Call for Grants to support NIE capacity to assess, mainstream and manage gender related issues in projects and programmes in line with the Fund’s Gender Policy

Instructions for applying for the Technical Assistance Grant for the Gender Policy (TA-GP)

The Adaptation Fund launched the Readiness Programme for Climate Finance in 2014 to support readiness for direct access to climate finance. In March 2016, the Adaptation Fund Board approved the Fund’s Gender Policy which ensures that equal rights, responsibilities, opportunities for women and men, and equal consideration of their respective interests, vulnerabilities, needs and priorities, are considered during the project cycle. The Readiness Programme includes a component aimed at strengthening the capacity of accredited National Implementing Entities (NIEs) to identify, assess, mainstream and manage gender related issues as they design, implement and effectively manage concrete adaptation projects and programmes in communities that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

As part of this effort, the Adaptation Fund Board is inviting accredited NIEs that have not previously received a Technical Assistance grant for the Gender Policy (TA-GP) or a Technical Assistance grant for the Environmental and Social Policy (TA-ESGP) to apply for a TA-GP to facilitate gender mainstreaming and the updating of their existing policies and procedures in line with the Fund’s Gender Policy (GP).  The grant is expected to enable NIEs to ensure that projects and programmes provide women and men with an equal opportunity to build resilience, address their differentiated vulnerabilities and increase their capability to adapt to climate change impacts in line with the Fund’s GP. Through the grant, NIEs would be able to tap into external expertise through short-term consultancies.

The Fund’s GP serves as the framework for supporting the equal opportunity for men and women to access and benefit from the Fund’s resources in order to increase their adaptive capacity and reduce their vulnerability to climate change impacts. The GP systematically integrates key principles elaborated in the Fund’s Environmental and Social Policy (ESP) and expands the principle of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The TA-GP is meant to support, among other areas, the following types of activities within the NIE:

• Updating existing procedures/manuals/guidelines for screening projects for environmental and social risks with measures to avoid, minimize and/or mitigate adverse gender impacts in line with the Adaptation Fund’s Gender Policy
• Developing procedures for undertaking gender assessments to determine the different needs, capabilities, roles and knowledge resources of women and men and to identify how changing gender dynamics might drive lasting change. These could be integrated with the procedures for undertaking project environmental and socioeconomic assessments
• Developing policies/avenues for public disclosure and consultation that are gender responsive
• Developing transparent, accessible, fair and effective mechanisms for receiving and addressing complaints related to gender inequalities and other adverse gender impacts caused by adaptation projects and programmes
• Training of select entity staff to carry out the relevant tasks related to the entity’s institutional framework for gender mainstreaming

If the grant is approved, the NIE will be responsible for sourcing and recruiting the consultant(s) directly.

Record of request for support on behalf of the government

When submitting the grant proposal, accredited NIE applicants should provide a letter of endorsement in support of the proposal, duly signed by the country’s Designated Authority of the Adaptation Fund.

Implementation arrangements

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

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