Ideas wanted for innovative partnerships
We are always looking for new ideas for partnerships that can catalyse investment in forests and sustainable land use.
If you have an idea for a Forest Partnership, enabling conditions project or a demand-side project, please send it to us through the form available through the following link:
Due to high levels of interest, we cannot provide detailed feedback to proposals that are not selected for further evaluation. Incomplete forms will not be considered.
What we’re looking for
Our main focus is on incubating Forest Partnerships that can catalyse private-sector investment in sustainable land-use. We are looking to help selected partnerships move through the stages required to get to market – from idea development to business planning, to deal negotiation and piloting, and finally to commercial scale-up. We are therefore looking for proposals from partners, or prospective partners, that not only provide details of their project but also explain the specific support they need in order to progress to the next step towards scale-up.
We will support partnerships at different levels of maturity, from those that are only ideas through to projects that have already been piloted and are looking to scale up. However all partnerships should have the potential to deliver impact at scale, either through their own operations or replication elsewhere.
We also support enabling conditions and demand-side measures projects. However there is only a limited budget for these projects and we will prioritise projects that support a specific Forest Partnership or value chain in our portfolio.
We work in Central, East and West Africa, Latin America and South East Asia.
What we offer
Partnerships for Forests provides a combination of grants and technical assistance to help selected partnerships move towards commercial scale up. This funding will be provided based on an agreed set of outputs as well as an agreed time period for delivery. If partnerships succeed in delivering these outputs, or if Partnerships for Forests judges the partnership suitable for further support, the project partners may apply for further funding to reach the next stage of maturity.
Technical assistance will primarily be provided by the implementing partners, Palladium and Systemiq. Partnerships can use grant funding to procure additional technical assistance.
Grants can be used to support a wide range of activities. However expenditure must always be related to advancing a partnership towards the next stage of commercial maturity.
Grants provided will normally range from GBP 10,000 to GBP 1 million for Forest Partnerships. Applicants should provide matched funding of at least 25%.
For further information on how grant funding can be used, our expectations regarding due diligence and other grants guidance, please visit our Resources Page.
Examples for an early stage partnership
Technical assistance for early stage partnerships could include advising on the business case, improving the financial model, supporting organisational design, providing access to data on commodities and identifying and mitigating risks.
Grants for early stage partnerships could include support for setting up organisatons and capacity building, introducing high standards for community consultation or social and environmental impact assessments, and external advisors to facilitate deals between partners.
Examples for a later stage partnership
Technical assistance for later stage partnerships could include advising on strategy, developing the business case for commercial scale-up and making introductions to potential investors.
Grants for partnerships that have already piloted could include grants for expert advice and problem solving teams in order to achieve commercial scale-up, identifying new locations for growth, new monitoring and reporting tools, and new approaches to the management of social and environmental impact.
Eligibility
The following types of organisations can submit a proposal:
- Private-sector company
- Co-operative/trade association
- Civil society or community-based organisation
- Non-governmental organisation
- Research institute
