The accreditation process of the Adaptation Fund aims to ensure that the entity follows fiduciary and safeguard standards while accessing financial resources of the Adaptation Fund.
During the Adaptation Fund’s accreditation process, each type of entity will undergo an assessment for accreditation to make sure the entity adheres to sound accreditation standards and implements effective social and environmental safeguards to identify any project risks in advance, prevent any harm and improve the effectiveness and sustainability of results.
The Adaptation Fund’s highly experienced Accreditation Panel of experts conduct a detailed assessment and deliver comprehensive advice and suggestions to help applicants strengthen various aspects of their accreditation standards in order to meet eligibility. The Panel provides a recommendation on accreditation to the Adaptation Fund Board, which determines final approval of the application. The dates of the next meeting of the Accreditation Panel and the deadline to submit an accreditation application for consideration by the Accreditation Panel at this meeting can be found on the events calendar.
Accreditation Process
The following is a step-by-step guide on how an entity can become accredited with the Adaptation Fund:
1. Nomination: An entity that meets the accreditation standards identified and nominated as an implementing entity by a Designated Authority:
- A National Implementing entity (NIE) must be nominated by their respective governments prior to submitting an application for accreditation
- A Regional Implementing Entity (RIE) must receive a letter of support from at least 2 of the countries in which they operate (RIEs typically consist of member countries from a certain region)
- Multilateral Implementing Entities (MIE) are invited by the Board to apply for accreditation and do not require an endorsement letter to submit an application
2. Application: The nominated entity submits an accreditation application and supporting documentation through Adaptation Fund’s Accreditation Workflow online system (access is granted once a nomination letter is received).
3. Screening by the Adaptation Fund Board secretariat: The secretariat screens the application for completeness and requests any missing part of the application.
4. Review by the Accreditation Panel: Once the application is complete it is forwarded to the Accreditation Panel for review. The Panel identifies any questions and potential gaps and communicates directly with the applicant until it is ready to make a final assessment. The Accreditation Panel will provide its final assessment to the Board with a recommendation.
5. Accreditation Panel recommendation: The Adaptation Fund Board approves the recommendation of the Accreditation Panel. All accreditation or non-accreditation decisions are ultimately made by the Adaptation Fund Board based on the Panel’s assessment and recommendation.
Please note: Both the application form and relevant supporting documentation must be submitted in English and in electronic/digital format through the Accreditation Workflow.
Accreditation standards
The Adaptation Fund’s accreditation process is composed of a set of accreditation standards that consist of four broad categories: legal status, financial and management integrity, institutional capacity, and transparency, self-investigation and anti-corruption.
- Legal status: Status to contract with the Adaptation Fund Board
- Financial and management integrity: Accurate recording of transactions, disbursing funds on a timely basis, and audited periodically by an independent firm or organization
- Institutional capacity: Ability to manage procurement procedures, ability to identify, formulate and appraise projects/programmes, competency to manage or oversee the execution of the project/programme, competency to undertake monitoring and evaluation, including monitoring of measures for the management of environmental and social risks
- Transparency, self-investigation, & anti-corruption: Mechanism to monitor and address complaints about environmental or social harms caused by projects
- Compliance with Adaptation Fund’s Gender Policy
Streamlined Accreditation Process
Since its twenty-third meeting in March 2014, the Adaptation Fund Board has continued its consideration of approval for accreditation of smaller National Implementing Entities (NIE) on the basis of a “Streamlined Accreditation Process” (Decision B.23/17). This process is designed to open up possibilities for a smaller NIE to access the resources of the Fund while taking into account the limited capacities of these entities.
The streamlined process officially initiates when the applicant NIE sends the secretariat an official letter of agreement to pursue the streamlined process.
The streamlined process aligns the Fund’s accreditation process further with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) and the Accra Agenda for Action (2008) as well as the Paris Agreement, which emphasizes the importance of efficient access to financial resources through simplified approval procedures and enhanced readiness support for developing country Parties, in particular for the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), in the context of their national climate strategies and plans.
Accreditation Panel
The Adaptation Fund’s highly experienced Accreditation Panel experts have backgrounds and lengthy careers in auditing and evaluating the efficacy of institutions. The experts conduct a detailed assessment and deliver comprehensive advice and suggestions to help applicants strengthen various aspects of their accreditation standards in order to meet eligibility. The Panel thus plays a dual role of both vetting and advising applicants while maintaining confidentiality