Deadline: 19-May-2026
The Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund (IRAF), an initiative under the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), is inviting proposals to strengthen water infrastructure resilience in Jamaica’s Kingston Metropolitan Area. The program focuses on improving the ability of water systems to withstand climate change impacts and disaster risks while ensuring long-term water security and sustainable infrastructure management.
Program Context and Purpose
The Kingston Metropolitan Area faces increasing stress on water infrastructure due to aging systems, geographic vulnerabilities, and exposure to natural hazards such as hurricanes, floods, landslides, earthquakes, and storm surges. Climate change further intensifies risks through sea level rise and changing weather patterns.
The program aims to support the Government of Jamaica by developing long-term, scalable, and risk-informed infrastructure solutions aligned with global resilience frameworks.
Key Focus Areas
The program supports technical and strategic interventions across water infrastructure systems, including:
- Water infrastructure resilience and system strengthening
- Climate and disaster risk reduction strategies
- Multi-hazard and vulnerability analysis
- Infrastructure condition assessment and diagnostics
- Identification and prioritization of critical infrastructure
- Development of engineering and operational resilience measures
- Design concepts and preliminary engineering solutions
- Investment case preparation and cost estimation
- Data sharing and technical collaboration with institutions
- Capacity building and institutional knowledge transfer
- Water security and water resource management
- Wastewater management and sanitation systems
- Drainage and irrigation systems
- Impacts of saline water intrusion
- Governance and institutional strengthening
- Integration of Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) principles
Technical Scope of Work
Projects are expected to deliver strong technical outputs, including:
- Multi-hazard risk and vulnerability assessments for water systems
- Detailed condition assessments of infrastructure assets
- Identification of critical infrastructure components and failure risks
- Development of resilience and mitigation engineering solutions
- Preparation of technical assessments and preliminary designs
- Cost estimation and investment-ready project documentation
- Strengthening of data systems and institutional collaboration mechanisms
- Capacity building for national and local stakeholders
Program Alignment and Policy Frameworks
Proposals must align with global and national development frameworks, including:
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
- Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
- National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)
Projects should also promote inclusive and equitable infrastructure governance while integrating GEDSI principles.
Funding Details
- Maximum budget per project: USD 500,000
- Number of awards: only one grant will be awarded under this call
- Project duration: up to 24 months
- Funding type: technical assistance and resilience-focused infrastructure support
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include:
- United Nations organizations
- Non-UN organizations
- Academic and research institutions
Additional eligibility requirements:
- Applicants must be legally registered in Jamaica or partnered with a registered local entity
- Must demonstrate proven experience in disaster-resilient infrastructure projects
- Must have capacity to implement large-scale technical interventions
- Non-UN organizations must have completed required assessments within the last five years
Why This Program Matters
This initiative strengthens critical water infrastructure systems in a climate-vulnerable urban region. It enhances resilience against disasters, improves water security, and supports sustainable urban development. By integrating technical design, governance reform, and capacity building, the program promotes long-term infrastructure sustainability and climate adaptation.
How the Program Works
- Eligible organizations develop a technical proposal focused on water infrastructure resilience
- Proposals must include risk analysis, design concepts, and investment planning
- Applications are submitted under the IRAF-CBRI framework
- One proposal is selected for funding
- The selected project is implemented over a maximum of 24 months
- Outputs include technical designs, resilience strategies, and capacity-building outcomes
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Submitting projects outside the water infrastructure sector
- Lack of technical depth in risk and vulnerability analysis
- Failure to integrate GEDSI or climate resilience frameworks
- Weak alignment with SDGs, Sendai Framework, or NDCs
- Missing local registration or partnership requirements in Jamaica
- Proposals without clear engineering or investment outputs
Tips for a Strong Application
- Provide strong multi-hazard and infrastructure risk analysis
- Clearly define critical infrastructure prioritization methodology
- Include detailed engineering concepts and cost estimates
- Demonstrate strong institutional collaboration in Jamaica
- Integrate climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction clearly
- Highlight scalability and long-term sustainability of solutions
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the IRAF Jamaica water infrastructure call?
- It is a CDRI-led funding initiative supporting resilience of water infrastructure in Kingston, Jamaica
- It focuses on disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation in water systems
- What is the funding amount?
- Up to USD 500,000 per project
- Only one project will be selected
- What is the project duration?
- Up to 24 months
- Who can apply?
- UN agencies
- Non-UN organizations
- Academic institutions
- Applicants must be registered in Jamaica or partnered with a local entity
- What type of work is supported?
- Water infrastructure resilience planning
- Disaster risk and vulnerability assessments
- Engineering design and investment case preparation
- Capacity building and technical collaboration
Conclusion
The IRAF Jamaica water infrastructure initiative supports high-impact technical assistance to strengthen climate resilience in critical water systems. By combining engineering analysis, disaster risk reduction, and capacity building, the program aims to improve long-term water security and infrastructure sustainability in the Kingston Metropolitan Area.
For more information, visit CDRI.