Pacific-American Climate Fund Project (PACAM) Year 3 Quarterly Technical Report

The project is managed by Partners for Global Research and Development, LLC (PGRD) and is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Contract No.: AID-492-C-13-00017. The PACAM program aims to establish a transparent grant-making facility to support innovative projects that reduce long-term vulnerabilities associated with climate change and provide additional "co-benefits," such as livelihoods enhancement, food security, improved health, better governance, or sustainable natural resources management. The program focuses on building climate resiliency and strengthening the managerial and financial capacity of CSOs in the Pacific Islands. Grants awarded under PACAM are targeted to non-sovereign CSOs in twelve Pacific nations: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The Fund's administrative office is based in Manila, Philippines, with regional fund management offices (RFMOs) in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; and Suva, Fiji. The Year 3 PACAM Work Plan outlines the activities to be undertaken to enhance and maintain the overall management and administrative infrastructure of the PACAM Program. The program is structured around four key Results: establishing a grant-making facility, supporting the implementation of climate change adaptation measures, improving the financial and managerial capacities of CSO-grantees, and disseminating lessons learned of effective climate change adaptation strategies. In Year 1 of implementation, PACAM focused on establishing operations in the Administrative Office and PACAM Regional Fund Management Offices (RFMOs) in the Pacific Islands; establishing the grant award and management framework; and initiating the selection process for the awarding of grants. In the first and second quarters, preparations were made for formal Solicitation launches to encourage grant applications from the twelve countries and raise public awareness of the grants program through launches in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. PACAM Pre-Bid Workshops were held in those three countries, as well as in Palau and Samoa, to encourage CSOs to apply for a PACAM grant and submit concept papers as an initial step in the application process. Other outreach activities included presentations on PACAM at Pacific regional and local conferences, as well as briefings for interested CSOs. Following the launches, activity focused on the processing of solicited concept papers submitted for the 1st Grant Cycle, under the April 30 deadline. The PACAM Team screened 55 concept papers, of which 17 were invited to submit full grant application proposals. A total of 15 full applications were submitted, of which nine were recommended by the PACAM Grants Review Board for award. Successful Cycle 1 applications were announced on September 1, 2014, at a reception in Apia, Samoa. While Cycle 1 full applications were being processed, Cycle 2 concept papers were received by the September 30 deadline. A total of 179 concept papers were submitted, and the PACAM team invited 32 organizations to submit full applications, of which 23 did so. Year 2 began with a focus on program recalibration and acceleration through a series of administrative and management reviews and enhancements, including a change in Chief of Party leadership, the addition of short-term technical assistance, and the expansion of operations capacity. Quarter 1 activities included the annual Work Planning session; a review of management systems and resource needs; the drafting of the Year 2 Work Plan; the review and initiation of revisions and updates of key Program documents such as the Grants Manual and the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan; the finalization of Cycle 1 grants awards; and the timely advancement of Cycle 2. The PACAM program has made significant progress in establishing a grant-making facility and supporting the implementation of climate change adaptation measures. The program has also improved the financial and managerial capacities of CSO-grantees and disseminated lessons learned of effective climate change adaptation strategies.