Deadline Date: July 12, 2026
The UNHCR Innovation Accelerator supports the transition of proven humanitarian innovations from pilot stage to sustainable, system-level scale in order to improve protection, inclusion, and assistance for forcibly displaced and stateless people worldwide.
The focus areas, objectives, priorities and themes of this programme include scaling humanitarian innovation, strengthening protection outcomes for displaced and stateless populations, fostering refugee-led and community-driven solutions, enabling cross-sector partnerships, and supporting evidence-based, sustainable approaches to humanitarian response.
The Accelerator is designed to bridge the gap between successful pilot initiatives and long-term institutional adoption by enabling high-potential innovations to expand across contexts and systems. It supports initiatives that have already demonstrated proof of concept and operational value but require additional support to scale effectively. The programme is grounded in collaboration across UN agencies, refugee-led organisations, NGOs, governments, academia, development actors, and the private sector, recognising that transformative humanitarian change requires diverse and coordinated partnerships.
Selected initiatives receive structured support to strengthen their readiness for scale, including technical and operational guidance, catalytic funding, partnership brokering, evidence generation, learning support, and resource mobilisation assistance. In exceptional cases, financial support may reach up to USD 250,000, though most initiatives receive smaller catalytic grants aligned with their stage of development and scaling needs.
The Accelerator follows a multi-stage application process beginning with an Expression of Interest phase, where organisations with proven concepts submit evidence of operational readiness, impact, and scaling ambition. Shortlisted applicants may then develop full proposals in collaboration with UNHCR teams or refugee-led organisations, demonstrating clear institutional ownership, implementation arrangements, and validated pilot results. Only initiatives with demonstrated proof of concept and operational testing are eligible, while concept-only ideas are directed to other innovation funding streams.
Final selection involves technical review, partnership assessment, and pitching to a steering committee, with emphasis placed on scaling potential, institutional ownership, partnership strength, and demonstrated impact. Key selection criteria include problem and solution value, evidence of effectiveness, feasibility of scaling pathways, and the strength of collaboration ecosystems supporting implementation.
The programme aims to ensure that humanitarian innovations move beyond isolated pilots and achieve broader adoption, long-term sustainability, and measurable impact for displaced communities globally, while strengthening adaptive and future-ready humanitarian systems.
For more information, visit UNHCR.
