CISUs Climate Change Adaptation Modality is funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Over 4 years, a total of DKK 107,5 million is set aside for this funding modality available to partnerships between Danish civil society organisations and their partners in all OECD-DAC countries.

CCAM is financed through Danish Development Aid to support civil society driven climate change adaptation and resilience actions and builds on the strategic framework laid out in the Danish Strategy for Development Cooperation: The World We Share and A Green and Sustainable World (2020).

CCAM is part of Denmark’s financing of climate change adaptation actions reported to UNFCCC, OECD and EU. CISU is managing the CCAM in line with the OECD-DAC Rio Markers for Climate Change Adaptation. Interventions under CCAM will be considered part of the internationally agreed upon framework for reporting on climate change adaptation: the Rio Marker system. The Rio Marker for climate change adaptation adds a certain score to an intervention depending on its focus on climate change adaptation.

CCAM interventions need to qualify for a “principal” adaptation Rio Marker (an adaptation score of “2”) to obtain funding. This means that climate change adaptation must be the principal objective of the intervention. Consequently, an intervention is eligible for support only when the climate change adaptation objective is explicitly stated as fundamental in the design of, or the motivation for, the intervention. Moreover, all outcomes, outputs and activities must be directly or indirectly linked to climate change adaptation. In other words, your intervention would not have been designed in the way it is without an adaptation objective. See under Assessment Criteria for how the Rio Markers are integrated into the assessment criteria.

CISU has developed a Climate Integration Tool for organisations who are not already working on climate aspects in their interventions.

In the tool papers, you will find a guide to where you can start out, if you want to work more intensely with climate change actions. There are concrete questions to help you in the analysis process, and there are concrete activities that you can include in your planning of a new intervention.

You will find 6 tool papers that take point of departure in one or several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are the SDGs that most CISU-funded interventions are working towards.

Click on the image to download the tool that relates to your work. Or you can download the full guide including all tool papers and more comprehensive guidance.

The Climate Integration Tool is developed in 2020.

In the guidelins to CCAM, you will various links to relevant tools that CISU recommends using when developing your interventions.

Definitions on key terms

• See definitions for climate change adaptation and climate resilience in the
  • ​UNFCCC Glossary 
• For further interest in the terminology, CISU recommends
  • ​London School of Economics Explainers
  • DIIS Explained

Rio Markers

• The Rio Marker system has informed the assessment criteria for obtaining funding through CCAM 
  • OECD-DAC Rio Markers for Climate Handbook

Monitoring and Evaluation

• The CCAM puts emphasis on the adoption of robust Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) frameworks. For inspiration for your MEL framework, you can be guided by UNEP
  • UNEP Monitoring & Evaluation for climate change adaptation

Deadline for submitting applications

Q: Is the deadline for submitting applications February 8th 2023?

A: Correct. There will be at least one deadline for applications every year.

Q: Are there only a deadline once a year? 

A: Yes, one deadline per year. However, if the amount set aside per application round is not spent, we will make another call later the same year. Of course a significant amount is necessary to do so.

Eligible applicants

Q: Regarding eligibility of organisations, is it correct that organisations that already have a funding agreement with the MFA are not eligible to apply to the CCAM?

A: Yes, that is correct. SPA and related funding arrangements with the MFA cannot apply for the CCAM funds.

Q: If an organisation is already receiving support from CISU, can this organisation apply for CCAM?

A: Yes, it is possible to receive funding from the Civil Society Fund, DERF and the OpEn funds that CISU administers - AND the CCAM.

Can CCAM support Climate Change Mitigation and Biodiversity-interventions?

Q: Can projects also focus (partly on) CC mitigation e.g. avoided deforestation?

A: Interventions must focus on climate change adaptation, meaning that the overall objective, associated outcomes/outputs, indicators and activities must relate directly to fulfilling an adaptation objective.

However, activities can to a limited extent address complementary initiatives such as climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation (including Nature-based Solutions) where one can describe clear links to adaptation. This could, for example be in connection with support to erosion control measures, protecting vulnerable households against landslide risks and/or direct participatory natural resource management of buffer zones or climatically sensitive arable lands.

Organisations with CISU programme contracts

Q: Is part of the modality earmarked programs as a supplementary grants? Or seen more as standalone projects?

A: Calls will be open to all organisations - also those with a programme contract with CISU. There will be no supplementary grants only to be applied by programmes. CISU encourages synergy to the ongoing programme. 

How much can be applied for?

Q: The maximum we can receive per year from the Civil Society Fund is 6 mio DKK. Is the support from CCAM included in the 6 mio or is it extra?

A: The support from CCAM is NOT included in the 6 mio. DKK ceiling. 

Q: What is the max amount per application? 

A: The max amount is DKK 5 mio. pr. year.

Special priorities?

Q: Is youth a priority target for this action since there's no single mention of that category in the guidelines?

A: Youth is not a priority as such - poor and climate vulnerable people are - however, in many cases youth could be argued to be highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

CCAM interventions in continuation of a CSF intervention

Q: In the format it is possible to mention a previous intervention. Does this mean that the journal number of an intervention financed by the CSF until now can be included in the box for this? (This will have impact on the assessment)

A: Yes an intervention could be a continuation of a project funded through the CSF or the CCAM (after the first call for proposals)

Strategic focus of CCAM

Q: Do applications have to fit within both of the strategic focus areas (capacity building and advocacy) or is it sufficient to address one?

A: It is sufficient to address one of the strategic focus areas. However, applications above 1 million DKK must address at least advocacy.

Duration of the intervention

Q: How long can the CCAM interventions be?

A: Up to 3 years.