$40,000 CFI Digital Public Infrastructure Research Grant 2025

The Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Research Grant Program 2025, launched by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), invites researchers to explore DPI’s implementation, governance, and societal impact globally. This initiative supports innovative studies to shape sustainable, inclusive digital systems.

Program Overview

CFI’s DPI Research Grant Program aims to:

• Fund original research: Support studies on DPI’s deployment, governance, and adaptation across diverse contexts.
• Foster collaboration: Build a network of academics, policymakers, technologists, and private sector actors to assess DPI’s long-term viability.
• Provide actionable insights: Translate research into practical guidance for decision-makers.
• Host engagements: Facilitate convenings to drive industry participation and knowledge exchange.

Research Focus Areas

CFI seeks proposals that:

• Analyze consumer outcomes from DPI-based services, emphasizing accountability, consumer protection, and trust.
• Investigate financial sustainability of DPI systems beyond donor funding.
• Explore fair competition, public-private partnerships, and value creation through private sector involvement.
• Study governance models, particularly those with private sector roles, and their impact on interoperability and trust.
• Highlight innovations in consumer protection, including feedback loops and grievance mechanisms.
• Examine DPI’s influence on financial and non-financial service delivery, focusing on inclusion and market dynamics.
• Conduct comparative analyses of advanced DPI implementations, such as in India and Brazil.
• Assess DPI’s broader societal impacts beyond financial access.

Eligibility

• Open to independent researchers, research organizations, universities, think tanks, and collaborative partnerships.
• Strong preference for proposals focusing on low- and middle-income countries, original fieldwork, or comparative case studies.
• Researchers based in low- and middle-income countries are encouraged to apply.
• Multi-country studies are considered if they offer clear comparative value.

Benefits

• Funding of up to $40,000 USD, based on project scope.
• Opportunities to share findings with policymakers and practitioners.
• Access to a collaborative platform for inquiry.
• Research completion required within six months of award.

How to Apply

CLICK HERE TO APPLY