Deadline: 4-Jul-23

Applications are now open for the IKI Medium Grants Programme to strengthen the capacities of smaller nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and local actors in developing and emerging countries and is implemented on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Objectives

• Together with partner organisations from ODA -eligible countries of implementation, these organisations implement measures to strengthen North–South cooperation for climate action, adaptation to climate change, and biodiversity conservation.
• The objectives of the IKI Medium Grants are to explore innovative bottom-up approaches to fulfilling the Paris Agreement and the CBD (with the goal of beingtaken up by other non-state actors), to strengthen capacities (of implementing organisations and partners as well as other actors of civil society in the partner countries as knowledge carriers and implementation partners in the climate sector) and to support the global networking of civil society between North and South.
• The programme is thus intended to contribute to the inclusion of the voices of civil society by partner governments in the transformation towards CO2 neutrality as well as to the internationally networked cooperation on climate action, the adaptation to climate change, and biodiversity conservation.
• The IKI is implemented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in close cooperation with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and the Federal Foreign Office (AA).

Object of Funding

• The IKI Medium Grants are aimed at actors of civil society (implementing organisation) who can prove the existence of a permanent business establishment, branch office, or other facility in Germany when the awarded grants are first disbursed. Together with local partner organisations (implementing partners) in selected ODA-eligible countries of implementation, measures to strengthen North–South cooperation for climate action, adaptation to climate change, and biodiversity conservation are to be implemented. The objective of the IKI Medium Grants is explicitly aimed at strengthening these actors of civil society as well as their international network. Specifically, IKI Medium Grants support project activities that address innovative bottom-up contributions to implementing the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Thematic Funding Priorities

• Piloting of sub-national decarbonisation initiatives
  • The path to carbon neutrality in developing and emerging countries cannot be achieved through centrally driven implementation of policies and measures alone. Instead, it also requires interaction with sub-national actors as well as their contributions and solutions in the form of decentralised decarbonisation initiatives.
  • The project ideas under the framework of this funding priority are intended to contribute to climate action (mitigation of greenhouse gases) in multi-level governance systems and in order to localise NDCs. The objectives are to pilot local decarbonisation measures and/or pursue their financing. In addition, sustainable value creation structures are to be initiated. Here, partnerships at the subnational level between civil society, public administration, and relevant networks as a target group are to be fostered or created. The respective technologies and approaches of the piloting/financing should focus on one or more of the following application areas: sustainable energy supply, energy efficiency, sector coupling, and sustainable mobility.
• Innovative pilot projects with smallholders and cooperatives to strengthen deforestation free supply chains
  • The objective of this funding priority is to strengthen local and regional production and marketing structures in order to build capacity for compliance with the new requirements of the EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains, to build capacity for the sustainable, CBD-compliant, and gender responsive production of agricultural commodities without deforestation, and to build bridges between the producers and consumers of sustainably produced agricultural commodities.
  • The projects take specific steps to preventing the loss and degradation of high biodiversity forest ecosystems through deforestation and fires resulting from non-sustainable production chains and to restoring the ecosystem services of forest landscapes (Forest Landscape Restoration, FLR). The projects contribute to the long-term improvement of the living conditions of local communities, permanently dispense the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and climate protection, and promote gender-responsive local development. Pilot projects for the production of agricultural raw materials listed in the EU regulation are tested or strengthened in cooperation with smallholders/cooperatives and implemented in a gender-responsive manner. The cultivation methods and marketing comply with the EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains, and the actors involved are empowered to document the process steps in a transparent manner. A permanent connection to EU sales markets is thus made possible/strengthened, and agricultural commodities are produced under fair conditions for land users.

Funding Approaches

• In addition to the selection of one of the above described thematic funding priorities, this funding announcement pursues the implementation of the following funding approaches. One of the two funding approaches must be selected. The combination of both approaches is also possible as long as it is well justified and it can be plausibly demonstrated how this will support the achievement of the project objectives
  • Implement pilot projects locally
    • In order to raise ambitions for the mitigation of, adaptation to, and protection from climate impacts as well as the conservation and protection of biodiversity, pilot projects with demonstrative character can be funded using this approach. These projects should be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative technologies and concepts and share the resulting knowledge between North and South as well as South and South.
  • Build and expand capacities
    • Funding is provided for suitable and innovative methods and measures to strengthen the expertise and methodological and management skills of key actors of civil society, measures to establish and further develop organisations, and the further development of strategies. Actors of civil society in the countries of implementation should be empowered to initiate dialogue, participation, consultation, and stakeholder processes as well as to strengthen dynamics across all governance levels by building and expanding their networks.

Funding Information

• A funding volume between EUR 300,000 and EUR 800,000 can be granted per project. Work on projects in the funding programme should be completed within 24 to 36 months. Follow-up financing will not be provided.

Eligibility Criteria

• Requirements for the implementing organization
  • Formal requirements for the implementing organisation
    • Funding is available for civil society organisations with a non-profit purpose (non-governmental organisations, associations, foundations, think tanks) and academic institutions (universities and research institutions) as well as non-profit enterprises. These are the contract partners for funding. In the following, they will be referred to as the lead implementing organisation as the initial recipient of grants.
    • Commercial enterprises as well as governmental and intergovernmental actors (e.g. federally owned companies, municipalities, multilateral organisations, and UN organisations) are excluded from funding.
    • The implementing organisation must demonstrate an ideal business unit. The project must be located in the ideal business unit of the organisation. The organisation may not pursue any intents to realise a profit through the implementation of the project. In addition, the implementing organisation must be able to plan measures in a qualified manner, implement them efficiently, monitor them, and account for them on an expenditure basis.
  • Technical requirements for the implementing organisation
    • The implementing organisation must demonstrate three years of experience in international cooperation through the attached reference projects as well as three years of experience in the selected thematic funding area.
  • Requirements for the implementing partners
    • The IKI Medium Grants funding programme aims to strongly anchor project implementation locally. This is to be achieved through intensive cooperation with local implementing organisations from the country of implementation/region of implementation.
  • Formal requirements for the implementing partners
    • Up to two implementing partners are appointed to implement the project together with the implementing organisation.
    • Partnership with one partner organisation – the implementing partner organisation is based in one of the selected countries of implementation.
  • Partnership with two local partner organisations – If the project is to be implemented in one country of implementation, at least one implementing partner should be based in the selected country of implementation.
  • The designated partner organisation(s) are to pursue a non-profit purpose according to their object of organisation. The creditworthiness of the partner organisation(s) must be checked by the lead implementing organisation.
  • Technical requirements for the implementing partners
    • The implementing partner can demonstrate three years of experience in the selected thematic funding priority by means of the attached reference projects.

For more information, visit IKI.