Call for Grants to support NIE accreditation

Instructions for applying for South-South Cooperation (SSC) grants

The Adaptation Fund Readiness Programme for Climate Finance includes a component aimed at increasing South-South cooperation among accredited National Implementing Entities (NIEs) and those seeking accreditation. Under this activity, developing countries that do not yet have an accredited NIE may receive support from an accredited NIE in one or more of the following areas:

• identifying potential NIE candidates;
• assisting NIE candidates in the preparation of applications to be submitted to the Fund;
• providing support and advice during the application process.

It is expected that such peer support will effectively help build national capacity and sustainability.

Eligibility and selection criteria

NIEs eligible to provide support will be those entities that have tangible achievements with the Fund and have advanced significantly with their projects. Eligibility is based on the entity’s experience with the Adaptation Fund, including in project preparation and implementation and in supporting other countries at different stages of their application processes.

For an NIE to be eligible to provide peer support for accreditation using the South-South cooperation grant, it must meet all of the below criteria. The NIE:

1. Must be an accredited national implementing entity of the Adaptation Fund;
2. Must have experience implementing an Adaptation Fund project or programme, hence demonstrating effective compliance with the Fund’s fiduciary standards, operational policies and guidelines; and
3. Must have experience advising, participating in, or organizing support to other NIEs.

The Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat (the secretariat) will assess fulfilment of the requirements for criteria 1 and 2 before the accredited NIE can be listed on the Adaptation Fund website as an eligible entity for peer support using South-South cooperation grants. Following the submission of a proposal for a South-South cooperation grant by an eligible NIE, the Secretariat will assess criteria 3.

Demonstration of experience participating in, organizing support to, or advising other NIE

In completing the grant application, accredited NIEs should describe their experience participating in, organizing support to, or advising other NIEs, entities or governments on matters relevant to accreditation or capacity building to receive climate finance for adaptation projects and programmes, and should specify the outcomes of such support.

Types of support the accredited NIE may refer to includes providing advice to governments or effective in-country support to access climate finance, support in the identification of potential NIE candidates, or support of an NIE candidate in preparing an application for accreditation.

Description of activities

When completing the grant application, and in consultation with the recipient country(ies), accredited NIEs should describe the activities to be undertaken to support the accreditation of NIE candidate(s) in the target country(ies) and provide the estimated budget to implement such activities. The recipient country(ies) may be those the NIE is already supporting but that have not yet accessed the Adaptation Fund South-South cooperation grant. The maximum amount of grant is US$ 50,000 per NIE candidate/recipient country. 

The types of activities that may be funded include:

• Support for the identification of an NIE candidate within an applicant country. This includes stakeholder engagement, organization of workshops, facilitation of meetings and advising the relevant focal points within the country for the final selection of an NIE candidate. Applicants can also develop and/or apply decision-making tools for the selection of such entities.
• In-country support 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.
• In consultation with the recipient country or NIE candidate, at the time of submission of the application, the accredited NIE may set aside a small portion of the grant to provide in-country or remote support to an NIE candidate to navigate, address and respond to feedback provided by the Accreditation Panel to the NIE candidate during assessment of the NIE candidate application for accreditation.
• Organization of “regional” consultations/workshops to assist in the preparation of NIE candidate applications from several already-identified candidate institutions or potential candidates from countries in the geographic region of the accredited NIE can be supported through the organization of a workshop in the accredited NIE’s country, to help them put in place an application for NIE accreditation. The costs incurred include travel and accommodation costs for the participants and workshop costs.

Record of request for support on behalf of the government

When submitting the grant application(s), accredited NIE applicants should provide a letter on behalf of the government that is requesting support for accreditation, duly signed by the requesting country’s Designated Authority of the Adaptation Fund.

Deadline for submission of request

The 2020 application window for South-South Cooperation (SSC) grants is now closed. Please consult this page for when the call for proposals for 2021 open.

 Implementation arrangements

The accredited NIE will be responsible for implementation of the grant and management of all aspects of procurement, including financial and non-financial reporting. The Secretariat will review the applications taking into account the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposal and submit a recommendation to the Project and Programme Review Committee (PPRC) for approval of funding intersessionally by the Adaptation Fund Board.

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