Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA): Environment Fund

Overview

The Environment Fund is always oversubscribed. Successful projects will be those which, alongside existing and other proposed activity, will most effectively help to achieve the priority areas they have identified. These are outlined on this web site and in the Environment Fund 2023-28 Overarching Criteria & Environmental Impact Priorities.

The focus for this Fund is the following Environmental Impact Priorities:

1. Nature and Climate Recovery: Building Ecological and Climate Resilience
   • Landscape, water, habitats, species and earth science condition and extent maintained and improved
2. Connecting People with the Environment:
   • Connecting with the natural environment, understanding it and taking action to have a positive effect on it

There are 3 Strands to the Environment Fund:

1. Multi-year Strategic Environment Fund
2. Strand 2 Strategic Strand including Land Purchase and new projects levering significant match funding
3. Environmental Challenge Competition

Multi-year Strategic Environment Fund

The Environment Fund 2023 - 2028 Strategic Strand budget is limited. For the Environment Fund 2023-2028 Strategic Strand DAERA will not provide funding of less than £25,000 (so the minimum total cost of a project is £30,000). There is no maximum total cost of a project, although they expect competition for funding to be strong and will be considering Value for Money in their assessment of applications.

The is no maximum total cost of a project, although we expect competition for funding to be strong and will be considering Value for Money in our assessment of applications.

You are expected to secure match funding for your project. They will not normally support projects at above 80%** of the project costs. Your match funding may be secured from a variety of sources such as other grants, membership fees, donations or volunteer support.

The following are indications of their normal maximum funding levels:

• Up to 80 % of biodiversity project costs
• Up to 50 % for Council projects

** A higher percentage of DAERA funding, available under competitions for eligible project costs, may be considered in exceptional or compelling circumstances.

The Overarching Criteria is: Multiple grant applications may be submitted by not for profit organisations or councils which will deliver measurable key environmental outcomes at a Northern Ireland wide scale, sub-regional scale, river catchment scale, on or related to a designated site, or on EMFG owned/managed natural environment sites.

Applicants wishing to apply for the Strategic Environment Fund should read all of the Environment Fund 2023-28 Guidance Notes Part 1 and Guidance Notes Part 2 documents before beginning to fill in the application form.

Further information, including guidance notes and details of how you can apply for funding, can be found on the DAERA website.

Strand 2 Strategic Strand including Land Purchase and new projects levering significant match funding

When sufficient budget may be available, In-year funding applications may be considered for high priority projects which could not have foreseeably applied to the Strategic Fund in 2023. Applications for these grants can be submitted by eligible organisations at any time after advice is sought from the Grant Team. The key areas where this funding may be considered include:

• Projects which would lever significant match funding

Projects which meet the priorities which require a small element of match funding to lever funds from other bodies such as Heritage Lottery Fund.

• Land purchase

Grants for land purchase under the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (NI) Order may be considered for projects that will deliver significant conservation or access benefits. The applicant must show that:

• The resource or feature cannot be effectively protected, enhanced or created by other more cost-effective means.
• Their constitution enables them to buy and manage land, and provide public access where applicable and the proposal is within the applicant organisation’s strategic land policy priorities for land purchase and management;
• They have the ability (resources and experience) to manage the site long term for conservation or access purposes.
• If you propose applying for an Environment Fund In-year grant you MUST contact the Grant Team to discuss any possible application. If it is agreed that an application for in-year funding might be appropriate, the current electronic Application Form and Guidance Notes will be emailed to you for completion.

Environmental Challenge Competitions

When sufficient budget may be available, and the Department identifies emerging priority areas of work, focused Environmental Challenge Competitions may be run to deliver these.

Applicants must demonstrate how the project will be aligned with these overarching factors:

a) Scale of project:

Projects must deliver measurable key environmental outcomes at a Northern Ireland wide scale, sub-regional scale, river catchment scale, on or related to a designated site, or on DAERA owned/managed natural environment sites. All on the ground project activity must take place in Northern Ireland.

Where the resources for allocation exceed the budget available for allocation to high priority projects, the scale of the impact of the proposed project will form a significant part in the decision making process.

b) Evidence of the need for the project and its outputs

Applicants must succinctly outline how the project has been identified, why it is needed and how it will help ensure measurable delivery of environmental obligations, priorities or behavioural changes leading to an improved environment under international and domestic law, the draft Programme for Government, environmental policies and environmental action plans.

c) The project’s environmental impact

(Environmental Impact Priorities for funding below) and how this will be measured and monitored, including GI mapping where required.

d) Value for money

Activities that:

• Lever significant match funding;
• Lever significant voluntary and community action;
• Are delivered in a cost efficient manner;
• Develop more efficient and streamlined ways of working that achieve more sustainable, long term delivery of outcomes, e.g. through delivery coalitions, partnerships etc.;
• Demonstrate that government funding is essential to enable the delivery of the outcome;
• Minimise duplication and maximise additionality;
• Share expertise and provide knowledge transfer;
• Reach a big sector or several sectors of society to effect long-term change in behaviours benefitting the environment

e) Sustainable impact

Projects that identify that the environmental outcomes will be sustained after the funding period and how this will be done.

Further details will appear on their website when any future competition is launched.

Funding levels

The Environment Fund budget is limited. DAERA will not provide funding of less than £25,000 (so the minimum total cost of a project is £30,000). There is no maximum total cost of a project, although we expect competition for funding to be strong and will be considering Value for Money in our assessment of applications.

You can apply for support towards all of the elements of your project that will deliver the proposed environmental priorities based on the principle of full cost recovery. Full cost recovery means securing funding for all the costs involved in running a project. This means that you can request funding for direct project costs and for a proportionate share of your organisation's overheads.

Inflation – Applications are expected to set out yearly budgets which allow for annual inflationary increases for costs such as salaries e.g. 1% increase in line with NI Civil Service pay scales.

• Capital - Only items that are of a value of £5,000 or more can be classed as Capital, otherwise they will be classed as Programme costs.
• Programme – Project costs for non-Capital items such as salaries, training/Conference costs, Promotional costs, overheads including office running costs and travel & Subsistence.

You are expected to secure match funding for your project. We will not normally support projects at above 80%** of the project costs. Your match funding may be secured from a variety of sources such as other grants, membership fees, donations or volunteer support. The following are indications of their normal maximum funding levels:

• Up to 80 % of biodiversity project costs
• Up to 50 % for Council projects

** A higher percentage of DAERA funding, available under competitions for eligible project costs, may be considered in exceptional or compelling circumstances.

Match Funding will be monitored across the Environment Fund and you will be required to report against it.

Applications may be refused or offered a lower level of funding if there is insufficient budget or there are concerns about value for money or risks in delivering the outputs.

Your project should identify how it will help to deliver relevant parts of their Environmental Strategy.

Key areas that this Environment Fund may consider within the Strategic Environmental Outcomes in the Strategy include:

Outcome 1: Excellent Air, Land and Neighbourhood Quality

• Water Resources: Quality & Quantity
• Marine and Coastal Water Resources: Quality & Quantity
• Neighbourhood Environment Quality

Outcome 2: Healthy & Accessible Environment & landscapes Everyone Can Connect With and Enjoy

• Connecting People to the Environment: Landscapes, Seascapes & Natural Beauty
• Connecting People to the Environment: Outdoor Recreation & Natural Space Provision
• The Next Generation

Outcome 3: Thriving Resilient & Connected Nature & Wildlife

• Protecting Nature on Land
• Protecting Nature at Sea
• Natural Capital