Darwin Plus Strategic Grants (Round 13)

Deadline: 29-Jul-2024

Darwin Plus Strategic Grant Scheme is now open for applications.

Darwin Plus Strategic is intended for projects that can demonstrate greater ambition and/or collaboration than projects funded under the other Darwin Plus grant schemes, demonstrating the potential to have a long-lasting and transformative impact in and/or across UKOTs.

Applications should build on good evidence from smaller projects to demonstrate the potential to either scale or replicate results further, aiming to deliver improved outcomes for biodiversity conservation in one or multiple UKOTs.

The primary benefit of Darwin Plus Strategic projects must be to at least one UKOT, though secondary benefits for biodiversity in neighbouring countries (which are not UKOTs) will be considered positively.

Objectives of Darwin Plus 

• Darwin Plus supports environmental projects in the UKOTs, split across four broad themes. Successful applicants must demonstrate substantial measurable outcomes in at least one of the themes of Darwin Plus either by the end of the project’s implementation or via evidenced mechanisms for post-project delivery.
• The broad themes of Darwin Plus are:
  • Biodiversity: improving and conserving biodiversity, and slowing or reversing biodiversity loss and degradation;
  • Climate change: responding to, mitigating and adapting to climate change and its effects on the natural environment and local communities;
  • Environmental quality: improving the condition and protection of the natural environment;
  • Capability and capacity building: enhancing the capacity within UKOTs to support the environment in the short- and long-term.

Funding Information

• Darwin Plus Strategic offers grants between £1 million and £3 million for projects lasting between 3 and 5 years.

Eligible Activities

• Potential activities that may be eligible include, but are not limited to:
  • Relevant academic qualifications, including:
    • Undergraduate and foundation degrees;
    • Masters’ degrees;
    • Associate degrees;
    • Online and remote degrees;
  • Professional development opportunities, including:
    • Training placements and internships;
    • Travel to and attendance at conferences and workshops;
    • Funding for trainers to come to UKOT(s) to deliver agreed training programmes;
    • Remote or online learning;
    • Territory to Territory skill share and exchanges;
    • Targeted training courses;
    • On-the-ground fieldwork training opportunities, and field work courses;
    • Other opportunities, where there is clear justification.

Ineligible Activities

• There are some activities which are not eligible for funding through Darwin Plus:
  • activities that would normally be part of a UKOT government’s core functions (such as fulltime staff salaries or routine management activities);
    • Note that funding can be used for discrete pieces of work that provide data to feed into core activities, for example, mapping OT habitats and soils to inform future environmental management.
  • long-term research;
  • ongoing maintenance of habitats or protection of species;
  • work where the main focus is built heritage.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications must be made by the Lead Organisation, not an individual, agreeing to the Terms and Conditions including managing the grant, its finances, reporting and governance.
• The Project Leader and Lead Organisation can be based in any country, though they strongly encourage projects to be led by an in-territory organisation.
• Where the Project Leader is not employed by the Lead Organisation, the reasoning behind should be made clear in the application, including their capability to control and be held accountable for the proposed project.
• There is no limit on the number of applications a Lead Organisation may submit, but they would encourage internal co-ordination to ensure all submissions are competitive. Defra may consider the number of applications from a single organisation as part of their decision-making process.
• Given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Biodiversity Challenge Funds has taken the decision to suspend all bilateral engagement with Russia, including sending any funds to any Russian organisation. Russian organisations are ineligible to be a Lead Organisation or Partner or involved on any Biodiversity Challenge Funds grant.
• All Darwin Plus projects are expected to seek in-territory partners, and the meaningful engagement of stakeholders and OT governments.

For more information, visit Darwin Plus.