Call for Proposals: Climate Policy and Governance, and Clean Energy

The South Africa-UK PACT Call for Proposals for the Climate Policy and Governance, and Clean Energy sectors is now open. The deadline for submitting proposals is on 8 August 2025 at 17:00 (SAST) / 15:00 (UTC).

Answers to consolidated clarification questions submitted to southafrica@ukpact.co.uk are accessible below and will be updated on 21 July, and 28 July 2025. The deadline for submitting clarification questions is 25 July 2025 at 17:00 (SAST)/ 15:00 (UTC).

Click here to read our announcement

The UK Government is looking to extend its UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) programme in South Africa with technical assistance and capacity-building projects supporting the Climate Policy and Governance and Clean Energy sectors.

What are we looking for?
Through consultation with the Government of South Africa and other stakeholders, UK PACT has identified key opportunities in the Climate Policy and Governance, and Clean Energy sectors. We are looking to award grant funding for projects aimed at providing technical assistance and capacity-building to support a just transition.

This Call for Proposals aims to support activities which are strategically aligned to national priorities on climate change mitigation and key policy areas identified through consultations with government counterparts and key stakeholders.

As part of this Call for Proposals, a combination of targeted and broad areas of support have been identified:

2 projects with targeted terms of reference: To be eligible for funding, proposals must respond fully to the terms of reference for the specific project/s being applied for, delivering the specific activities and outputs at a minimum. Only one grant will be awarded per project.
- Project 1: Supporting the AIDC-EC and the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in the development of the Eastern Cape Climate Change Response Strategy
- Project 2: Supporting the Western Cape Government in the development of the Western Cape Integrated Resource Plan
2 thematic areas with broad terms of reference: Applicants may design innovative projects and propose activities and outputs which address the defined Government counterpart objectives and UK PACT Programme outcomes. More than one grant may be awarded per theme.
- Thematic area 1: Enabling implementation of the Climate Change Act at subnational level
- Thematic area 2: Advancing a Just and Clean Energy Transition through local action

Individual application links for each of these projects can be found under the 'How to apply' section for each project, below.

Application specifications

How much should each project cost?
Up to £500,000 per financial year, per project.

How long can each project be?
Funding is available for up to 12 months and projects are expected to start in October 2025.

What type of activities are we looking to fund?
As part of this Call for Proposals, a combination of targeted and broad areas of support have been identified:

2 projects with targeted terms of reference: To be eligible for funding, proposals must respond fully to the terms of reference for the specific project/s being applied for, delivering the specific activities and outputs at a minimum. Only one grant will be awarded per project.
- Project 1: Supporting the AIDC-EC and the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in the development of the Eastern Cape Climate Change Response Strategy
- Project 2: Supporting the Western Cape Government in the development of the Western Cape Integrated Resource Plan
2 thematic areas with broad terms of reference: Applicants may design innovative projects and propose activities and outputs which address the defined Government counterpart objectives and UK PACT Programme outcomes. More than one grant may be awarded per theme.
- Thematic area 1: Enabling implementation of the Climate Change Act at subnational level
- Thematic area 2: Advancing a Just and Clean Energy Transition through local action

Projects will be selected through a one-stage open and competitive call. Each proposal will be assessed independently.

Can a consortium apply?
Yes. Projects may require multiple expertise – we encourage consortia of organisations to coordinate to deliver projects. We encourage consortia to have at least one local partner.

What type of organisations can apply?
We invite all organisations with relevant experience in delivering technical assistance and capacity-building projects in the climate policy and governance and clean energy sectors to register. This could be think-tanks, consultancies, academic institutions, community organisations, NGOs, professional associations, or any similar organisations that have the knowledge, skills and experience to deliver an eligible project.

UN agencies are eligible to apply, however please note where a UN agency is the lead applicant project awards will be subject to signing a Contribution Arrangement with FCDO. This may impact timescales for implementation.Proposals led by private sector entities are now welcomed for UK PACT, however, eligibility criteria apply. Projects must be delivered on a not-for-profit basis.

Government agencies and Government departments are not eligible to receive UK PACT funding, either as a lead organisation or partners in a consortium. This includes state-owned enterprises. However, as part of this call for proposals National and Provincial Government Enterprises (i.e. only public institutions listed in PFMA schedules 3B and 3D for 2025, linked here) may form part of consortia as downstream partners, but may not apply as the lead implementing partner.

In our commitment to the localisation of delivery, additional consideration will be given to consortia which include local organisations, Level 1 and Level 2 B-BBEE contributors, women-owned entities, youth-owned entities, and entities owned by people with disabilities.

What types of costs are eligible?
All projects must be delivered on a not-for-profit basis. Eligible costs will include:

Consultancy and/or staff time required to deliver activities;
Reasonable travel and subsistence costs;
Other costs directly related to activities and outputs (workshops, seminars, production of reports, translation etc.).

We cannot award funding for infrastructure, hardware, or for tangible assets.

For further details, please refer to the UK PACT Applicant Handbook and Budget Template below, which reflect FCDO grant management rules applicable to this programme.

Application timeline

The steps and indicative dates for each stage of this Call for Proposals:

South Africa-UK PACT Climate Policy and Governance and Clean Energy sectors -2

This timeline is subject to change. All changes will be communicated on this web page.

Market engagement event

At the market engagement event held on 26 June 2025, we shared details about the contents of the Call for Proposals, eligibility and how to apply. Click here to watch the recording and view the slides from the event.

Clarification questions

Answers to consolidated clarification questions submitted to southafrica@ukpact.co.uk are accessible here and will be updated on 28 July 2025. Clarification questions will be accepted until 25 July 2025 at 17:00 (SAST)/ 15:00 (UTC).

Access the Q&A document here - Updated 21 July 2025

How to apply: Project 1

Please refer to the correct project to find the details and application link of the project you are interested in applying for.

This section outlines how you can apply for project 1: Supporting the AIDC-EC and the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in the development of the Eastern Cape Climate Change Response Strategy.

Projects will be selected through a one-stage open and competitive Call for Proposals. Applicants should read the Terms of Reference and Applicant Handbook below, to understand what is required to submit a strong proposal for this call.

To start your application process, fill in the templates below and then submit the form linked. After submitting the form, you will receive an email containing a link to upload your application pack. The following documents form your application pack and must be downloaded, completed in English, and submitted via the link sent to your email, after submitting the form below.

For project 1, you do not require a Letter of Intent from the Government Counterpart.

All the guidance you will need to make an application can be found here:

The deadline for submitting proposals is on 8 August 2025 at 17:00 (SAST)/ 15:00 (UTC). Submissions will not be considered if the full application pack has not been uploaded or if they are received after the deadline.

Once you have submitted your documents on the web browser, you should see a green tick on your webpage with a message indicating that your submission was successful. Kindly note that you will not receive an email confirming receipt of your application.

If you run into any issues with accessing or sharing the relevant templates, please contact southafrica@ukpact.co.uk before the deadline.

How to apply: Project 2

Please refer to the correct project to find the details and application link of the project you are interested in applying for.

This section outlines how you can apply for project 2: Supporting the Western Cape Government in the development of the Western Cape Integrated Resource Plan.

For project 2, you do not require a Letter of Intent from the Government Counterpart.

All the guidance you will need to make an application can be found here:

If you run into any issues with accessing or sharing the relevant templates, please contact southafrica@ukpact.co.uk before the deadline.

How to apply: Thematic area 1

Please refer to the correct project to find the details and application link of the project you are interested in applying for.

This section outlines how you can apply for thematic area 1: Enabling implementation of the Climate Change Act at subnational level.

For Thematic Area 1, applicants are expected to obtain a signed Letter of Support from a relevant signatory within the government counterpart.

The Letter of Support should be signed by the MEC or Head of Department (HOD) responsible for the environment in the case of a Province, and by the Mayor or Municipal Manager in the case of a District Municipality or Metro. This letter must be submitted as part of your application.

All the guidance you will need to make an application can be found here:

If you run into any issues with accessing or sharing the relevant templates, please contact southafrica@ukpact.co.uk before the deadline.

How to apply: Thematic area 2

Please refer to the correct project to find the details and application link of the project you are interested in applying for.

This section outlines how you can apply for thematic area 2: Advancing a Just and Clean Energy Transition through local action.

For Thematic Area 2, applicants are expected to obtain a signed Letter of Intent from a relevant signatory within the Government counterpart their project seeks to support (e.g. the Province, Municipality, or Government Agency).

The Letter of Intent should be signed by the relevant MEC or Head of Department (HOD) in the case of a Province, by the Mayor or Municipal Manager in the case of a Municipality, or by an authorised signatory of a Government Agency. This letter must be submitted as part of your application.

All the guidance you will need to make an application can be found here:

If you run into any issues with accessing or sharing the relevant templates, please contact southafrica@ukpact.co.uk before the deadline.

Eligibility checker

Want to check if your proposal is eligible before applying? Use the quick check list below. You can find more about eligibility for this call, and for UK PACT funding in general, by reading our Applicant Handbook and Terms of Reference above.

Q. Is your project aligned with at least one of the scopes of the call?

Yes No

This indicates that your project may be eligible. Please proceed to the next question.

Unfortunately, this makes your project ineligible.

Q. Is the value of your your project up to £500,000 per financial year?

Yes No

This indicates that your project may be eligible. Please proceed to the next question.

Unfortunately, this makes your project ineligible.

Q. Is your organisation eligible to apply for UK PACT funding? Note that government agencies and/or departments are not eligible.

Yes No

This indicates that your project may be eligible. Please proceed to the next question.

Unfortunately, this makes your project ineligible.

Q. Are your project activities and costs eligible?
Please note: we cannot award funding for tangible assets and profit is not an eligible cost in UK PACT budgets, either as a direct cost or within overheads.

Yes No

This indicates that your project may be eligible.

Unfortunately, this makes your project ineligible.

Answering yes to all the questions above indicates that your project is eligible to apply for funding. Apply via the correct project link above.

Answering no to any question above indicates that your organisation or project is not eligible for funding at this time. Please re-read our guidance documents carefully to find out how to design a UK PACT project.

Call for Proposals: Climate Policy and Governance, and Clean Energy

Eligibility checker

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