In June 2012, the UNDP’s Small Grants Programme (SGP) published a publication called ‘Community Action for the Global Environment’ that documents the 20 years of grant making experience. It provides information on how the two decades of funding NGOs and CBOS around the world brought about the change among thousands of people in various countries.
According to Delfin Ganapin, Global Manager, GEF SGP, this book “reviews the history and evolution of SGP and its structure, governance, and multi- faceted approach, developed through adaptive management processes. It provides a succinct account of its principal features – such as the diverse partnerships which are its mainstay – and the results and benefits it has achieved.”
The publication also analyzes its grant making trends across different areas of work such as climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, international waters etc. Further it also provides project narratives on successful grant implementation across different countries.
In conclusion, the publication outlines some important lessons learned during the grant making process such as:
- Community-based approaches are key for addressing local and global sustainable development challenges.
- Sustainable livelihoods, rooted in community knowledge, practice, and innovation, constitute the basis for sustainable development
- Community-based projects are more effective when they contribute to environmental, sustain able livelihoods, and empowerment objectives.
- Community-based grant making recognizes the critical importance of indigenous and local knowledge.
- It is necessary to invest in both management support systems and project grants.
- Adaptive management and learning by doing are critical for effective programmes and initiatives.
The publication can be downloaded from this link.
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