Global Development Lab

The US Agency for International Development Global Development Lab is a civilian office within USAID that funds research, innovation, and development partnerships to advance global development outcomes through both contracts and grants.

The agency has awarded 76 federal contracts with combined potential value of $260.9 million since 2006, though award velocity has declined sharply in recent years. The last five years show 6 awards in 2018, 4 in 2019, 1 in 2020, 4 in 2021, and 1 in 2022, with the most recent award closing on March 14, 2022. Combined dollars obligated stand at $139 million (53% of potential value). Contract competitive concentration is highly fragmented, with Group BMC SARL holding the only award recorded in the last five years; the broader portfolio encompasses 51 distinct prime contractors with no single vendor dominating the lifetime activity. The set-aside mix is minimal — 96 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with one 8(a) sole-source award and one Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business sole-source award accounting for the remainder.

The Global Development Lab has obligated $454.3 million in federal grant dollars across 36 awards since 2010, with total project value (federal plus non-federal share) reaching $499 million. Grant award volume shows 2 awards in 2017, 5 in 2018, 3 in 2019, 2 in 2020, and 1 in 2024, with the most recent award closing on September 1, 2024. Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented; Innovations For Poverty Action A Nonprofit Corp is the sole recipient recorded in recent activity (1 award, $600 thousand federal dollars obligated), while 33 distinct recipients appear across the lifetime portfolio. Cooperative Agreements dominate the assistance mix at 86 percent of awards, with Project Grants comprising the remaining 14 percent.

No recent federal contract opportunities are recorded against the Global Development Lab. No recent federal grant opportunities are recorded against the agency or its descendant offices.