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Displaced Livelihoods Initiative (DLI) Grants 2026

Closed

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) & J-PAL — Displaced Livelihoods Initiative (funded by the IKEA Foundation)

Round V main track is closed to new applicants — the mandatory Expression of Interest was due May 15, 2026 (now passed). Full proposals (for those who filed an EOI) are due Jul 24, 2026. Off-cycle proposals up to $75K remain possible with time-sensitive justification via displacement@poverty-action.org.

Amount
$250,000
Deadline
Jul 23, 2026
16d left
Stage
Availability
Link
Open opportunity ↗

Description

Round V (2026) call for proposals from the Displaced Livelihoods Initiative (DLI), managed by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and funded by the IKEA Foundation. DLI funds rigorous impact evaluations and related research on sustainable livelihoods for displacement-affected populations — refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless people, IDPs, and the communities hosting them. Grant types & maximum awards: Exploratory $10K; Pilot $75K; Full study $250K; Infrastructure & public goods $250K; Evidence Use (refugee-led orgs / researchers with lived experience) $20K; Conference Travel $4K. Off-cycle proposals up to $75K with time-sensitive justification. Priority research areas: resilience, wage employment, entrepreneurship, social cohesion & norms, rights & regulations, and measurement/design — explicitly including how data science, machine learning, satellite imagery, and AI can improve impact measurement (a natural entry point for ETC).

forced displacementrefugeesIDPshost communitiessustainable livelihoodsimpact evaluationeconomic inclusion

Timeline & constraints

Expected to hear back
Proposals reviewed after each round by a rotating group of academic (and sometimes policy) reviewers; DLI does not publish a fixed decision date.
Grant period
Varies by project type (exploratory through multi-year full studies).

Key dates

  1. Competitive round announced
    Apr 14, 2026
  2. Mandatory Expression of Interest deadline
    May 14, 2026
  3. Full proposal deadline
    Jul 23, 2026 · in 16d

Constraints & requirements

  • Research team must include at least one member whose primary affiliation is a university (NYU qualifies).
  • Mandatory Expression of Interest was required (due May 15, 2026) before a full proposal.
  • All local/national/international ethics (IRB) approvals required before fieldwork; extra ethical care given the target population's vulnerability.
  • Funded impact evaluations must collect cost data for cost-effectiveness analysis and make per-unit program costs public.
  • Target group: displacement-affected populations (refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless, IDPs, and host communities).

Who's funding this

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How to apply

Two-stage: mandatory Expression of Interest, then a full proposal by the round deadline. Off-cycle proposals (≤$75K) accepted with time-sensitive justification.

Process

  1. 1
    Choose the grant type matching your project stage (Exploratory / Pilot / Full study / Infrastructure & public goods / Evidence Use / Conference Travel).
  2. 2
    Submit the mandatory Expression of Interest (Round V: due May 15, 2026).
  3. 3
    Submit the full proposal (Round V: due July 24, 2026).

Required materials

Full proposal (research question, design)For full studies: statistical power estimatesBudget (with cost data / cost-effectiveness plan)Committed implementing-partner detailsEthics / IRB approvals

Questions and off-cycle inquiries: displacement@poverty-action.org. IPA/J-PAL can help match practitioners with academic researchers.

How the funder scores you

The funder's own review criteria — what an application is judged on. Write to these.

  • Academic contribution
    20% (equally weighted)

    Significant contribution to knowledge; probes mechanisms (how an intervention has impact); new questions, methods, measures, or interventions; bridges practical experiment and economic theory.

  • Policy relevance
    20% (equally weighted)

    Addresses DLI's priority research areas; real demand from policymakers/practitioners; generalizable 'lessons learned'; considers cost and whether the intervention scales.

  • Technical design
    20% (equally weighted)

    Research design appropriately answers the questions; identifies and addresses threats to validity; full-study designs are powered to detect results.

  • Project viability
    20% (equally weighted)

    Strong, durable implementing-partner relationship and track record; logistical/political/ethics feasibility; pilots show a path to a full evaluation; infrastructure projects show how they enable future research.

  • Value for money
    20% (equally weighted)

    Study cost is commensurate with expected scientific and policy contribution; leverages funding from other sources.

  • Ethics (additional consideration)
    Considered

    Risk of harm to participants/staff and mitigation strategy; all approvals secured before fieldwork; heightened care given the target population's vulnerability.

  • Team diversity & lived experience (additional consideration)
    Considered

    Encourages diverse, cross-disciplinary teams; Round V earmarks additional funding for teams including researchers with lived experience of displacement and for evaluations of refugee-led organizations.

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