Instructions for NIEs to Apply for the Role of Intermediary in the Pilot Phase of the 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 process of obtaining accredited 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 identified 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/entities 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

NIEs eligible to provide support as an intermediary 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 providing capacity building and support for accreditation through the Fund’s South-South cooperation grants, including experience in project preparation and implementation.
For an NIE to be eligible to provide intermediary services for accreditation using the readiness support package, it must meet all of the below criteria.

The NIE:

1. 1. Must currently have an “active accreditation” status with the Adaptation Fund;
   2. Must be listed on the Adaptation Fund website as an eligible NIE that could provide peer support for accreditation through South-South Cooperation grants
   3. Must have experience implementing a readiness project approved by the Adaptation Fund Board (either in the past or currently) through a South-South cooperation grant.
   4. Must have experience implementing a concrete Adaptation Fund project or programme, hence demonstrating effective compliance with the Fund’s fiduciary standards, operational policies and guidelines; and
   5. Must have experience advising, participating in, or organizing support to applicant NIEs.

Selection Criteria

The process to participate as intermediary in the pilot phase of the readiness package as will take place in three stages.

1. First the accredited NIE would submit an expression of interest to the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat to act as intermediary using the template available here.
2. Following consideration of the expression of interest and selection of the intermediary for the pilot phase of the readiness package by the secretariat, the accredited NIE would work together with the designated authority (DA) of the developing country(ies) seeking accreditation with the Fund to identify and support an NIE candidate navigate the accreditation process. The DA’s role is critical in helping the government through a consultative process identify and select an appropriate entity within the country which meets the accreditation requirements. The accredited NIE should also work with the countries/NIE candidates that would receive the support when putting together a grant proposal for submission to the Adaptation Fund Board through the secretariat. All applications for accreditation of an NIE candidate should be endorsed by the DA of the NIE candidate country.
3. Following the submission of the proposal by the accredited NIE to receive the readiness package grant to support the developing countries/NIE candidates seeking accreditation with the Fund, 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 accredited NIE would execute the readiness package as intermediary.

Description of Activities

The intermediary must, in consultation with developing countries / NIE candidates seeking accreditation with the Fund, describe the activities to be undertaken to support the accreditation of an NIE candidate. 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 intermediary and NIE candidate, 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.

Record of Request for Support on behalf of the Government

When submitting the readiness package proposal, the intermediary should provide a letter on behalf of the governments that are requesting support for accreditation, duly signed by the requesting countries’ Designated Authorities for the Adaptation Fund. Please find a template for the endorsement letter on the bottom of the page.

Implementation Arrangements

The intermediary will be responsible for implementation of the readiness package grant and management of all aspects of procurement, financial and non-financial reporting, including submission of a final evaluation report to the secretariat. Upon approval of the grant proposal by the Board, the intermediary would execute the readiness package and deliver on-the-ground support and technical assistance to selected NIE candidates seeking accreditation with the Fund. The intermediary would manage the day to day activities of delivering capacity and technical support for NIE candidates to navigate the accreditation process. This includes among other things, procurement, contracting and management of experts/consultants and the delivery of specific outputs and products as agreed together with the secretariat.

Deadline for Submission of Request

Accredited NIEs of the Fund interested in participating as intermediary 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.

Attachments