Deadline: 9-Jan-23
The Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) is delighted to launch its Project Development Grants to support practical improvements to Scottish marine and coastal ecosystems.
Although they anticipate that most applications for enhancement projects will initially focus on salt marsh, seagrass, sand dunes, native oysters, marine birds and cetaceans; they are keen to receive proposals for research to inform a broader range of potential marine and coastal enhancement opportunities across all relevant species and habitats.
SMEEF aims to support a range of restoration activities, examples of restoration, recovery or enhancement could include:
- Habitat improvements, for example, relating to sand dunes, seagrass, saltmarsh and native oyster beds.
- Measures to restore, recover or enhance mobile species for example relating to marine birds or cetaceans.
- Invasive species eradication.
- Other activities, including citizen science, which help to improve their understanding of human pressures on the marine environment, particularly if they are part of a practical restoration project.
Funding Information
- In general the minimum grant is £10,000 although they are willing to discuss lower levels if that is what your project needs.
- The maximum amount is generally £25,000.
- They will hope to fund one exceptional award of up to £100,000. If you feel your project would be suitable please speak to them before submitting your application.
- The number of awards they are able to make will vary depending on the amount they have available in the grant pot.
- To help ensure SMEEF is as effective as possible, applicants are encouraged to work in partnership and they welcome evidence of match funding.
- A maximum of 100% funding is usually available for applications.
Eligible Projects
- SMEEF is a flexible fund that responds to the needs of the marine restoration community in Scotland. In this funding round grant applications to support Project Development such as baseline surveys and feasibility studies associated with practical restoration projects are welcome. Proposals which assess the effectiveness of management actions required to achieve species and habitat recovery are also welcome.
- There is no maximum or minimum physical size of project. They encourage applicants to work at a manageable scale where outcomes can be measured and to consider the strategic fit with other protection and enhancement measures such as the Marine Protected Areas network and national and regional marine planning.
Projects should always:
- Be as collaborative as possible and have a clear engagement plan for involving interested groups,
- Demonstrate clear additionality to existing and already committed actions,
- Be informed by science; driven by knowledge and backed up by monitoring.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following general conditions apply to SMEEF funding:
- They will not normally fund the same project twice. However they can fund a new phase of an ongoing or existing project.
- They cannot pay for activities that have already started.
- The applicant(s) must be based in the UK and all projects must be delivered in Scotland.
- Projects should focus on the marine and coastal environment. The habitats and species at the heart of the project should be reliant on the marine environment as a major part of their nutrient or life cycle.
For more information, visit SMEEF.