LLA Regional Projects/Programmes

Through Decision B.44/40 the Adaptation Fund Board decided to approve the operational policy of the regional funding window for locally led adaptation (LLA) as per document AFB/PPRC.35/9/Rev.1.

The funding available through the regional LLA window is up to US$ 30 million per project/programme as per decision B.44/4. The funding window does not count against the cap of funding for each country that was established by the Board at its forty-fourth meeting in 2025 which is currently set at US $40 million per country.

Call for Proposals

The AFB invites eligible Parties to the Paris Agreement and/or the Kyoto Protocol to submit proposals for Regional LLA grants. The grants are available to accredited regional implementing entities (RIEs) and multilateral implementing entities (MIEs) of the Adaptation Fund. Proposals may be submitted using the one-step (submission of a fully developed proposal only) or two-step (submission of a concept first, followed by submission of a fully developed proposal) or three-step (submission of a pre-concept note first, followed by a concept note and, lastly, a fully developed proposal)  project approval process. LLA regional proposals will be considered under the Fund’s regular review cycle and approval process for concrete projects and programmes.

Objectives

The objective of the Regional LLA Funding Window under the Fund is to empower developing country recipients of international climate finance beyond what can be achieved through the Direct Access modality alone, by devolving decision-making in the programming of internationally allocated funds to the national and sub-national levels. This means that the screening, review and selection of projects would be done at the national and sub-national level with stronger stakeholder engagement in the decision-making on proposed resilience initiatives and their financing at those levels. Regional cooperation offers significant added value for achieving adaptation outcomes. Furthermore, regional LLA initiatives can drive efficiencies through scaling-up, mainstreaming LLA into national and regional policies, knowledge sharing, and strengthening of institutional and financial frameworks for locally-led climate action.

Project Formulation Grant (PFG) Support

Consistent with decision B.42/37, paragraphs (c) and (d)(i)-(ii), the PFG size limit for regional LLA projects of US$ 5,000,000 and above, and for three countries, is set at up to US$ 265,000; and this limit increases by US$ 15,000 for each additional country involved, up to a maximum of US$ 350,000. This is specifically due to paragraph (c) of decision B.42/37, which states that additional funding could be provided on a case-by-case basis for locally-led adaptation projects up to a maximum of US$ 100,000.

In order to enable the local actors to design the project from the start, regional LLA proposals could be submitted following a three-step submission process, with the possibility to submit a pre-concept. The maximum amount of PFG that can be requested at the pre-concept stage is twenty percent (20%) of the full maximum total PFG applicable to the project. The full maximum amount of PFG would be available for proposals that bypassed the optional pre-concept stage.

Applying for PFG grants

The  updated template for a Request for Project Formulation Grant (PFG) is also available under Project Proposal Materials.

Eligibility

RIEs and MIEs applying for Regional LLA grants must have an accreditation status of “Accredited” with the AF.

How it works

At its forty-fourth meeting the AFB set a funding envelope of US$ 30 million for funding regional LLA programmes, including the funding of project formulation grant requests between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026 (AFB Decision B.44/41) which will be reviewed on an annual basis. If the total amount of requested funding by RIEs and MIEs through the Regional LLA modality goes beyond the provisioned funding envelope during a fiscal year, the proposals submitted by those entities and recommended for approval would be placed in a pipeline for consideration in the next funding envelope.

The submission, review and approval process for Regional LLA grants will follow a similar process to that which applies to regular regional concrete adaptation projects and programmes under the Fund. Proposal submission timelines with respect to Board meetings review cycles are similar to those of regular concrete projects and programmes and will be posted on the AF website.

How to Apply

To apply for a Regional LLA  grant, please find below the application form, letter of endorsement template, and instruction manual on how to complete the project proposal template. The LLA grant application form must be submitted together with a signed letter of endorsement by the Designated Authority (DA) to the Adaptation Fund of all participating countries. Additional project proposal material to consider can be found in Annexes 1-3 here.

The length of the proposal should not exceed 6 pages for the project/programme pre-concept,  50 pages for the project/programme concept including its annexes, and 100 pages for the fully developed project document and 100 pages for its annexes.

Kindly e-mail your proposal submissions to the Adaptation Fund Board secretariat through the following email addresses: submissions@adaptation-fund.org with copy to sdobardzic@adaptation-fund.org , agomes3@adaptation-fund.org and nmauricegeorge@adaptation-fund.org

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