Each application will be assessed based on the following:

• Relevance and fit: How well the proposed intervention aligns with project objectives and needs
• Medical strategic alignment and sustainability: The project’s potential to integrate into existing medical strategies and ensure sustainability beyond pilot stage, pending successful implementation
• Evaluation responsibility: Clear accountability for monitoring and assessing project outcomes
• Commitment: The level of dedication and availability from the project lead and team to ensure effective and timely implementation and follow-through 

All applications undergo a four-step evaluation process. Throughout this process, applicants will be in contact with the Inclusive Innovation team to refine their submissions and address any outstanding questions.

• Initial review – Conducted by the Inclusive Innovation team to assess relevancy & fit, medical strategic alignment & sustainability, evaluation responsibility and time commitment.
• Technical review – Evaluated by relevant technical experts to validate the applicant’s suitability for implementing the Play Therapy Toolkit or another proposed innovation.
• Final assessment and selection – A selection committee reviews feedback from previous assessments and selects awardees.
• Applicant meetings – Inclusive Innovation facilitates discussions with shortlisted applicants to clarify questions, provide feedback, and refine applications. 

Once applications have been assessed, they can be approved for Implementation Support, rejected, or considered for Exploratory Support, which helps MSF teams explore, develop, and test innovative approaches. 

Implementation Support facilitates the testing, adaptation, and piloting of innovations developed using participatory approaches. Innovations progress through different stages, from recognising a problem or need to scaling up a solution. This support focuses on the early implementation phases: testing and evaluation, piloting, and broader implementation. 

By the time an innovation reaches this stage, it has already been explored, defined, and prototyped in collaboration with the communities it is designed for. 

Developed by MSF (based on a pilot in Kenema, Sierra Leone), the Play Therapy Toolkit is a support resource for therapeutic intervention designed for health care providers working with children facing physical, emotional, behavioural, and trauma-related challenges. Play Therapy helps children manage trauma safely and develop essential social and emotional regulation skills. 

Innovation pilots enable teams to test and evaluate solutions that have been designed using participatory approaches in a more structured and substantial way. Through these pilots, teams can:

• Implement an innovation in your context with end users (the communities the solution is designed for).
• Gather feedback and data on preliminary outcomes on acceptability and feasibility
• Test assumptions and hypotheses
• Assess the desirability, feasibility, and viability of the solution
• Adapt the solution to different contexts, identify key gaps, and refine its effectiveness