A funder’s guide to locally-led Just Transition projects

The document argues that funders of Just Transition projects in Africa should move away from top-down models toward locally-led development. It identifies intermediary organisations—such as non-profits, community foundations, and trade unions—as critical bridges that help funders access local knowledge, build trust, and manage risks. The guide outlines a continuum of local engagement ranging from 'inform' to 'support' (where goals originate from the community) and provides specific recommendations for funders, including budgeting for co-design, pacing projects to match trust-building, and building the institutional capacity of intermediaries.

• Funders of community-level Just Transition projects in Africa face significant barriers in accessing local knowledge, obtaining the social license to operate, and navigating the complexities of local contexts.
• Intermediary organisations—which may include not-for-profit organisations, community foundations, trade unions, worker advocacy groups, or think tanks—serve as essential bridges between international donors and local communities by managing risks and ensuring funding reaches small local groups.
• Locally-led development is described as a progressive continuum of engagement: starting with informing communities, then consulting them, partnering with them, delegating critical decision-making power, and finally reaching a stage where initiatives and goals originate from the local community.
• To improve effectiveness, funders are advised to adopt agile project goals, budget for multi-year projects and co-design, and ensure the pace of project implementation does not exceed the speed of trust-building with local stakeholders.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). A funder’s guide to locally-led Just Transition projects. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/COP-Funder-Brief-V5.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. A funder’s guide to locally-led Just Transition projects. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/COP-Funder-Brief-V5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=A funder’s guide to locally-led Just Transition projects |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/COP-Funder-Brief-V5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendfunders, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{A funder’s guide to locally-led Just Transition projects}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/COP-Funder-Brief-V5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }