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What We Look for in Project Submissions

About 65% of the MAVA funds to be allocated in 2013-2015 will be in the form of regional grants aligned to our strategy. Geographically, that means we support projects in the Mediterranean, Coastal West Africa and the Alpine Arc including all of Switzerland. Substantial, long-standing commitments in these regions have established MAVA as a key and credible conservation partner for local stakeholders and communities. Capitalising on these successes, and the long-term ties that bind them, gives us a base from which to tackle the many challenges still facing these important ecosystems.

Addressing policy frameworks – the “rules of the game”- is also necessary to ensure long lasting impact of the regional projects we support. We have therefore also allocated some funds to our “Sustainable Economy” programme to address the impact of the relentless search for economic growth on natural resources and biodiversity.

The projects we undertake with our partners will be those aligned to our specific programme objectives. They will make clear contributions – direct or indirect – to one or more of our objectives, as detailed in the sections for each programme.

This does not mean our doors are closed to initiatives that reach beyond our focal regions or Sustainable Economy programme, though clear criteria will determine how and what we choose to fund. Such projects would come under our global conservation category and will tackle global conservation threats or address framework conditions for conservation or global policy.

Criteria:

Before submitting a project idea to us, please take a moment to understand our criteria. Below are the elements that we look for when evaluating a project proposal:

For Regional and Sustainable Economy grants

  • Alignment to MAVA priorities, goals and programme objectives

For Global grants

  • Alignment to MAVA priorities and goals
  • Must meet one of the following:
    • Contributes broadly to conservation
    • Addresses cross-cutting conservation issues
    • Addresses framework conditions for conservation
    • Addresses global policy or international conventions
    • Links research with on-the-ground field work

For all grants

  • Strong project design
  • Sustainability of results
  • Right partner, with the ability to deliver
  • Determination that MAVA funds will make a difference
  • Coherence with MAVA transversal themes (as appropriate)

Our transversal themes describe attributes or activities that are important to us and that we would like to see built into pro­ject proposals, if and when appropriate. They are:

Applied research

  • Linking science and on-the-ground implementation.

Community/Grassroots involvement

  • Working with local communities, using bottom-up approaches in culturally appropriate ways.

Culture

  • Using cultural arguments to conserve nature.

Climate change adaptation

  • Finding ways of coping with the effects of climate change.

Alignment with international agreements on bio­diversity (e.g. CBD, Ramsar)

  • Reinforcing implementation and effectiveness of global agreements.

Policy leverage

  • Engaging in policy change to help create the right conditions for effective conservation.

Youth

  • Educating, inspiring and involving young people in conservation.

Multiplier effects

  • Learning from good examples and sharing results and knowledge in order to promote replication of successes and best practice.