Guidance

Darwin Plus: environment funding for the UK Overseas Territories

Darwin Plus: how to apply for project and fellowship funding.

Published 22 May 2014
Last updated 28 September 2018 — see all updates
From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Foreign & Commonwealth Office

What funding is available

Darwin Plus (also known as The Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund) provides funding for:

  • environmental projects in UK Overseas Territories
  • fellowships for UK Overseas Territories (OT) Nationals to increase their knowledge and ability to meet long-term strategic outcomes for the natural environment in UK Overseas Territories

How to apply

You need to apply online for Round 7 Darwin Plus projects and fellowships through the Flexigrant Application Portal.

Before applying, you should first read:

Darwin Plus projects

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Plus Round 7 application form on the Flexigrant application portal.

For drafting purposes, you may find the Darwin Plus Round 7: Darwin Plus Projects application form (for drafting only) (MS Word Document, 337KB) useful.

You will also need to complete and upload:

Darwin Plus fellowships

Once you have read the guidance, complete the Darwin Plus Round 7 Fellowship application form on the Flexigrant application portal.

For drafting purposes, you may find the Darwin Plus Round 7: Darwin Plus Fellowship application form (MS Word Document, 248KB) useful.

You will also need to complete and upload:

When to apply

Applications closed on 3 September 2018. We expect to notify successful applicants by mid-November. Successful projects will start from April 2019.

Who can apply

Darwin Plus projects

Funding is open to any organisation as long as the proposed project will benefit one or more of the UK OTs (listed below) by to protecting and enhancing their biodiversity or addressing wider environment or climate-related issues.

Applicants can include:

  • OT governments
  • non-governmental organisations
  • research institutions
  • the private sector
  • other stakeholders

Darwin Plus Fellowships

The applicant organisation will usually be UK-based and the proposed Fellow must be an OT national who has worked or is working on environmental issues in the UK OTs.

The 14 UK Overseas Territories are:

Level of funding

There is no specific minimum or maximum level for a Darwin Plus project or Darwin Plus Fellowship. The funding pot is however limited. Further information on the size of Darwin Plus awards can be found in the Darwin Plus Round 7: project guidance (PDF, 646KB, 30 pages) .

How projects/fellowships are selected

The Darwin Plus Advisory Group (DPAG) is made up of policy experts from UK Government Departments and external experts who have experience or knowledge of running biodiversity and environmental projects in UK Overseas Territories. The group assesses all applications to the fund and will produce a prioritised list of Darwin Plus projects and fellowships recommended for funding. Defra ministers approve the final list.

Darwin Plus Advisory Group membership

Professor Stephen Blackmore (Chair)

UK Government policy advisers from:

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
  • Department for International Development (DFID)

Members with OT knowledge or experience:

  • Martin Brasher
  • Jonathan Hall
  • John R Turner
  • Professor Brendan Godley

Other external advisers:

  • Martin Collins – Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
  • Dr Colin Clubbe - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  • Tony Weighell – Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Darwin Plus Contact details

For questions about Darwin Plus policy, contact the Darwin Secretariat at the Department for Food and Rural Affairs. Email: darwin@defra.gsi.gov.uk

For queries about Darwin Plus project applications, contact the applications team. Email: darwin-applications@ltsi.co.uk

For specific queries on applying through the Flexi-Grant applications, contact the Flexi-Grant support team. Email: Flexigrant@ltsi.co.uk

For queries relating to new and existing projects, contact the project administrators. Email: darwin-projects@ltsi.co.uk

Telephone: Eilidh Young on 0131 440 5181

For queries about project finance, contact the finance section. Email: darwin-finance@ltsi.co.uk

Darwin Initiative
LTS International
Pentlands Science Park
Bush Loan
Penicuik
EH26 0PL

Case study

Before completing the application form, you might like to take a look at these case studies showing examples of successful Darwin Plus projects:

Published 22 May 2014
Last updated 28 September 2018 + show all updates
  1. Added a link to the Penguins in the Southern Ocean case study.
  2. Added the documents for Round 7 applications.
  3. Updated to reflect that Darwin Plus is not currently open for applications.
  4. Darwin Plus Fellowship application form updated.
  5. Published the Darwin Plus Flexi-Grant User Guide.
  6. Added information on how to apply for Darwin Plus environment funding for the UK Overseas Territories round 6.
  7. Alerting the public that Round 5 of Darwin Plus is now open and inviting applications for Darwin Plus projects and Darwin Plus Fellowships.
  8. Page updated to confirm that Darwin Plus Round 4 is now closed and Round 5 will be launched in Summer 2016
  9. Confirming the closing date for this year's Darwin Plus applications and adding the list of Darwin Plus Advisory Group members.
  10. The application period is now open for Round 4 of the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund (also known as Darwin Plus).
  11. The 2015 application window for Darwin Plus is not yet open. Previous applicants and interested parties will be alerted by e-mail. Please contact Darwin-applications@LTSI.co.uk to be added to the Darwin mailing list.
  12. Please note that the 2014 application period for Darwin Plus projects is NOW CLOSED (from 4 August 2014).
  13. updated guidance notes
  14. First published.
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