Call for proposals: Climate adaptation financing for local governments – landscape, mechanisms, and governance implications

Open call for proposals for a practitioner-oriented report on the availability of climate finance mechanisms for local governments and its connection to the quality of local democracy.

Background:

Local governments are crucial in the frontline response to challenges caused by climate change. However, financing adaptations measures often exceeds the capacity of local budgets and most loans and grants target national level governments. Exploring alternative financing mechanisms and understanding their requirements for democratic, transparent and effective governance is critical for enhancing local government response capabilities to climate change.

ICLD works with local governments in Eastern and Southern Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe to build capacity for democratic local governance through four core values: equity, participation, transparency and accountability. The commissioned research is intended to support all the local governments in leveraging this work to access means to upscale efforts toward just, sustainable and effective climate adaptation.

Objective:

To identify and analyze financing mechanisms available to local governments for climate adaptation projects or measures, and to evaluate the democratic governance requirements associated with these mechanisms. The purpose is to equip local governments with necessary knowledge to increase their likehood of being eligible for external funding of climate adaptation initiatives.

Scope:

Identification of Financing Mechanisms: Explore international, national, and private sector financing options accessible to local governments for climate adaptation, including multilateral and bilateral streams. Analyze case studies where these financing mechanisms have been successfully implemented.

Governance Implications: Examine the requirements for transparency, accountability, attention to marginalised groups, and public participation in accessing these funds. Discuss the role of local democracy and the capacities needed in local governments in receiving and managing these funds.

Challenges and Opportunities: Identify common challenges local governments face in accessing these funds. Propose strategies to overcome these challenges.

Policy Recommendations: Provide actionable recommendations for policy makers to facilitate access to and management of these financing mechanisms.

Deliverables:

1. A comprehensive report detailing the findings and analyses in a digestible format for a policy audience.
2. A summary of recommendations for local governments and for ICLD respectively.
3. A presentation to stakeholders summarizing key insights and recommendations.

Timeline:

4 months from signing the contract to submission of a full draft ready for peer review. An estimate of another 3 months for revisions, publishing and dissemination activities.

Budget:

70.000 SEK, including a maximum of 20 % overhead.

Applicants can apply as individual consultants with the possibility to send invoices, or represented by a research institution who channels the funds.

How to apply

The research team should submit a proposal using ICLD’s system SBS Manager. ICLD encourages the collaboration with researchers from its scholarly network and MoU institutions.

The portal requires an account to be made by the main applicant. The account and portal will also be used for contract writing, reporting and other administration around the grant. Make sure to start the application procedure well in advance of the deadline, to leave room for any unclarities and need for support.

In the application you must attach:

• Proposal using this Research proposal template.docx. ICLD will take into account that this report is to be policy-relevant rather than primarily of academic interest. 
• CV
• Invoicing information

Deadline for application: June 24^th, 2024 (23:59 CEST)

For questions around this call, please reach out to clara.orstadius@icld.se