Pacific-American Climate Fund Project (PACAM) Year 1 Work Plan

The project's objective is to improve natural resources and water management, and enhance livelihood development and income diversification. These objectives directly support USAID/Pacific Islands' overall objective of strengthening the resilience of Pacific Island communities, as well as Strategic Objective 2 of USAID's Global Climate Strategy. The project will target Non-sovereign Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), including local, national, and international entities in 12 Pacific nations: Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Grants awarded under PACAM will be categorized into three categories: up to $150,000, $150,001 to $1 million, and $1,000,001 to $3 million. The PACAM Team will be located in four offices throughout the Pacific region, with Partners for Global Research and Development, LLC (PGRD) managing the administration of the Pacific American Climate Fund under Contract No: AID-492-C-13-00017. The team will be responsible for ensuring the integrity, transparency, and inclusiveness of the entire grant-making process from solicitation to close-out. The project will prioritize four specific inputs to support the implementation of a transparent grant-making facility: establishing a grant making facility, managing and administering grants, providing resources for managerial and financial capacity building to grantees, and capturing and disseminating best practices and lessons learned at the community level to various stakeholders. The PACAM Team anticipates awarding 32 grants over the life of the project, with 16 grants envisioned to be awarded by the end of Year 1. Grants will only be awarded to Non-U.S. and U.S.-based Non-governmental and Non-sovereign organizations, with the approved amount of grants to U.S.-based non-governmental organizations not exceeding $100,000. The project will provide focused training and capacity building to grantees, strengthening and building the managerial and financial capacity of local civil society entities. This will enable them to address longer-term climate-sensitive development issues and contribute to climate change adaptation over the longer term. The project will also capture and disseminate best practices and lessons learned at the community level to various stakeholders. The project's Grants Management System will be integral to the Performance Management Plan, which will guide the project's activities and ensure that the project's objectives are met. The project will also have a Monitoring and Evaluation System to track progress and ensure that the project's objectives are achieved. The project's start-up and mobilization activities will include stakeholder consultations, grants management, project launch and solicitation, grants review board, processing proposals, awarding grants, providing capacity building, grants monitoring, and communication and outreach. The project's budget will be managed in accordance with USAID grant guidelines and procedures under the Automated Directives System (ADS). The project's organizational structure will include a PACAM Organizational Structure, which will outline the roles and responsibilities of the PACAM Team. The project will also have a PACAM Management System, which will guide the project's activities and ensure that the project's objectives are met. The project's implementation will be guided by a central and uniting project goal of improving climate change adaptation measures for the Pacific Island region through the provision of grants. The project will focus on high-impact activities with short-term and sustainable results, and will have a strong emphasis on community engagement and participation.