The questions below are intended to provide a general overview of frequently asked questions and topics relating to the outline process of the IKI Medium Grant funding instrument. For more detailed information, please refer to the funding announcement and the criteria (Annex I) for the current ideas competition listed in the funding announcement. In the accompanying document, you will also find explanations regarding the information to be provided in the outline.
Legal and commercial issues relating to the application phase and project implementation are described in more detail in the administrative guidelines.
Non-profit organisations and companies that are based in Germany at the time of the first grant payment, and are implementing the project in cooperation with local partners are eligible. The project outline is only allowed to be submitted by a single eligible applicant. If the application is successful, the applicant will be the grantee and will bear overall responsibility for the entire project. Cooperation with local organisations is required; however, responsibility and the right to submit an application lie solely with the applicant.
No. Only the applicant needs to meet the eligibility criteria. Project partners do not need to be eligible to apply themselves. However, they must meet the specific requirements applicable to partner organisations. In this context, they must have the appropriate technical and organisational expertise and take on a clearly defined role in the project.
Not necessarily at the time of submitting the project outline. At that stage, the lead organisation must be based in Germany or another EU Member State.
Before the first disbursement of funding, however, the lead organisation must have a permanent, independently operating branch in Germany with its own management and accounting. Organisations based exclusively outside the European Union are therefore not eligible for funding.
No. The applicant must be an organisation eligible to apply under the funding regulations. However, organisations from the countries of implementation may participate as project partners.
Only independent civil society organisations that meet all of the following criteria are eligible for funding:
at least three years’ proven experience in international cooperation
not-for-profit status
the ability to independently plan, implement, and manage the finances of their projects
Government bodies, private-sector companies, and one-person companies are not eligible for funding. An exception applies to think tanks, provided that they can demonstrate their independence and make their analyses transparent and publicly available. Non-profit enterprises must provide evidence of their non-profit status for tax purposes.
North-South cooperation
Yes. The project is implemented jointly by an eligible lead organisation and up to two partner organisations.
For projects in one country of implementation, at least one partner organisation must be based there. For projects carried out in two countries of implementation, there must be a partner organisation based in each of the two countries. The two countries of implementation must be in the same geographical region.
The cooperation should be based on partnership and equality. When assessing the project outline, particular attention is paid to a fair distribution of tasks, an appropriate allocation of the budget, and mutual knowledge transfer between the partners.
No. North-North consortia comprising more than one lead organisation are not permitted.
No. Private-sector companies are not allowed to act as implementing partners that receive IKI funding. However, they can be included in the project as part of the target group and contribute to the long-term effectiveness and dissemination of the project results in non-funded roles (e.g. consultancy, training, workshops, or support for environmentally friendly business models). Direct or indirect involvement of the private sector is positively assessed.
No. A maximum of two partner organisations is permitted.
No. Partner organisations are organisations involved in implementing the project alongside the applicant. They do not need to be eligible to apply themselves but must be registered in the country of implementation, be legally and financially independent, and operate on a not-for-profit basis. They must demonstrate at least two years’ relevant expertise in the selected thematic priority. The experience of the applicant, and not of individual staff members, is assessed.
Local authorities and private-sector companies cannot receive funds forwarded by the grantee.
Requirements for the project idea
No. The application of tried-and-tested technical, methodological, or social approaches to new topics, target groups, or regions is also regarded as an innovation.
Yes. Regional novelty is the decisive criterion.
Yes. Unless it offers a clear benefit over the status quo, the approach will not be recognised as an innovation.
Yes. The thematic priority defines the focus of the project and is redefined with each funding announcement. Only one thematic focus is allowed to be selected per project outline.
The funding approach describes the nature of the project (e.g. pilot project or capacity development). At least one funding approach must be selected for each project. Two funding approaches may be combined, provided this is justified on technical grounds.
Further information on the thematic priorities of the respective funding call can be found in the funding announcement.
No. Organisations involved in the project do not need to demonstrate that they have their own safeguards systems in place at the time of submitting a project outline. However, applicants should consider the IKI safeguards and the potential environmental and social risks of their project as early as the outline phase. Furthermore, the IKI exclusion criteria must be taken into account right from the project design stage because certain project activities are, in principle, ineligible for funding. The IKI Safeguards Policy and the environmental and social standards of the Green Climate Fund become mandatory at the application stage, when appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate identified risks must also be set out.
If you have any further questions regarding the safeguards, please contact the IKI Safeguards Team: safeguards(at)z-u-g.org.
Yes. All funded projects must demonstrate at least gender-responsive planning.
Gender-responsive – The project considers existing gender norms, roles, and relationships, prevents discrimination, and ensures equal participation in and benefits from the measures regardless of gender.
Gender-transformative – The project addresses the root causes of gender-based inequalities (including social norms, unequal distribution of roles, and power structures) and goes beyond gender equality.
Further information and examples can be found in Annex 1 of the IKI Gender Guidelines. If you have any queries regarding the implementation of the Gender Strategy, please contact the Gender Helpdesk at iki‑gender@z‑u‑g.org.
Yes, there are clear financial requirements for an IMG project. The funding volume applied for must be between EUR 300,000 and EUR 800,000, and the project duration should run for at least two and no more than three years. The average funding volume per fiscal year is not allowed to exceed 50% of the average annual turnover of the applicant over the last two years. Funding is generally provided as partial funding. As a rule, IKI does not provide follow‑up financing.
No. Applicant contributions (own funds) are unrestricted financial resources of the applicant and may be counted as such. Third party contributions do not count towards the applicant contribution and are only allowed to be included in the total budget if it has been firmly committed; third party contributions come from other public or private funders; the implementing partners' own funds also count as third party contributions. Earmarked funds and in-kind contributions do not count towards the applicant’s contribution.
Yes. The assessment takes into account the level of the applicant’s contribution in relation to the financial capacity of the applicant. Universities are exempt from the requirement to make a contribution (see Administrative Guidelines).
No. The budget should accurately reflect the roles and responsibilities of the project partners. A substantial proportion of the funding should be passed on to civil society implementing partners in the country of implementation. The allocation of the budget must be consistent with the planned distribution of tasks and clearly reflect the collaborative partnership within the project.
No. Only project-related, reasonable, and verifiable costs (staff, materials, travel, events, fees, and capital expenditure) incurred during the grant period are eligible for funding; all other expenditure is excluded. Further details can be found in the Administrative Guidelines.
No. The grantee is the applicant based in Germany. It receives the grant award document and remains responsible for the proper use of the funding even if the funds are forwarded to implementing partners. Funding will be made available only once the grant notification has been received and only on the specified start date of the project.
Submission, assessment, and selection of project outlines
Yes. Project outlines (consisting of an outline form and a concept note) must be submitted exclusively via theIKI online platform. Submissions sent by email or in other file formats will not be considered. Project outlines must be submitted in English only. Once the project outline has been successfully submitted, applicants will receive confirmation of receipt by email.
An applicant may submit several project outlines. However, the same project outline cannot be submitted to more than one IKI funding call at the same time.
Project outlines are selected in a two-stage process.
Formal review: Verification of compliance with the formal requirements.
Technical assessment: Technical assessment of the formally approved project outlines by the IKI Office at ZUG, with the involvement of the responsible federal ministry.
Based on the assessment results and subject to available budgetary resources, the responsible federal ministry decides which applicants will be invited to the second stage of the selection procedure.
The selection procedure usually takes up to six months. All applicants are informed of the outcome in writing.
It is not possible to carry out a preliminary assessment or provide individual advice on project outlines.
As the designated project management agency, the IKI Office at ZUG supports the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUKN) in implementing the IKI and is available to answer questions about the ideas competition. Should you require further information, please use the contact form.
For enquiries about the IKI Medium Grant funding instrument, you can contact the IKI Office at ZUG by telephone on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 pm and Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:00 am.
