Darwin Initiative

(asked on 1st September 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the COVID-19 Rapid Response Round (Non-ODA) Grant.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 11th September 2023

The Biodiversity Challenge Funds (BCF) include the Darwin Initiative, Darwin Plus and the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, which support a series of projects under distinct funding rounds.

All grants under these schemes report on effectiveness through a combination of half-year, annual and final reports. These reports are assessed by an independent specialist. A sample of projects across the portfolio are also selected each year for detailed financial spot audit checks and technical checks through mid-term reviews which are more in-depth investigations into project performance.

All reports and information about projects are available on the relevant fund websites:

In 2020, an external evaluation of the BCF was carried out. The scope of this evaluation included all projects since the beginning of the schemes across all countries and territories of operation. Across the three BCF, the evaluation found that, overall, projects made significant contributions to reducing threats to biodiversity loss and enhancing the protection of biodiverse ecosystems. The full report is available at: https://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/assets/uploads/FinalReport_Publishable.pdf.

Reticulating Splines