Sightsavers’ Innovation Fund: evaluation

The Innovation Fund is part of the Sightsavers programme partnership arrangement with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

The fund was established to encourage innovative projects to be tried and tested, with the aim of learning lessons that could lead to breakthroughs in how Sightsavers does its development work and, through sharing and communication, influence development actors including DFID and other agencies working to improve eye health.

The fund primarily used DFID’s definition of innovation, which states that innovation does not “necessarily mean ‘brand new’ (eg innovative practices, innovative partnerships, innovative approaches)”. It noted that there is an “element of experimentation” involved, with the “risk of failure”.

Read the executive summary of the evaluation of round one (pdf) 

Read the executive summary of the evaluation of round two (pdf)