CDKN Innovation Fund (Round 2) – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The CDKN Innovation Fund (Round 2) offers a total of GBP200,000, split into two awards of up to GBP100,000 each, specifically for innovation processes focused on Africa. Eligible applications must be led by an African organization and include at least two partners, with the majority of funds allocated to African institutions. The fund prioritizes 'demand-led' projects with demonstrated government buy-in and excludes fully-fledged research proposals, instead seeking interactive processes that produce outputs like policy briefs or road maps.

• The total budget for Round 2 of the CDKN Innovation Fund is GBP200,000, which will be distributed as two awards with a maximum value of GBP100,000 each. Additionally, CDKN may later provide implementation awards of up to GBP200,000 each to support high-quality results.
• Applications for Round 2 must be focused on Africa and align with the CDKN's year 3 strategy for Africa. The Lead Applicant must be an African organization, not an international institution based in Africa, and the applicant group must include at least two partners, one or more of whom must be African.
• The fund specifically supports 'innovation processes'—interactive spaces or workshops that convene stakeholders to find original solutions—rather than fully-fledged research proposals. Acceptable outputs include project proposals, conceptual frameworks, learning materials, policy briefs, implementation road maps, or best practice tool kits.
• Projects must be 'demand-led', meaning they require buy-in from a developing country government, ministry, or department. This buy-in can be evidenced through support letters, white papers, national climate change strategy papers, ministerial statements, or national assessment reports.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). CDKN Innovation Fund (Round 2) – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-IF-Round-2-FAQ_PUBLISHING-VERSION_FINAL21.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. CDKN Innovation Fund (Round 2) – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-IF-Round-2-FAQ_PUBLISHING-VERSION_FINAL21.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=CDKN Innovation Fund (Round 2) – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-IF-Round-2-FAQ_PUBLISHING-VERSION_FINAL21.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndcdkn, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{CDKN Innovation Fund (Round 2) – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-IF-Round-2-FAQ_PUBLISHING-VERSION_FINAL21.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }