After speaking to over a hundred stakeholders, the WRI Finance Center is publishing Improving Access to the Green Climate Fund: How the Fund Can Better Support Developing Country Institutions. This paper explains what the direct access process was intended to do, as well as how it is currently going wrong.

1. SUPPORTING DIRECT ACCESS AT
THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND
Gaia Larsen and Molly Caldwell

2. HISTORY OF DIRECT ACCESS AT THE GCF
In 2010, when designing the GCF, direct access was
central, as one board member stated:
“Direct access is important to incentivize and
empower developing countries to use their own
skills and capacities to shift the business models of
existing agencies to be more responsive to the
needs of developing countries”

4. Research Question: How can the GCF
improve its support for Direct Access Entities
to better ensure that a diverse set of
organizations can better obtain access to
project funding?

5. DIRECT ACCESS FROM 2014-2020
• Adaptation Fund and to a lesser extent Global
Environment Facility pioneered direct access.
• Accreditation requirements at the GCF are “fit-for-
purpose”, allowing for a wide variety of entities to
become accredited.
• Direct access entities at the GCF are a
heterogenous group including government ministries
and agencies, private for-profit, semi-public
institutions, national or regional development banks,
and non-profits.

7. PROJECTS APPROVED
• More than two-thirds
of direct access
entities have not yet
reached project
approval.

8. PERCENT OF ENTITIES WITH PROJECTS

9. PROJECTS APPROVED
• 82% of all finance has
gone to international
entities
• While 80% of all
projects have gone to
international entities

10. PROJECTS APPROVED 2015-2020

11. UPCOMING BOARD MEETING
• These trends are set to continue with 5
more direct access entities on track to
become accredited next week, but only 2
out of 14 projects from direct access
entities up for approval and zero full
proposals from direct access entities.

12. 4 KEY PROGRAMS TO DIRECT ACCESS
1) Readiness Support
2) Project Preparation Facility
3) Simplified Approval Process
4) Enhanced Direct Access Pilot

13. READINESS SUPPORT

14. WHAT IS READINESS SUPPORT AT THE GCF?
• Created in 2014 to help countries put in place
the systems needed to access the GCF
• Accessed primarily by NDAs and some DAEs
• New 2020-2021 strategy provides countries
with $1 million per year in funding for
institutional capacity and $3 million for
national adaptation planning

15. READINESS SUPPORT & DIRECT ACCESS
• Significance to Direct Access: Direct
Access Entities can access this form of
financial support through Nationally
Designated Authorities when they are
working on accreditation or formulating
project ideas.

16. DIRECT ACCESS ENTITIES & ACCESS TO
READINESS SUPPORT

17. READINESS PROJECTS THAT HAVE SUPPORTED
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

18. READINESS SUPPORT KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Focus is on for Natonal Designated
Authorities over Direct Access Entities
• Lack of support for concept note
development

19. READINESS SUPPORT KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Long timelines
• Restrictions on funding for direct acess
entity staff
• Limits on covering delivery partner costs
• Little flexibility causes delays

20. PROJECT PREPARATION FACILITY

21. WHAT IS THE PROJECT PREPARATION FACILITY?
• $40 million allocated
• Up to $1.5 million per project
• As of November 2020- 37 requests
approved totaling $23.4 million
• Average of $633,000 per proposal

22. PROJECT PREPARATION FACILITY
& DIRECT ACCESS
• Significance to Direct Access: All
entities are eligible, though designed with
the need for entities without resources for
project preparation to utilize.
• 12 of the 62 Direct Access Entities have
accessed the facility

23. PROJECT PREPARATION FUNDING AT CLIMATE
FUNDS

25. PROJECT PREPARATION FACILITY KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Has been accessed largely by entities that have
already successfully gotten at least one project
approved (68%)
• A persistent hurdle for entities as they try to
develop projects is getting a concept note
endorsed by the GCF. This is a requirement they
must meet before they can access PPF funds.
• Long timelines (3-15 months)

26. SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS

27. WHAT IS THE SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS?
• Launched in September 2017
• Developed in recognition of the barriers
that accredited entities were facing in
getting projects through the full proposal
process
• Use for projects under $50 million ($10
million GCF contribution)

28. SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS & DIRECT ACCESS
• Significance to
Direct Access: Has a
specific target for
direct access entities
of 50% of funding and
is meant to streamline
process for small low-
risk projects

29. LONG AND EXPENSIVE
PROPOSALS
• Cost of drafting can
range from $100-
$150,000 and go as high
as $400,000
• The 19 approved SAP
proposals have
averaged 62 pages
(excluding annexes)

30. APPROVAL TIME FOR SAP PROPOSALS

31. SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Similar steps in the review process for
regular and streamlined processes
• Similar proposal requirements for regular
and streamlined proposals
• Simplified Approval Process proposals are
long and getting longer

32. ENHANCED DIRECT ACCESS

33. WHAT IS THE ENHANCED DIRECT ACCESS PILOT?
• Approved in July 2015 along with other
requests for proposals
• Further devolves direct access
• Originally had a target of approving 10
projects in 5 years, currently 2 projects
have been approved.

34. ENHANCED DIRECT ACCESS & DIRECT ACCESS
• Significance to Direct Access: First
request for proposal that allocated
resources for direct access entities.

35. ALL REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS

37. ENHANCED DIRECT ACCESS KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Additional operations and governance
requirements to access funds
• A lack of clarity around activities that qualify
for funding
• Funding size and type may be limiting
interest
• Advantages over regular project approval
process are unclear

38. RECOMMENDATIONS

39. TRANSFORM READINESS
& PROJECT PREPARATION SUPPORT
One Application
No Application

40. TRANSFORM READINESS
& PROJECT PREPARATION SUPPORT
• Allow preparatory funding to be used where it is
needed most, including staff time
• Ensure access to high quality information,
expertise, peer exchange

41. PUT THE SIMPLE
IN THE SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS
• Continue to streamline the Secretariat and ITAP
review processes
• Reduce information requirements by sticking to word
and page limits and/or reducing questions in template

42. MAKE THE ENHANCING DIRECT ACCESS MODALITY
EASIER TO ACCESS AND MORE REWARDING
• Clarify the benefits of going through EDA – make a
greater degree of autonomy than through regular
funding window
• Make attractive by also encouraging larger projects

43. THANK YOU

44. THANK YOU TO ALL INTERVIEWEES