27/6 2022

Northern Forests Initiative

Forests are critical to the world’s biodiversity and play a key role in climate change mitigation. Forests provide a wide range of critical ecosystem services and are essential for food productions and livelihoods. Forests are also critical to local and indigenous communities around the world, who have based their livelihoods and cultures on the forests. But forests are disappearing and being degraded at an alarming rate.

As part of the Swedish Postcode Foundation’s commitment to combatting climate change and loss of biodiversity, we have previously supported a range of projects that address tropical deforestation through the Tropical Forest Initiative. We are now launching another major effort to protect and restore the world’s forests, through the Northern Forests Initiative. 

The initiative will focus on the boreal and temperate forests of Europe, North America, the Caucasus and Central Asia that have lost much of their biodiversity through exploitation and degradation, with detrimental effects on the climate and on indigenous rights.

Through the Northern Forests Initiative, we aim to support:

  • Pilots and innovations that test and demonstrate new approaches and solutions to the challenges facing Northern forests. We are particularly interested in projects that test new approaches that are scalable and applicable to other regions or that result in recommendations that can inform global or regional level responses. Applications will be evaluated based on their level of innovation, on the need for new solutions and approaches in the proposed area as well as on their potential to achieve wider scale impact.
  • Area-based responses such as rehabilitation and restoration of degraded Northern forests towards a more natural condition, protection and conservation of intact old-growth forests and support to indigenous people and local communities that depend on Northern forests. Applications will be evaluated based on the state, size and importance of the forested area targeted and the effectiveness of proposed interventions.
  • Global and regional responses that focus on developing, promoting or scaling up market and policy solutions for Northern forests. This might include efforts that target business practices and consumer behavior or improve policy and legal frameworks to address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Applications will be evaluated based on the scale and applicability of the solutions as well their effectiveness in accelerating progress in addressing threats to Northern forests.

Through this initiative we intend to support selected projects with a combined total of up to 20 million SEK with financial contributions to individual projects ranging from 2 to 7 million SEK. Financial contributions at the higher end of this range will be reserved for projects with larger scale solutions with the potential for wide level impact, whereas financial contributions at the lower end of the range can encourage experimentation or solutions at a more limited geographic area.

We expect most projects to run between 18 and 24 months, but may accept a duration of up to 36 months.

ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Applications will only be considered from non-profit organizations that serve a public interest. Applications from politically or religiously driven organizations will not be considered.

Projects will be evaluated according to their:

  • Relevance: the project’s relevance to protecting and restoring Northern forests and one of the three thematic areas (pilots and innovations, area-based responses and global and regional responses)
  • Methods: the project’s use of either innovative or well proven methods that are likely to achieve the project’s objectives
  • Impact: the project’s individual contribution towards protecting and restoring Northern forests as well as potential synergies created with other projects funded through the initiative.

We will prioritize applications that

  • address pressing challenges facing Northern forests with clearly defined activities designed to achieve measurable outcomes
  • demonstrate the importance of the proposed intervention to address the threats to Northern forests
  • demonstrate the applicant organization’s track record and/or suitability for the proposed efforts
  • demonstrate alignment with the aims of the initiative and the three thematic areas (pilots and innovations, area-based responses and global and regional responses)

Please note that the Swedish Postcode Foundation funding is not intended to support core operations. Our financial contributions are for projects that are time-limited with clearly defined activities and outcomes.

APPLICATION PROCESS

To be considered for funding through the Northern Forests Initiative, please submit an application through the online form on our website no later than August 15th, 2022. Mark your application with “Northern Forests Initiative” before the project name. If needed to strengthen your application, feel free to include an annex that in more detail describes your track record in the selected area, what makes you particularly suited to carry out this work, and how the project differs from your core operations. As the online application form only allows for the attachment of one annex, this will have to be described in the same annex as the proposed project budget.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. After an initial review by the Swedish Postcode Foundation, select applicant organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal/project plan with a deadline on October 15th, 2022.

We aim to finalize the approval process and enter into grant agreements in December 2022, but the timeline may vary depending on factors such as the volume of applications received, the degree to which project ideas and applications are complete as well as the level of internal review and research required to make an assessment. The process may also be tailored to the needs and timelines of applicants.

For questions, please contact info@postkodstiftelsen.se.

The application form is now closed.