience using the guidance available. Timeline to hear back? The average turnaround time on LOIs is 3-4 weeks. At that point most applicants would have heard back on next steps. There are no country/regional preferences. The greatest number of applications from East Africa and South Asia, therefore the greatest number of projects in those areas. DIV is open to proposals from anywhere for work in any country in which USAID operates. Cost share? Cost share is not a requirement for applicants. The $0.78 in cost-share for every $1 from DIV does not really convey the many forms that cost-share assumes amongst grantees. Many of the grantees largest commitment in cost-share is in-kind labor (their time). Others may have vehicles or equipment that they've used on other projects that they will be using as a part of DIV funded activities - this can all be counted as a form of cost share (also as an indirect cost). DIV is less interested in how much you can bring to the table in cost-share and more interested in knowing the true cost of a solution. So DIV is much more interested in a detailed accounting of the cost-effectiveness of the solution. Example: Its great if somebody can produce bio-mass briquettes as an alternative to coal, only needs $150,000 from DIV to prove that the briquettes burn longer and cleaner than coal, and is proposing $10 in cost-share for every DIV dollar. But if their cost share is a $1.5m mechanical press that GE donated to them to produce 1000 pounds of briquettes every day that they're going to sell at 10 cents a pound, the unit economics of that solution are not particularly promising though the "cost-share" may look nice.