Sharpening the Idea: A Q&A for Teams Thinking About Applying to PBIF

The Spring 2026 Open Call for the Public Benefit Innovation Fund is now open. If you're still in the "do I have something here?" phase, this post is for you. Eleanor Davis, Director of PBIF, answers the questions that matter most before you start writing.

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Q: Before we get into the application itself — what do you wish every applicant would sit with before they even open the form?

We want applicants to come with clarity, not just ideas. So before you open the application, work through these six questions:

1. Who are you working with and for? Name the people at the center of this work.

2. What problem are they facing right now — and what have you already done to understand it?

3. Where in the US will the impact land?

4. How will you tackle the challenge, and how will you know it's working? What does progress actually look like?

5. When will you be able to tell whether your idea is doing what you hoped?

6. What will your work teach others who are looking to achieve a similar impact?

If you can answer all six clearly, you're ready to apply.

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Q. A lot of people know what they want to build but don't yet have a government or implementation partner in place. Is that a dealbreaker?

No — and this open call is actually different from our last one in that we're not asking for formal partnerships or signed documentation up front.

If you know a partner exists, that's enough for now. Show us how you know the demand is there. It's even better if you can name your potential partners. What matters most at this stage is that you understand the context you're working in and can demonstrate it.

If your application advances to the second round, you'll have five weeks to share more detail — and we may be able to help connect teams with government and implementation partners during that phase. By the end of those five weeks, pilot projects will need to provide formal letters of commitment. Some early-concept projects may not need a formal partner at all, depending on what they're trying to learn.

Our advice: start practicing your pitch now, and use the application itself as part of that process. Think through what your team brings to the table, where you'd need partners to deliver impact, what role those partners would play, and how and when you'd build that working relationship. You can then take that outline and turn it into a pitch to potential partners. Demonstrating that you've thought this through carefully goes a long way, even without a signed agreement in hand.

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Q. Are there types of projects you'd gently steer people away from?

For this open call, PBIF is focused on projects that close enrollment gaps, reduce administrative churn, lower error rates, and improve processing times for public benefits programs.

We believe that public awareness of programs is important work — but it's not the focus of this open call. Our hypothesis on moving the needle is that we need to fix the underlying systems and processes that power public benefit programs. If your project primarily raises awareness rather than addressing the system itself, it's probably not the right fit for PBIF right now. 

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Q. On the other side — are there areas where you'd love to see more teams step up?

We're looking for ideas that make public benefits work better for the people who need them and the people who deliver them. That includes projects that improve backend processes so caseworkers can focus on people rather than paperwork; use data effectively to connect people to services in simpler, more comprehensive ways; and modernize tech infrastructure to enable the systems of the future.

We're especially eager to hear ideas about improving the core mechanics of benefits delivery — determination, renewal, and delivery — to make the system more human, more transparent, more dignified, and more efficient through the application of emerging technology.

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Q. When a team is trying to figure out whether their idea is "PBIF material," what's the core question they should be asking?

Does your idea fix the system — or work around it?

PBIF is investing in the belief that the best way to help the largest number of eligible people access public benefits is to improve the underlying systems and processes. We're not looking to add layers on top of a broken foundation.

So when you're sizing up your idea, ask yourself: am I fixing something in the way the system determines, renews, or delivers benefits? A few gut checks:

• Does it address enrollment gaps, administrative churn, errors, or slow processing times?

• Does it make the experience more human, transparent, or dignified for the people going through it?

• Does it work with government systems and processes, not just around them?

If you're nodding along, it's worth applying.

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Q. How should applicants decide which track to apply for — Early Concept or Pilot?

The right track depends on where your idea is right now.

‍Early Concept / R&D is for ideas that are promising but not yet proven. You might have a prototype, a hypothesis, or an early-stage concept you want to explore in a controlled environment, away from the complexity of real-world government systems. The core question here is: can this intervention actually solve the problem, or are there risks that need to be considered before trying it in production?

• Duration: 6–12 months

• Funding: Up to $500K

Pilot is for teams with a concept that's ready to move out of the lab and into practice. You're not starting from scratch. You have something that works, and you're ready to tackle the challenges of real-world implementation and scale. The core question here is: what does this look like in a production environment, and is it ready to scale beyond one use case?

• Duration: 12–24 months

• Funding: $500K–$2M

When in doubt, describe where your project actually is today — and we can help point you in the right direction.

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Applications for the Spring 2026 PBIF Open Call are open now through May 15, 2026. To learn more or apply, visit centerforcivicfutures.org/pbif-open-call. Questions? Reach us at info@publicbenefitinnovationfund.org.

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