Instructions for Developing Country / NIE Candidate to Participate in Pilot Phase of Readiness Support Package

The Adaptation Fund Readiness Programme for Climate Finance (the Readiness Programme) was launched in May 2014 and aims to increase the capacity of developing country Parties to directly access climate adaptation finance and to enhance their overall capacity to develop and initiate implementation of concrete projects and programmes that increase the resilience of vulnerable communities to the impacts of climate change.

Specifically, its main objectives are;

a) to increase the preparedness of applicant national implementing entities seeking accreditation by the Adaptation Fund, and
b) to increase the number of high quality project/programme proposals submitted to the Board after accreditation

At its twenty-ninth meeting, the Adaptation Fund Board (the Board) approved as part of the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat (the secretariat) work plan for Financial Year 2018, a pilot readiness support package (the readiness package) to support developing country entities’ accreditation to the Adaptation Fund (the Fund) through Direct Access. The readiness package is aimed at providing tailored technical support to developing countries through an intermediary, using multiple tools simultaneously, to support and facilitate acceleration of the accreditation process with the Fund. The readiness package would provide targeted and tailored support to address specific gap areas identified by entities seeking accreditation with the Fund as requiring further assistance and capacity support beyond the support already available through the Readiness Programme.

The Pilot Phase

The pilot phase of the readiness package will run for a period of 12 months during which the secretariat would work with the intermediary to deliver tools to the developing countries/ national implementing entity (NIE) candidates seeking accreditation with the Fund, and provide capacity building support on the Fund’s accreditation process and criteria to be identified by experts that would be contracted and managed wholly by the intermediary, through “training of trainers”. The results of the pilot phase would be submitted to the Board for its consideration. It is expected that positive results from the pilot phase would provide strong signals for the growth and continuation of the readiness package.

How It Works

The pilot phase of the readiness package involves various actors engaged at different levels of operation as follows:

The Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat: The secretariat will play an oversight role and provide guidance on structural matters regarding the readiness support package as a whole and may develop additional tools and guidance material on the Fund’s accreditation criteria and process.

The intermediary: The role of the intermediary will be to implement the project. This includes submitting the proposal for the readiness package grant to the Adaptation Fund Board on behalf of the entities seeking accreditation and managing the grant upon its approval by the Board.

Developing countries/NIE candidates seeking accreditation with the Fund: The readiness package strongly follows a country driven and demand driven approach. Developing countries and entities seeking accreditation with the Fund that receive support through the readiness package would be expected to drive the process of their accreditation and demonstrate commitment to going through the accreditation process to achieve direct access through the Fund.

Eligibility

Developing countries / NIE candidates that are seeking accreditation with the Fund may be eligible to participate in the pilot phase of the readiness package and receive accreditation support through an intermediary. Eligible NIE candidates would need to meet the following criteria:

1.  The NIE candidate must be located in a developing country Party to the Kyoto Protocol that does not have an accredited national implementing entity (NIE) of the Fund.
2. The developing country of the NIE candidate must have a Designated Authority (DA) to the Adaptation Fund.
3. The NIE candidate must submit a letter of endorsement by its DA together with the expression of interest to receive accreditation support through the readiness package.
4. The NIE candidate must have received log-on credentials from the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat to access the accreditation workflow portal of the Fund.
5. The NIE candidate must not yet be under review by the accreditation panel of the Fund.

Selection Criteria

The process to participate in the pilot phase of the readiness package by the developing country/NIE candidate seeking accreditation with the Fund will take place in three stages.

1. First the developing country/NIE candidate would submit an expression of interest to the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat using the template available here. The expression of interest must be submitted together with a letter of endorsement by the Designated Authority.
2. Following consideration of the expression of interest jointly by the secretariat and intermediary, selected NIE candidates would work with the intermediary to put together a grant proposal for submission to the Adaptation Fund Board.
3. Following the submission of a proposal by the intermediary for the readiness package grant to support the select developing countries/NIE candidates, the secretariat would assess fulfilment of the requirements for eligibility before the proposal can be considered by the Board. The secretariat would screen the proposal for consistency and provide a technical review. It would then forward the proposal and technical review to the Project and Programme Review Committee (PPRC) for its consideration. The PPRC would be invited to consider and review the proposal and technical review by the secretariat and make a recommendation to the Board. The Board would then be invited to make a decision on the readiness package grant proposal intersessionally between its 31st and 32nd meetings. Upon approval of the grant proposal by the Board, the developing countries/NIE candidates would begin receiving accreditation support from the intermediary.

Description of Activities

NIE candidates seeking accreditation with support from the readiness package must, in consultation with the intermediary provide input into the grant proposal, and in consultation with the intermediary, should describe the activities to be undertaken to support the accreditation of the NIE candidate in the developing country. The maximum amount of grant available for the pilot phase of the readiness package is US$ 100,000.

The types of activities that may be funded include:

• In-country support by the intermediary to an NIE candidate for the preparation of an application for accreditation. This includes travel of NIE staff to the candidate country and on-site support.
• Technical support through experts to develop and/or put in place policies, procedures and other institutional arrangements to support the accreditation process with the Fund. Whilst the experts could provide support for the development of policies, procedures and institutional arrangements for accreditation, it is the responsibility of the NIE candidate to demonstrate how such policies, procedures and institutional arrangements have been applied in order to meet the accreditation requirements.
• Organization of “regional” consultations/workshops to assist in the preparation of applications for accreditations from several NIE candidates. The costs set aside in this case could include travel and accommodation costs for the participants and other workshop related costs.
• Following consultations between the NIE candidate and intermediary, at the time of submission of the grant proposal, a small portion of the grant may be set aside to provide further in-country or remote support to address and respond to feedback provided by the Accreditation Panel during assessment of the NIE candidate application for accreditation.

Implementation Arrangements

Upon approval of the grant proposal by the Board, the NIE candidate would be expected to drive the process of its accreditation and to work with the intermediary to put in place the necessary institutional arrangements, policies, procedures and capacities to adequately meet the requirements of the Fund’s accreditation criteria and process. This includes making the necessary management decisions, inter-departmental/organizational coordination, and availing the necessary human and financial resources to actively drive the accreditation process within the entity. The NIE candidate will be responsible for submitting its own complete application for accreditation to the Board and will ultimately be responsible for the application process.

Deadline for Submission of Request

Developing countries and NIE candidates interested in participating in the pilot phase of the readiness package should submit their expressions of interest to the secretariat no later than 13 April 2018. The letters should be sent to afbsec@adaptation-fund.org and carbon copy fmadziwa@adaptation-fund.org. Please see the list of attachments on the bottom of the page for the template for expression of interest and the template for the letter of endorsement by the DA.

Please note: The support provided through the readiness package is aimed at providing tailored technical support to developing countries through an intermediary, to support and facilitate acceleration of the accreditation process with the Fund. Each submitted accreditation application will be reviewed and assessed in accordance with the accreditation criteria described in the operational policies and guidelines of the Adaptation Fund.

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