Call for proposals by IKI Small Grants

The IKI Small Grants programme supports projects and organisations worldwide that tackle climate change, address local adaptation, and conserve forests and biodiversity. Get to know the programme, learn about funding opportunities, and get inspired by good approaches from IKI Small Grants projects.

IKI Small Grants is happy to announce that the third call for proposals by IKI Small Grants is open from 15^th December 2021 to 15^th April 2022.

CURRENT SELECTION PROCEDURE – CALL 2022A

In a one-stage selection procedure, small regional, national and local organisations based in an ODA-eligible country can apply directly for funding of the implementation of local or regional climate and biodiversity projects. IKI Small Grants selects project proposals and provides funding between EUR 60,000 and EUR 200,000.

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 please take at look at the following sections and our Funding Information.

Before you apply, please make sure that you have checked the eligibility criteria carefully. We can only consider project proposals of organisations that meet all the Before you apply, please make sure that you have checked the eligibility
criteria and that you have read the complete funding information and application guideline (available for download in the section “Documents and Guidelines – How to apply?”). We can only consider project proposals of organisations that meet all the criteria.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Eligibility criteria – Who can apply?

Please find below our eligibility criteria. We can only consider project proposals of organisations that meet all the 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.

Eligibility Criteria concerning the project:

Project proposals must clearly address one of the IKI funding areas:
- Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions
- Adapting to the impacts of climate change
- Conserving natural carbon sinks / REDD+
- Conserving biological diversity
The duration of the proposed projects should cover a minimum of twelve months and a maximum of two years. Longer durations may be acceptable if justified appropriately.
Projects must be implemented on a local, national, or regional level. Projects with a global focus cannot be funded.
Projects must be implemented by the applicant organisation itself. Forwarding funds to other implementing partners cannot be processed.
The project proposal must be submitted in English.

IMPORTANT: Documents and Guidelines – How to apply?

In the following Links you can find all important guidelines and documents for the current call.

Funding Information 2022(PDF, English, 169 KB)
Application Guidelines 2022(PDF, English, 609 KB)

In the following links you will find the templates for the current call. All these templates are mandatory and must be submitted with an application.

Budget Template 2022(Excel, English, 644 KB)
GANTT Chart Template 2022(Excel, English, 27 KB)
Travel Allowances Template 2022(PDF, English, 165 KB)

Please note that you must use the latest IKI Small Grants Excel templates linked above to apply (we do not accept other templates).

Conceptional priorities

As mentioned in the eligibility criteria, the projects must address one of the four funding areas Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, Adapting to the impacts of climate change, Conserving natural carbon sinks / REDD+ or Conserving biological diversity. Additionally, we 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
the engagement of young people (age 15-30)
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.

Please also check chapter 6 in the funding information on page 4-5.

Tipps and advice

Before submitting your application, please make sure to doublecheck on all selection criteria for projects. We expect a high number of project proposals and only a limited number can be selected in each call for proposals (approximately 30-40 per year).

Your application should:

contain an operational plan including indicators and a detailed budget plan demonstrating how the funding will be used
adhere to the environmental and social safeguards system applied in this programme (for detailed information have a look at chapter 8 in our application guidelines)
contain a well-designed capacity development package, which plays an important role in the evaluation and selection of project proposals. (for detailed information have a look at chapter 10 in our application guidelines)
involve the local population and strengthen gender equality in society. The project should be embedded within an enabling environment and produce tangible and practical results that can be replicated further.
use all templates provided on the application platform and not change their formatting when filling them out (all macros and formulas should remain in the original)

Quality assurance before handing in your application:

Doublecheck on the quality of the project concept and its ambition
- Guiding Questions:
  Is all information provided comprehensible (also for people who do not know your local/regional conditions)? Is the effectiveness of the project idea clear? Are the choice of appropriate methods, the feasibility regarding the project duration and the budget well reflected in the application?
Doublecheck on the qualification of the implementing organisation
- Guiding Questions:
  Is my organisation´s professional expertise and experience presented? Did I describe networking activities with relevant stakeholders? Is my organisation in accordance with the IKI Small Grants target group (eligibility criteria)? Does the application clearly describe the organisation´s accounting guidelines?
Doublecheck on the project risks and safeguards
- Guiding Questions:
  Does my application asses on relevant risks/safeguards and appropriate mitigating measures? Does my application reflect on the likelihood of the project implementation being jeopardized and on all relevant safeguard dimensions?
Doublecheck on the sustainability and replicability chapter
- Guiding Questions:
  Did I provide information about continuation of activities after the project ends? Does my application clearly outline how to embed my project in existing national or regional strategies? Did I reflect on the project´s replicability in other contexts?
Doublecheck if the provided templates by IKI Small Grants are used and no changes on the templates have been done

As a take-away, please find here a downloadable one-pager, that provides you with further tips and a checklist to successfully complete your application:

Application Checklist(PDF, English, 70 KB)

FAQ

The FAQs only present a quick overview. For comprehensive details on the funding criteria please carefully read the IKI Small Grants funding information and the application guidelines provided on this website. Also, the recording of last year’s IKI Small Grants Launch Event may offer further interesting insights. Click here to see the video.

A: Which organisations are eligible for funding?

For detailed information regarding the eligibility criteria please have a look at the boxes above and the funding information.

In the current call for proposals IKI Small Grants does not support:
- government organisations (e.g. ministries, municipalities, public universities)
- branches of organisations based in a non-ODA country or inside of Europe
- consortia: consortia are not eligible as this would imply the forwarding of project funds from the lead organisation to partners in the consortia. The forwarding of funds is not permitted.
- Research projects will not be financed unless they have a strong implementation component. This means that basic research projects concentrating mainly on data collection, evaluation, and publications are not eligible as such. However, a project that has its main focus on addressing the needs of target groups and through this achieving substantial changes in the IKI Small Grants’ funding areas, is welcome to carry out project related research as a side activity.

B: When can I expect a first contact from IKI Small Grants?

After the call is closed, the submitted proposals will undergo a thorough selection process and will be treated with the upmost care and attention. This process might take several months. As soon as the selection has been finalised, all submitting organisations will be informed.

In the meantime, please do refrain from inquiries about the status of your proposal.

C: Can I hand in an application in a language other than English?

Applications have to be submitted in English. Pease bear in mind that all communication after the submission of your application will be in English, too. IKI Small Grants works with organisations from many countries with a wide range of languages. Perfect English language skills are not required, however, good working English from at least one person in the project team is essential for effective cooperation. You are welcome to seek assistance in proposal writing from third parties including professional translation and/or online translation tools.

Application

The button below will take you directly to the application platform. To acess the IKI Small Grants application form, a valid account for the platform is required. You can either register for a new account or, in case you have already created one, you can log in directly. Subsequently, a selection of funding calls will open. Please select “IKI Small Grants 2022A” and continue by creating a new project.

If you have additional questions or concerns regarding the application process, please contact iki-small-grants(at)giz.de.