Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) Grants Programme
Updated 29 November 2024
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The Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) Grants Programme is a competitive grants scheme to support projects that aim to deliver lasting change to the marine environment and coastal communities. The programme is funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) as part of the UK’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund.
In the last 10 years, less than 1% (around $13 billion) of the total value of the ocean has been invested in sustainable projects, even though the ocean supports the livelihoods of 1 in 10 people globally. OCEAN seeks to redress this imbalance and support people and communities who have most acutely and disproportionately been impacted by climate change.
Organisations including civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are able to submit applications for funding to deliver projects in ODA eligible countries, through an annual call for proposals. Our next call for proposals is due to open in January 2025.
There are two funding pathways available to bid for:
- community grants of up to £250,000 – targeted for small scale, local, in-country organisations
- partnership grants of up to £3 million – to support organisations that can fund large-scale activities and scale up effective solutions that partner with local communities
OCEAN directly supports the International Development Strategy, which emphasises the necessity of localising ODA. The programme’s long-term objective is to increase the capacity of local organisations to drive equitable and inclusive decision-making, which will in turn enable communities to manage and benefit from marine ecosystems sustainably.
You can find more information on the OCEAN grants website.
OCEAN Expert Committee
To ensure a range of views have been considered when making funding decisions, a committee of marine and development experts will be appointed to provide high quality, specialist advice on which applications should receive funding based on set criteria.
Applications to join the OCEAN Expert Committee are open. We are looking for individuals who, as leaders in their field, can contribute at the highest levels and work effectively as part of the Committee. On this occasion we are especially keen to hear from candidates with international development programming expertise working with local communities. We are interested in those with experience working in African, Caribbean and Pacific small island developing states (SIDS).
Members will be expected to:
- assess and score applications against the published criteria, to agreed timelines and standards, to enable Defra to award funding to high-quality projects,
- provide strategic advice
- champion the OCEAN grants programme
We would like to encourage applications from a wide range of backgrounds and global contexts, including the private sector, academia and professional institutions, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders. Applicants can be based anywhere, but applications from those in low- and middle-income ODA-eligible countries are particularly encouraged.
How to apply
To find out more and to apply to join the OCEAN Expert Committee, read our OCEAN Expert Committee recruitment pack.
The closing date for applications is Friday 10 January 2025.