Call for Proposals Stronger Partnerships: Local Innovations for New Climate Realities in Cities

The Innovation Call for Proposals 2020 is now open!

The Cities Alliance has launched an Innovation Call for Proposals to award small grants to advance affordable, accessible and innovative climate adaptation concepts, products and processes at the community level, and foster dialogue and engagement between local communities and local governments.

Cities Alliance has launched a new Innovation Call for Proposals to support affordable, accessible and innovative climate adaptation projects at community level. We are looking at initiatives that improve the capacity of the urban poor to address the potential impacts of climate change and, in particular, the impacts on women, young people, vulnerable and underrepresented groups. Projects must be inclusive and create opportunities for engagement with local governments and other relevant stakeholders. If successful, they will demonstrate new climate adaptation approaches built upon Public Community Partnerships and with the potential to catalyse transformational change in cities.

Where?

Projects can take place in any of the following countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Bangladesh or Myanmar.

Who?

Community-based organisations, national and local NGOs, and not-for-profit organisations working on innovative ways to improve climate adaptation in cities are invited to apply.

How much?

Grants will range from USD 25,000 to USD 30,000 per project. Funding is available for projects with a duration of up to 8 months.

When?

Proposals must be submitted by 30 March 2020, 14:00 Central European Time.

To learn more and apply visit our website: https://citiesalliance.org/how-we-work/our-programmes/innovation-programme/new-climate-realities-cities

For any questions, please contact Cities Alliance at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Climate change is increasingly affecting cities in a variety of ways: among the impacts are an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heatwaves or heavy rains, causing landslides and flooding. These impacts are a reality acknowledged by major global agreements. Still, a breakthrough in efforts to effectively mitigate the predicted increase in temperature is lacking.

Meanwhile, people in rapidly urbanising countriesare beginning to bear the burden of global warming, especially the poorest, who are the least responsible for these effects. This comes in addition to existing social inequalities that are increasing the exposure to and vulnerability of the poorest communities to the effects of climate change, while also being aggravated by them.

Local Level Adaptive Solutions: A Call for Action

Climate adaptation actions take many forms, such as the creation of climate-resilient livelihoods, climate disaster risk reduction, enhancement of adaptive capacity, and addressing poverty, vulnerability, and their structural causes. For example, the establishment of early warning systems could enhance the adaptive capacity of urban populations, while flood-proofing and protection could save life and property.

Adapting to climate change will require innovation, creativity, experimentation and, above all, partnerships.

Responding to climate change at the local level will require both local authorities and communities to work together. Harnessing knowledge and diversity from within local communities and matching with the legal mandates of local governments enables the creation of interventions more aligned with experienced realities and the identification of new approaches.

The urban poor, being in the frontline of impacts and disproportionally affected by climate change, need to be enabled to implement actions to cope with these impacts, while taking advantage of the benefits and opportunities brought by such interventions. With a focus on communities in informal settlements, this initiative aims to bridge this gap by supporting the urban poor to prepare for climate change impacts, while creating opportunities to improve their living conditions and fully enjoy the right to the city.