United Nations Development Programme - Wikipedia

If you’re a government ministry, municipality, or public innovation unit in the Global South trying to tackle complex development challenges, the UNDP Accelerator Labs Finance Window offers something rare: funding specifically designed for experimentation and learning, not just implementation of proven solutions.

This isn’t your typical development grant where you propose a well-defined project with predictable outcomes. The Finance Window supports what UNDP calls “portfolio approaches”—running multiple experiments, testing different solutions, learning what works, and adapting based on evidence. Think of it as venture capital for public sector innovation, where you’re expected to try things that might not work, as long as you learn and share those lessons.

The program is run by UNDP’s Accelerator Labs network, which operates in over 90 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Arab States. These labs were created specifically to help countries experiment with new approaches to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They use methods from behavioral science, collective intelligence, and systems thinking to tackle problems that traditional development programs struggle with.

Funding ranges from $250,000 to $1 million over typically 24 months. That’s substantial resources for public sector teams to test innovations in areas like climate adaptation, inclusive governance, digital public services, or economic resilience. More importantly, you’re joining a global network of innovators who are sharing what they learn, so your experiments contribute to knowledge that helps other countries facing similar challenges.

Key Details at a Glance

What This Opportunity Offers

The Finance Window isn’t just about money—it’s about changing how public sector organizations approach complex problems.

Catalytic Funding for Experimentation: Unlike traditional grants that fund predetermined activities, this supports portfolio approaches where you run multiple experiments simultaneously. You might test three different ways to improve tax compliance, or pilot five approaches to climate adaptation in farming communities. The expectation is that some experiments will fail—that’s not just acceptable, it’s part of the learning process. The funding covers feasibility studies, rapid prototyping, pilot programs, behavioral experiments, and data collection and analysis.

Partnership with UNDP Accelerator Lab: You’re not working alone. Your country’s UNDP Accelerator Lab becomes your partner, providing access to their methods and tools (behavioral insights, systems mapping, collective intelligence platforms), connections to the global Accelerator Labs network, technical expertise in experimentation and learning, and support with monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks. This partnership is mandatory but valuable—the labs have expertise in running experiments that most government agencies lack.

Portfolio Approach Methodology: The Finance Window specifically supports portfolio approaches, which means testing multiple solutions to the same problem simultaneously, using rapid experimentation cycles (design, test, learn, adapt), applying behavioral insights to understand why people do what they do, and using data and evidence to decide what to scale. This is different from traditional development projects that pick one solution and implement it at scale. Portfolio approaches acknowledge uncertainty and use experimentation to find what actually works in your specific context.

Focus on Learning and Knowledge Sharing: A core requirement is that you share what you learn—both successes and failures. Your experiments contribute to global knowledge about what works in development. You’ll document your methods, results, and insights, participate in the Accelerator Labs learning network, and publish findings openly (where appropriate). This learning orientation means you’re not just solving problems in your country—you’re helping other countries learn from your experience.

Flexible Use of Funds: The Finance Window allows funding for a wide range of activities: specialized staff (behavioral scientists, data analysts, innovation managers), technology and tools (platforms for citizen engagement, data collection systems), research and studies (baseline surveys, behavioral experiments, impact evaluations), pilot programs and prototypes, stakeholder engagement and co-creation workshops, and capacity building for your team. The key is that expenses should support experimentation and learning, not just traditional implementation.

24-Month Implementation Window: The typical project runs for two years, which is enough time to run multiple experiment cycles, learn and adapt, and begin scaling what works. This timeline reflects the reality that experimentation takes time—you need to design experiments, run them, analyze results, and iterate based on what you learn.

Who Should Apply

This program is designed for public sector organizations ready to work differently—to experiment, learn, and adapt rather than just implement predetermined plans.

Government Ministries and Agencies: You’re a national ministry (finance, health, education, environment, etc.) facing a complex challenge where traditional approaches aren’t working. You’re willing to try new methods, test multiple solutions, and learn from both successes and failures. Maybe you’re trying to improve service delivery, increase citizen engagement, or adapt to climate change. You recognize that you don’t have all the answers and need to experiment to find what works.

Municipal and Local Governments: You’re a city, municipality, or local government dealing with urban challenges—waste management, informal settlements, local economic development, or climate resilience. You have the authority to run pilots and experiments in your jurisdiction. Local governments often make great partners because they can test innovations at manageable scale before broader rollout.

Public Innovation Units or Labs: You’re a government innovation lab, digital transformation unit, or similar entity specifically tasked with finding new solutions to public sector challenges. You already have a mandate to experiment and innovate. The Finance Window can fund specific portfolio experiments that test your hypotheses about what works.

Cross-Sector Partnerships Led by Government: You’re a government entity partnering with civil society, private sector, or academic institutions to tackle a shared challenge. The government must be the lead applicant, but you can involve other sectors in designing and running experiments.

You’re a strong candidate if you can answer yes to these questions:

• Are you a government entity, municipality, or public innovation unit in a Global South country?
• Do you have a relationship (or can you build one) with your country’s UNDP Accelerator Lab?
• Are you facing a complex development challenge where the solution isn’t obvious?
• Are you willing to experiment with multiple approaches and learn from failures?
• Can you commit to sharing your learnings openly with the global community?
• Do you have the authority and capacity to run pilots and experiments?
• Are you working on challenges related to the SDGs?

This program isn’t right for everyone. If you already know exactly what you want to do and just need funding to implement it, traditional project grants are better. The Finance Window is specifically for situations where you need to experiment to figure out what works.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application

Here’s what actually matters when applying to the Finance Window, based on successful applications and conversations with UNDP Accelerator Lab teams:

Tip 1: Partner with Your Country’s Accelerator Lab Early. Don’t wait until you’re ready to apply to contact your UNDP Accelerator Lab. Reach out months in advance to discuss your challenge and explore whether the Finance Window is a good fit. The labs can help you frame your problem, design your portfolio approach, and strengthen your application. Applications developed in partnership with the labs are much stronger than those developed in isolation. Find your country’s lab through the UNDP Accelerator Labs website and schedule an initial conversation.

Tip 2: Frame Your Challenge as a Complex Problem, Not a Simple Gap. The Finance Window funds experimentation on complex challenges where the solution isn’t obvious. Don’t frame your application as “we need money to do X”—frame it as “we’re facing challenge Y, and we don’t know the best solution, so we want to test approaches A, B, and C to learn what works.” Show that you understand the complexity, that traditional approaches haven’t worked, and that you need to experiment to find effective solutions. Reference systems thinking, behavioral barriers, or contextual factors that make the problem complex.

Tip 3: Design a Real Portfolio, Not Just One Project. A portfolio approach means testing multiple solutions simultaneously. Don’t propose a single intervention—propose 3-5 different experiments that test different hypotheses about what might work. For example, if you’re trying to increase tax compliance, you might test behavioral nudges, simplified processes, peer comparison messaging, and improved service delivery. Each experiment should be distinct, testable, and designed to generate learning. Show how the portfolio covers different theories of change.

Tip 4: Emphasize Learning and Adaptation. UNDP wants to fund organizations that will learn and adapt, not just implement. Explain how you’ll measure results from each experiment, how you’ll analyze what’s working and what isn’t, how you’ll adapt based on evidence, and how you’ll share learnings with others. Include a clear monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) framework. Show that you’re comfortable with the idea that some experiments might fail—that’s valuable learning too.

Tip 5: Demonstrate Government Commitment and Capacity. UNDP needs to see that your government is committed to this work and has the capacity to execute. Include letters of support from senior officials, show that you have (or can build) the team to run experiments, demonstrate that you have authority to pilot new approaches, and explain how learnings will inform policy or practice. The Finance Window wants to fund experiments that can actually influence how government works, not just academic exercises.

Tip 6: Align with SDGs and National Priorities. Make explicit connections to the Sustainable Development Goals and your country’s national development plans. Which SDGs does your work address? How does it align with your government’s priorities? UNDP operates within national development frameworks, so showing alignment makes your application stronger. Reference specific SDG targets and national policy documents.

Tip 7: Budget for Learning, Not Just Implementation. Your budget should include resources for the experimentation process itself: staff time for designing and running experiments, data collection and analysis, behavioral insights expertise, monitoring and evaluation, documentation and knowledge sharing, and iteration and adaptation. Don’t just budget for implementing solutions—budget for the learning process. UNDP understands that experimentation requires different resources than traditional implementation.

Application Timeline

Working backward from the March 21, 2025 deadline, here’s a realistic timeline:

September-October 2024 (5-6 months before deadline): Initial engagement with your country’s UNDP Accelerator Lab. Discuss your challenge, explore whether the Finance Window is appropriate, and get guidance on the application process. Use this time to build the relationship and get early feedback on your ideas.

November 2024 (4 months before deadline): Problem framing and portfolio design. Work with the Accelerator Lab to frame your challenge as a complex problem, identify multiple hypotheses about what might work, and design a portfolio of experiments to test those hypotheses. This is the conceptual foundation of your application.

December 2024 (3 months before deadline): Stakeholder engagement and partnership building. Identify and engage partners who’ll be involved in the experiments (other government agencies, civil society, communities, private sector). Get their input on the portfolio design and secure their commitment. Start drafting letters of support.

January 2025 (2 months before deadline): Application drafting. Write your full application including problem statement, portfolio design, theory of change, MEL framework, budget, and team structure. Share drafts with your Accelerator Lab partner for feedback. Iterate based on their input.

February 2025 (1 month before deadline): Finalization and internal approvals. Get necessary approvals from your ministry or government (this can take weeks in bureaucratic systems). Finalize budget details, gather all supporting documents, and prepare your submission package. Have the Accelerator Lab review your final draft.

March 1-15, 2025 (1-3 weeks before deadline): Final review and submission. Do a final quality check, ensure all required documents are included, and submit well before the deadline. Don’t wait until March 21—submit by March 15 to avoid last-minute technical issues.

April-May 2025 (post-submission): Review and evaluation. UNDP will review applications, potentially request clarifications or additional information, and conduct due diligence. Be responsive to any requests. Decisions are typically made 2-3 months after the deadline.

June-July 2025 (if approved): Grant agreement and setup. Negotiate and sign grant agreements, set up project structures and governance, finalize work plans and budgets, and prepare to launch your experiments.

Required Materials

Here’s what you’ll need to prepare for your application:

Concept Note or Full Proposal: Depending on the application process, you may start with a concept note (3-5 pages) or go straight to a full proposal (15-25 pages). This should include problem statement and context, portfolio design with multiple experiments, theory of change for each experiment, expected outcomes and learning questions, and implementation approach.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Framework: Detailed plan for how you’ll measure results, analyze data, and learn from experiments. Include baseline indicators, experiment-specific metrics, learning questions you’re trying to answer, data collection methods, and analysis and adaptation processes.

Budget and Budget Narrative: Detailed budget showing how you’ll spend the $250K-$1M, broken down by experiment and cost category (personnel, research, technology, pilots, etc.). Include budget narrative explaining and justifying major expenses. Show how costs relate to the experimentation and learning process.

Team Structure and Capacity: Information about who will lead and implement the work, including key staff and their qualifications, governance structure, roles and responsibilities, and capacity building plans if you need to develop new skills.

Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement Plan: Details about your partnership with the UNDP Accelerator Lab, other partners involved in the experiments, stakeholder engagement approach, and how you’ll ensure diverse perspectives (gender, youth, marginalized groups).

Letters of Support: Letters from senior government officials endorsing the work, from the UNDP Accelerator Lab confirming partnership, and from other partners committing to participate.

Risk Management and Safeguards: Analysis of potential risks (political, operational, financial) and mitigation strategies, environmental and social safeguards, and anti-corruption and integrity measures.

Knowledge Sharing Plan: How you’ll document and share learnings, what will be published openly vs. kept confidential, and how you’ll contribute to the global Accelerator Labs network.

Start gathering these materials early, especially letters of support and internal approvals, which can take weeks in government systems.

What Makes an Application Stand Out

UNDP evaluates applications across several criteria. Understanding these helps you position your proposal effectively:

Problem Complexity and Relevance (25% of evaluation): Is this a genuinely complex problem where the solution isn’t obvious? Is it relevant to SDGs and national priorities? Does it affect significant populations? Strong applications show deep understanding of the problem’s complexity, clear relevance to development goals, and potential for significant impact if solved.

Portfolio Design and Innovation (30% of evaluation): Have you designed a thoughtful portfolio of experiments? Do the experiments test distinct hypotheses? Are the methods innovative (using behavioral insights, collective intelligence, etc.)? Reviewers want to see creative, well-designed experiments that will generate valuable learning, not just traditional interventions repackaged as “innovation.”

Learning Orientation and MEL (20% of evaluation): Do you have a robust plan for learning? Are your learning questions clear? Can you measure what matters? Will you adapt based on evidence? Strong applications show genuine commitment to learning, including from failures. They have clear MEL frameworks that will generate actionable insights.

Capacity and Commitment (15% of evaluation): Can your team actually do this work? Do you have government commitment? Will learnings actually influence policy or practice? UNDP wants to fund experiments that will lead to real change, not just interesting research. Show you have the capacity to execute and the political support to act on learnings.

Knowledge Contribution (10% of evaluation): Will your experiments generate insights valuable to others? Are you tackling problems that other countries face too? Will you share openly? The Finance Window is building global knowledge, so your contribution to that knowledge base matters.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Learn from others’ errors:

Mistake 1: Proposing a Single Solution Instead of a Portfolio. Some applications propose one intervention and call it a “portfolio.” That’s not what UNDP means. A portfolio is multiple distinct experiments testing different approaches. If you’re only testing one thing, you’re not really experimenting—you’re just implementing. Design at least 3-5 different experiments that test different hypotheses.

Mistake 2: Treating This Like a Traditional Project Grant. The Finance Window isn’t for implementing known solutions at scale. It’s for experimentation and learning. Don’t frame your application as “we know what works, we just need money to do it.” Frame it as “we’re facing a complex problem, we have hypotheses about what might work, and we need to experiment to find out.” The mindset is different.

Mistake 3: Weak or Missing MEL Framework. Some applications have vague plans for “monitoring and evaluation” without clear learning questions, metrics, or adaptation processes. UNDP takes learning seriously—your MEL framework needs to be robust and detailed. Show exactly how you’ll measure results, analyze data, and use insights to adapt your approach.

Mistake 4: Not Engaging the Accelerator Lab Early. Applications developed without Accelerator Lab input are usually weaker. The labs understand what UNDP is looking for, they know the methods and approaches that work, and they can help you design better experiments. Engage them early and treat them as true partners, not just a box to check.

Mistake 5: Insufficient Government Buy-In. Some applications come from individuals or small teams without broader government support. UNDP needs to see that senior officials are committed, that you have authority to run experiments, and that learnings will actually influence policy. Get strong letters of support from decision-makers, not just colleagues.

Mistake 6: Ignoring the Knowledge Sharing Requirement. This isn’t just about solving your local problem—it’s about contributing to global knowledge. Some applications don’t adequately address how they’ll document and share learnings. Be explicit about your knowledge sharing plan, what you’ll publish, and how you’ll contribute to the Accelerator Labs network.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we need to have a UNDP Accelerator Lab in our country?
Yes, partnership with your country’s Accelerator Lab is required. The labs operate in over 90 countries across the Global South. Check the UNDP Accelerator Labs website to see if there’s a lab in your country. If there isn’t, this program isn’t currently available to you.

Can NGOs or private sector organizations apply?
No, the Finance Window is specifically for government entities—ministries, municipalities, or public innovation units. However, you can (and should) partner with NGOs, private sector, or academic institutions as part of your portfolio. The government must be the lead applicant and grant recipient.

What if some of our experiments fail?
That’s expected and acceptable. The whole point of experimentation is to test what works. UNDP understands that some experiments will fail—that’s valuable learning. What matters is that you learn from failures, document what didn’t work and why, and use those insights to inform future approaches. Failure is only a problem if you don’t learn from it.

How much co-financing or in-kind contribution is required?
While not always mandatory, showing government co-investment (cash or in-kind staff time) strengthens your application. It demonstrates commitment and ensures sustainability. Even if you can’t provide cash, show what staff time, facilities, or other resources your government is contributing.

Can we apply for multiple challenges or do we need to focus on one?
Focus on one complex challenge with a portfolio of experiments addressing that challenge. Don’t try to tackle multiple unrelated problems in one application. Depth is better than breadth—show you deeply understand one problem and have a thoughtful portfolio to address it.

What happens to successful experiments after the 24 months?
The goal is that successful experiments get scaled or integrated into regular government operations. Your application should address sustainability—how will successful approaches continue beyond the grant period? This might involve integrating into government budgets, securing other funding, or influencing policy changes.

How much of the budget can go to staff vs. activities?
There’s no fixed ratio, but your budget should be reasonable. You’ll need staff to design and run experiments, but you also need resources for the experiments themselves. A rough guideline might be 40-50% for personnel, 30-40% for experiment activities (pilots, research, technology), and 10-20% for monitoring, evaluation, and knowledge sharing.

Will UNDP provide technical support during implementation?
Yes, your Accelerator Lab partner will provide ongoing support throughout the project. This includes technical guidance on methods, help with MEL and adaptation, connections to the global network, and troubleshooting when challenges arise. You’re not on your own.

How to Apply

Ready to experiment with new approaches to development challenges? Here’s your action plan:

First, identify whether there’s a UNDP Accelerator Lab in your country. Visit the UNDP Accelerator Labs website and find your country’s lab. If there isn’t one, this program isn’t currently available.

Second, reach out to your country’s Accelerator Lab team. Introduce yourself, explain the challenge you’re facing, and ask about the Finance Window application process. Schedule a meeting to discuss whether your challenge is a good fit for portfolio experimentation.

Third, work with the lab to frame your problem and design your portfolio. Don’t try to do this alone—use their expertise in experimentation, behavioral insights, and systems thinking. Develop 3-5 distinct experiments that test different approaches to your challenge.

Fourth, engage stakeholders and build partnerships. Identify who needs to be involved in your experiments—other government agencies, civil society, communities, private sector. Get their input and commitment.

Fifth, prepare your application materials following the guidelines provided by your Accelerator Lab. Include all required components: problem statement, portfolio design, MEL framework, budget, team structure, and supporting documents.

Sixth, secure internal government approvals and letters of support. This can take time in bureaucratic systems, so start early. You’ll need endorsement from senior officials who can commit to acting on the learnings.

Seventh, submit your application well before the March 21, 2025 deadline. Aim for early March to avoid last-minute issues.

For detailed application guidelines and to connect with your country’s Accelerator Lab, visit the UNDP Accelerator Labs website or contact the United Nations Development Programme office in your country.

This is a unique opportunity to experiment with new approaches to complex development challenges, learn what works, and contribute to global knowledge. If you’re ready to work differently—to test, learn, and adapt—the Finance Window could provide the resources and partnership you need.