If you have a query regarding the REDAA programme, please review the frequently asked questions listed below and refer to the REDAA Strategy. If you are unable to resolve your query after reading these resources, please contact enquiries@redaa.org.
This page will be regularly updated as new enquiries are received.
- What is the REDAA programme?
- What work will REDAA fund?
- When will applications open?
- What size grants will be available?
- Who is eligible for REDAA funding?
- How can I apply for a grant?
- Where can REDAA initiatives take place?
- How does REDAA define locally led?
- How does REDAA define research-to-action?
- Is there a matched funding requirement for REDAA grants?
- Within a project budget, what is the allowed overhead / indirect cost rate?
- Can an applicant submit multiple applications to the same REDAA grant call?
- Can an applicant apply to more than one REDAA grant call?
- Is it possible to submit applications in a language other than English?
What is the REDAA programme?
Reversing Environmental Degradation in Africa and Asia (REDAA) is a programme that catalyses research, innovation and action in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia, by offering grants and technical support. Running until 2029, REDAA funds work that is locally led and helps both people and nature to thrive.
REDAA is funded by UK International Development from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and managed by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
There will be several grant calls over the course of the programme, aiming to fund research that fills gaps identified through consultations in each region. Each grant call will make clear what kind of grants are available and what kind of projects the call is seeking to fund.
What work will REDAA fund?
REDAA supports locally led research-to-action initiatives, where the main partner is a non-profit organisation with effective systems for supporting Indigenous Peoples’ and communities’ efforts to improve their evidence, tools, civic space and governance powers in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or Southeast Asia. All REDAA-funded initiatives address gender equality and social inclusion, climate resilience and action for nature, and each is focused on one or more of the following main thematic priorities:
- Local research and capability for research
- Resource and land use assessments
- Business models
- Financing mechanisms
- Inclusive governance systems
REDAA aims to support initiatives that optimise the potential and avoid the pitfalls of new technologies — telecommunications and artificial intelligence in particular — where relevant, in pursuing these priorities.
Individual grant calls may put a particular emphasis on a different subset of the above five priorities as the programme learns from experience and aims to achieve an appropriate balance of types of initiative supported. Where appropriate, this will be detailed in the Guidance for Applicants document for the relevant grant call.
Please refer to the REDAA strategy for more information.
When will applications open?
Grant Call 1 was open for Concept Notes from June to July 2023. This call offered 'Project Grants' of £200,000 - £500,000 for initiatives lasting two to four years. 48 applicants went on to submit Full Proposals and, of these, 21 Project Grants were awarded. You can read more about the projects here.
Grant Call 2 'Scaling up locally led restoration' is open for Concept Notes from 13 May to 30 June 2024. This call introduces larger-sized 'Programme Grants' of £1,000,000 - £1,500,000 lasting four years.
There will be several additional grant calls over the course of the programme, to be announced at later dates.
What size grants will be available?
There will be several grant calls over the course of the programme, aiming to fund research that fills gaps identified through consultations in each region. Each grant call will make clear what kind of grants are available and what kind of projects the call is seeking to fund.
REDAA may offer three types of grants:
• Catalytic Grants: these relatively small-scale grants will help organisations take up opportunities arising from existing evidence, tools or resources. Catalytic Grants last for 6 to 12 months, and their budget is between £50,000 and £100,000. Catalytic Grants might lead to improved decision-making using a tool, or further design and development of an innovation, or they might develop more effective organisational power. They could also build new partnerships or capabilities to prepare for future REDAA Project Grants. These grants will be awarded through dedicated grant rounds. REDAA currently plans to issue the first call for Catalytic Grants in 2025, with another one or two rounds likely between 2026-2028. Each grant round is likely to fund between 6 and 12 proposals. The application process is likely to require a single-stage proposal.
• Project Grants: these are medium-scale grants in REDAA terms, for running a research-to-action project over two to four years with a budget of between £200,000 and £500,000. The first round of Project Grants was open for Concept Notes from 14 June - 31 July 2023 and funding was awarded via a two-stage proposal process: stage one Concept Notes, followed by stage two Full Proposals. At least one further round of Project Grants will likely be issued in subsequent years of REDAA.
• Programme Grants: these are large-scale grants in REDAA terms, for running a programme of research-to-action over four years with a budget of between £1,000,000 and £1,500,000. REDAA launched the first round of Programme Grants in May 2024. It is unlikely REDAA will have any further Programme Grant rounds.
Who is eligible for REDAA funding?
REDAA aims to support organisations that have proven effective systems for supporting the actions of local communities and Indigenous Peoples in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or Southeast Asia.
Lead Organisations
Lead Organisations must be able to demonstrate that they are:
• A non-profit organisation, which may be a non-governmental organisation, research institution or community-based organisation that is a legally registered entity
• Experienced in the kind of work they propose to undertake
• Financially sound
• Staffed with the appropriate technical and financial capacity and expertise to manage and implement projects successfully and deliver technical and financial reporting.
Lead Organisations based within one of the three focal regions (sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or Southeast Asia) will be prioritised for funding. A minority of projects with a Lead Organisation based outside the region or country of focus may be considered for funding if the proposals provide a strong rationale for why the organisation is not in the region, as well as demonstrating strong partnerships with locally led organisations. Lead Organisations must provide their average GBP turnover (income) over the last three years. The expected annual expenditure of the proposed project must be no more than 25% of this average annual turnover/income figure.
Individual grant calls may include additional requirements for Lead Organisations. Where appropriate, these will be detailed in the Guidance for Applicants document for the relevant grant call.
Partner Organisations
Lead Organisations may form partnerships with one or more additional organisations. In projects where Partner Organisations are involved, the project should be co-designed with those partners.
Organisations eligible for REDAA funding in wider partnerships include:
• Non-profit organisations, which may be non-governmental organisations, research institutions or community-based organisations
• Private sector organisations, businesses or business associations, which may be sub-granted (or contracted via a consultancy agreement) to undertake specific planned actions for the programme, provided this partnership can demonstrate value for money in its costs and benefits to the programme.
Government, intergovernmental and UN agencies are not eligible to receive funding from REDAA. However, these agencies may be key programme partners, and REDAA encourages in-kind or co-funded partnership where relevant.
Individual grant calls may include specific partnership requirements. Where appropriate, these will be detailed in the Guidance for Applicants document for the relevant grant call.
How can I apply for a grant?
Applications will be made through IIED’s Flexigrant system. The main contact point for support with applications will be enquiries@redaa.org.
Where can REDAA initiatives take place?
The REDAA programme supports research-to-action initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The countries where initiatives may be supported are listed in Annex 2 of the REDAA Strategy. Initiatives may operate in more than one country.
Individual grant calls may specify a different subset of subregions or countries in which REDAA-supported initiatives should focus their activities, as the programme learns from experience and aims to achieve its strategic coverage of countries across the supported initiatives. Where appropriate, these will be detailed in the Guidance for Applicants document for the relevant grant call.
Scoping work has highlighted how narrowly defining particular ecologies and landscapes for REDAA interventions presents potential pitfalls. Many analyses of ‘hotspots’, or areas in need of urgent interventions, draw from biophysical data only, overlooking key social, political and economic datasets. Meanwhile, analyses that ignore local perspectives often perpetuate myths and misconceptions about the nature of, and responsibility for, environmental degradation; or indeed the potential and appropriate actions for restoration.
Furthermore, different stakeholders can have varying but equally legitimate perceptions and priorities when it comes to defining ‘hotspots’. And needs and opportunities can change as local, national, regional, political and economic contexts shift. Too narrow a focus would also downplay valuable interventions that transcend ecologies and landscapes (for example, those tackling transboundary drivers of environmental degradation).
Therefore, rather than prescribe a list of specific landscapes where it will support initiatives, REDAA encourages proposals to demonstrate a strong rationale for their location and for the approach and scale of their operation.
Environments in which REDAA-supported initiatives should focus are all quite broadly defined (see Annex 4 of the REDAA Strategy): peatlands and other terrestrial wetlands, mangroves, coastal lands, rivers, forests, farm-forest landscapes, drylands, uplands and mountains, and urban and peri-urban areas. In focusing on activity within these environments, initiatives may need to engage with the connections to other environments, such as urban–rural dynamics, that degrade or restore landscapes or ecosystems.
As with thematic priorities, subregions and countries, each REDAA grant call may put a particular emphasis on a different subset of these environments as the programme learns from experience and aims to achieve an appropriate balance of environments covered across all initiatives supported. Where appropriate, these will be detailed in the Guidance for Applicants document for the relevant grant call. Exclusion of environments from particular grant calls does not necessarily mean they will be excluded from other grant calls.
Scoping studies and consultations undertaken to prepare the REDAA Strategy identified ecologies and landscapes that could benefit from REDAA interventions (see Annex 3 of the REDAA Strategy). Potential grantees may wish to consider these, but should not be limited to them.
How does REDAA define locally led?
"Locally led" refers to initiatives that engage residents in their design and implementation, and their leadership has strong local involvement. Such initiatives are likely to employ and empower women and youth, and will show concrete benefits for local communities, emphasising those most often marginalised. They are also likely to invest in further developing local leadership strength.
How does REDAA define research-to-action?
“Research” in the context of REDAA will improve the evidence base on key ecosystems and livelihoods, and on how to move from degraded to restored ecosystems. It will pay attention not only to ecological concerns, but also to social, political and economic issues. Research approaches should be scientific, involving clear research questions and/or hypotheses and systematic observation. They should also be rigorous, involving design, methods and conclusions that are explicit, public, replicable, open to critique, and free of bias. Methods may be quantitative, qualitative or participatory. They often need to be diverse to explore different stakeholders’ perspectives and issues of gender equality and social inclusion, and potentially to uncover challenging structural features of power and politics.
“Action” will be a vital part of every REDAA-supported project. Action involves uptake of research findings in order to bring about a change. It is likely to include the use of research findings in training or improving the capability of people to make positive changes and the use of research findings in developing tools and approaches to improve or influence policy and institutional decision-making. Full proposal applicants will thus need to provide detail about their approach to communications, investment in capability and engagement with stakeholders to ensure that research findings and knowledge can reach the right people at the right time to influence decisions.
“Research-to-action” thus goes beyond simply carrying out a research project. It aims to conduct rigorous scientific research; AND improve the demand for the resulting knowledge (for example by improving incentives, capacity, processes and approaches for using the new evidence); AND better connect the demand for, and supply of, evidence from research used to influence key decisions (for example by fostering better interactions and collaborations between research providers and users).
Is there a matched funding requirement for REDAA grants?
Matched/co-funding is not a requirement of REDAA grants; however, it is strongly encouraged.
What is the allowed overhead/indirect cost rate within a project budget?
The maximum proportion of indirect costs permitted is no more than 20% of the total project costs. To be considered reasonable and justifiable, the costs claimed must be less than or equal to the organisation’s actual overheads for the project and appropriately apportioned between all the organisation’s activities/projects. The amount claimed for indirect costs must be supported by evidence, audited financial statements and/or internal cost recovery policies.
Can an applicant submit multiple applications to the same REDAA grant call?
This may vary between individual grant calls. Applicants should refer to the Guidance for Applicants document for the grant call in question.
For Grant Call 2 - 'Scaling up locally led restoration'—an organisation may lead on only one proposal but may be involved as a non-leading Partner in more than one proposal. Under Grant Call 2, country offices of an international entity will be considered subsidiaries, even if legally registered in the country. Therefore, international entities and their in-country offices and affiliates will be considered as one organisation.
The Lead Organisation cannot be changed between Stage 1 (Concept Notes) and Stage 2 (Full Proposals).
Can an applicant apply to more than one REDAA grant call?
Lead Organisations can apply for and be awarded multiple grants across different grant calls simultaneously. Lead Applicants who are successful during competitive grant calls are not precluded from applying for later grant calls, provided they meet the specific eligibility criteria for new grant calls.
However, it is only possible for a Lead Applicant to hold a Catalytic Grant and a Project Grant; or a Catalytic Grant and a Programme Grant simultaneously. Lead Applicants would not be eligible to hold a Project Grant and a Programme Grant simultaneously. 'Lead Applicant' refers to the individual person who, on behalf of the Lead Organisation, takes responsibility for the management and accountability of the programme and will be the main contact point for all aspects of programme management.
The Lead Organisation or Lead Applicant cannot be changed between Stage 1 (Concept Notes) and Stage 2 (Full Proposals).
Is it possible to submit applications in a language other than English?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to submit concept notes or full proposals in languages other than English. However, it is REDAA's ambition to be able to accept applications in other languages, and we are exploring ways to do this in future grant calls.