Deadline: 15-Apr-22
Are you a member of an organisation working to address climate change or conserve biodiversity? Is your organisation registered in an ODA-eligible country and do you have an effective, innovative, or creative non-profit project idea? Then IKI Small Grants Program is now open!
The International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) has been funding projects that address climate change, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change, conserving natural carbon sinks / REDD+ and the conservation of biodiversity. IKI projects and programmes are comparably large in scale, calling for integrated approaches of project consortia. Smaller organisations are part of these projects but rather as members of larger consortia. However, the implementation of measures under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) also require the dedicated strengthening of stand-alone capacities of small and local organisations from partner countries.
Objectives
The focus of the IKI Small Grants scheme is to provide support to the implementation of both the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in enacting the Paris Agreement as well as to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in addressing the global loss of biodiversity (Aichi Targets and the goals of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework). With the IKI Small Grants scheme, BMU extends its IKI strategy and outreach to small national, regional, and local organisations to encourage active citizen involvement and local approaches to threats caused by climate change and biodiversity loss. They will be supported through the financing of their proposed projects and will also receive support through accompanying measures for capacity development of their organisations. Furthermore, GIZ will work with the organisations where possible and necessary in enlarging their networks and integrating their activities into national policy objectives.
Project proposals must clearly address one of the IKI funding areas (although in some cases project concepts might address more than one funding area):
- Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions
- Adapting to the impacts of climate change
- Conserving natural carbon sinks / REDD+
- Conserving biological diversity
Priorities
IKI explicitly encourage projects which:
- support the implementation or increase the ambition of nationally determined contributions (NDCs),
- support action on the ground to contribute to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030
- support the engagement of young people
- address the risks, challenges and opportunities of global megatrends (e.g. increasing demand for natural resources, rapid urbanization, digitalisation) or the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss,
- support a just transition of economies towards decarbonization including fair social change especially for underprivileged groups,
- strengthen networks, knowledge sharing and cooperation of organisations working on climate change and biodiversity related issues,
- develop and promote the use of climate smart technologies,
- contribute to awareness building and education regarding climate change and biodiversity,
- develop and introduce economic incentives favourable for climate and biodiversity,
- Proposals that engage in cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation, involve the local population, and strengthen gender equality in society are encouraged. The project should be embedded within an enabling environment and produce tangible and practical results that can be replicated further.
Funding Information
IKI Small Grants selects project proposals and provides funding between EUR 60,000 and EUR 200,000.
Partner Countries
- Applicants of project proposals must be based and registered in countries that fulfil the criteria for Official Development Assistance (ODA) defined by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Please consult the DAC List of ODA Recipients. Projects must be implemented in countries included in this list. Projects with a global focus will not be funded.
- Please note that proposals for projects in countries that are official or potential candidates for EU membership – Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Northern Macedonia – are no longer eligible for IKI Small Grants as they are addressed by other BMU funding programmes.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Criteria concerning the applicant:
- Applicants must be based and registered in countries that are on the DAC List of ODA Recipients. Please note that proposals from countries that are official or potential candidates for EU membership are no longer eligible for IKI Small Grants.
- Organisations must be operative for at least three years.
- Over the last three years the organisation must have an average annual revenue of at least EUR 60,000 and no more than EUR 500,000.
- The average annual revenue of the last three years should be higher than (or equal to) the requested funding volume.
- Organisations have to be not-for-profit organisations. For-profit non-government organisations are eligible if they pursue strictly non-profit objectives within the scope of their proposed project.
- The applicant must have dedicated accounting staff and have accounting principles that ensure internal as well as external control mechanisms.
- The applicant organisation must employ a software-based accounting system which meets its respective national standards.
For more information, visit https://iki-small-grants.de/current-selection-procedure/