Governing document
The specific call, programme or contract
Funding field guide
Bilateral and EU funding: read the call before designing the bid.
A useful idea can still be ineligible for a particular programme. Separate country priorities, applicant rules and the financial conditions before committing to a full application.
Start here
Is this a plausible route?
Reviewed 26 September 2026
Bilateral development agencies and European Union programmes offer several routes: grants, technical assistance, bank-supported investment and procurement opportunities. The right route depends on the specific programme and what you are trying to finance.
Eligibility
Applicant, partners, geography and activities
Critical practical detail
Deadline, submission system and required attachments
Access
Who takes the proposal forward?
Find the official opportunity
Use the agency or EU programme website. Confirm the call identifier, current status, geography and submission deadline.
Check admissibility
Read applicant/partner rules, eligible costs, grant range, own contribution and the required submission stages.
Build a compliant response
Map the action, results, work plan and budget to the evaluation criteria. Agree each partner’s responsibilities and evidence.
Submit and manage conditions
Allow time for registration and approvals. If selected, meet contracting, procurement, reporting and audit requirements.
Start with European Commission — external-action grants.
Preparation
What to prepare before a full proposal
An eligibility memo
Record each rule, your evidence and any unresolved question. Resolve disqualifying points before spending heavily on design.
A partnership that can execute
Explain why each partner is needed, who leads, and how decision-making, costs and liabilities are allocated.
A budget linked to delivery
Distinguish eligible direct costs, indirect costs, taxes and contributions under the actual rules. Check cash-flow needs as well as the grant amount.
An evidence-based proposal
Follow the published evaluation headings. Use a clear intervention logic, feasible indicators and a work plan that fits the permitted duration.
Make a simple readiness list: for each item, record the evidence available, the unresolved question, the responsible person and the next decision. This is an advisory checklist, not an official application form.
Opportunity screening
Distinguish a grant from a contract or an investment
What is the opportunity actually offering?
- GrantSupport for an eligible action with defined applicant, cost, contribution and reporting rules.
- Procurement contractPayment to deliver specified goods, works or services through a tender.
- Technical assistanceExpert support or capacity development; access may be through a programme or counterpart institution.
- Investment financeA financing product delivered through a bank or facility with its own appraisal and terms.
The Commission’s external-action grant guidance explains the grant route and points to official opportunities. IKI’s instrument overview helps distinguish Large, Medium and Small Grants. European Commission — external-action grants; IKI — funding instruments
Status matters: the 2026 IKI Small Grants full-proposal deadline was 17 March 2026 for invited applicants. The guidance remains a useful example, but that round is closed. Check the official programme for a later call and use its own dates and conditions. IKI Small Grants — funding information and application guidelines
Put it into practice
A local organisation exploring IKI Small Grants
Illustrative example · This explains preparation choices; it is not an approved or available funding offer.
The German International Climate Initiative (IKI) has different instruments. The 2026 Small Grants documents use an eligibility stage before invited applicants submit a full proposal. That call’s March 2026 proposal deadline has passed; the documents are useful guidance, not evidence of an open call today.
Common questions
Questions worth resolving early
Can I reuse an EU or IKI proposal in another programme?
Reuse verified project evidence, but recheck the logic, eligible applicant, geography, budget and annexes. A compliant application in one scheme may fail the admissibility test in another.
Which document wins when summaries disagree?
Use the specific official call, amendments and written clarifications. For example, the general IKI Small Grants overview and 2026 call materials describe different duration ranges; applicants should follow the applicable call.
Is co-financing always required?
The specific scheme sets the contribution and eligible-cost rules. Do not apply one programme’s ratio to every EU or bilateral grant.
Official sources
Read the guidance for the decision you are making
Reviewed 26 September 2026. The notes distinguish retrieved documents from official indexed extracts and unresolved details. Our diagrams and examples explain preparation choices; they are not official approval charts.
- European Commission — external-action grants
Grant and call-specific eligibility; follow the Commission’s link to the Funding & Tenders Portal for actual opportunities.
- IKI — funding instruments
Large, Medium and Small Grants have different applicant and selection arrangements.
- IKI Small Grants — funding information and application guidelines
2026 call documents and closed March 2026 proposal deadline reviewed. Use the call documents rather than transferring conditions from another IKI instrument.
Work with the practice
Turn the guide into a useful next step
Start with a non-confidential description of the country, project owner, climate problem and decision needed. We can help organise the evidence and compare preparation options; the fund or financier decides access and approval.
