Guidance

Seed Sourcing Grant

Grant support for activities that enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed sources in England.

From:
Forestry Commission
Published
22 September 2022
Last updated
13 November 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

The Seed Sourcing Grant is now closed for applications.

About the Seed Sourcing Grant

The Seed Sourcing Grant (SSG) is a competitive grant to provide support for activities that enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed sources in England. The government aims to at least treble tree planting rates in England by 2025 and has set legally binding targets to increase tree and woodland cover to 16.5% of total land area by 2050.

The SSG will help to ensure the availability of planting stock to meet these targets.

The SSG supports projects that will increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of seed stands and seed orchards on the Forest Reproductive Material (FRM) Register of UK Basic Material. See Marketing forest reproductive material for forestry purposes for more details.

Technical experts have developed a set of recommended Tree Seed Species Strategies (PDF, 864 KB, 64 pages).

The strategies cover 21 species that have been identified as a priority for support. They provide suggested ideal approaches to enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of registered seed stands and orchards for these species. Delivery of these strategies is the priority for financial support from the SSG, which is reflected in the grant evaluation criteria and payment rates. However, given the likely uplift in seed requirement of all kinds to meet planting targets, the scheme is open to proposals covering all species included in the UK FRM scheme including the voluntary scheme.

Guelder rose and wych elm were previously identified as priority species but have been removed as several projects to address these strategies are currently underway. However, they are still eligible for 50% funding as a non-priority species.

Successful projects and case studies

Read about previous successful seed sourcing projects.

We are unlikely to fund work that duplicates previously funded projects.

Read our tree and seed production case studies to find out how funding helped landowners, nurseries and other organisations.  

What funding is available?

Up to £260,000 of funding is available through the SSG, subject to sufficient high-quality bids being received.  

All activities related to the 21 priority species seed sourcing strategies will be funded at 100%, and other projects will be funded at 50%. 

If applying for a non-priority species, you should consider the source of your match funding before applying and explain this in your application. You may not source match funding from another Nature for Climate Fund funded grant. 

Projects must have a minimum total cost of £2,000 to be eligible for funding. You may submit more than one bid during each funding round, but each lead applicant may only apply for a maximum of £75,000 per annum, across all their bids in each funding round. 

Funding is available for the 2024-2025 financial year only. All items must be received and work completed between 1 April 2024 and 27 March 2025. Before applying, please make sure you are confident that you can complete all activities and receive all items before this date. Any spend after this date will not be eligible to claim for.

If you are following a recommendation from the priority species strategies that you cannot complete fully by 27 March 2025, you should demonstrate the outputs that will be achieved in the funding period and how these contribute to the grant objectives. You should also explain any future plans beyond the funding period and how the work in your SSG proposal would contribute to these.

Eligible activities and costs

Proposals can include a combination of these activities:

  1. Management of existing seed stands, to ensure they are productive for seed collectors e.g., thinning, improving access, or installing fencing. Seed stands must either already be registered on the National Register of Basic Material or should be registered on the National Register of Basic Material as part of the proposed project. This may include bringing current source-identified seed sources under management and registering them as a seed stand as part of the project. These must be time-bound rather than ongoing activities.

  2. Desk studies and field studies to identify and bring additional seed stands onto the National Register of Basic Material.

  3. Planning and planting of new seed stands, and their registration on the National Register of Basic Material.

  4. Planning and planting of new seed orchards and their registration on the National Register of Basic Material.

To be eligible for funding:

  • the project proposal must be relevant to the production of tree seed from species covered by the UK FRM scheme (including those in the voluntary scheme)
  • the seed stand or seed orchard must be in England
  • the work to be funded must not have commenced, and must not commence until a funding agreement is in place
  • activities must be associated with one of the eligible FRM categories below

Eligible categories of FRM:

  • source-identified seed stands
  • selected and tested seed stands
  • qualified and tested seed orchards

Source-identified seed sources are also eligible for funding under this grant if they meet the criteria to be registered as source-identified seed stands and are registered as seed stands as part of the proposed project.

Eligible costs that may be claimed for include but are not limited to:

  • staff, or contractor, costs for project delivery, including for research and technical advice
  • seeds and saplings
  • consumables and temporary infrastructure required for management of seed stands, for example fencing
  • contribution sought towards costs of equipment required to complete the project. For equipment over £500, the contribution offered will be at the evaluation panel’s discretion
  • travel and subsistence specifically for the SSG grant activity, carried out in the most economically and sustainable way possible

The following expenditure is ineligible:

  • ongoing maintenance of seed stand and/or seed orchard after the project delivery window
  • insurance for capital items or staff
  • repairs and ongoing maintenance to existing or purchased equipment
  • any other travel and subsistence (inclusive of other grant schemes)
  • costs or overheads such as rent, and utilities apportioned to those staff directly or indirectly employed on the project. 
  • costs incurred outside of the project delivery window
  • costs involved in preparing your application or work on another grant scheme
  • retrospective funding for work that has already been started/carried out before grant agreement
  • capital items relating to seed processing or storage
  • business as usual seed collection

Am I eligible?

The SSG is open to any UK-based public, private, or third sector organisation that can demonstrate how the grant will be used to enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of English seed stands and seed orchards. Individual private landowners may also apply for eligible activities on their own land.

Previous applicants to the SSG, whether successful or unsuccessful, can reapply in this round.

Applicants to the SSG could include:

  • public and private sector tree nurseries and tree seed suppliers
  • research institutes including public sector research establishments
  • landowners including private and public landowners and NGOs, agents may make an application on behalf of a landowner
  • NGO’s working on tree improvement and other aspects of seed and tree production

Forestry England (FE) and Forest Research (FR) are not eligible for grant funding under the SSG but may be subcontracted on behalf of eligible organisations to complete SSG related work.

Consortium applications

You can apply for the SSG in partnership with other organisations. In your application you should identify which organisation will be lead organisation.

If your application is successful, the lead organisation will become the sole agreement holder and will be the sole recipient of grant funding upon receipt of valid claims. They will be responsible for the undertakings and obligations detailed in any grant agreement, in line with terms and conditions of funding.

The contractual arrangements held between the lead organisation and their collaborators are not the responsibility of the Forestry Commission. The lead organisation will have sole responsibility for onward disbursal of grant funding to co-applicants, for example.

How to apply

The Seed Sourcing Grant is now closed for applications.

Read the SSG guidance for help completing the application form and spreadsheet.

You must submit an application form and finance spreadsheet by 11.55pm on Tuesday 13 February 2024.

A single stage application process will follow.

As this is a competitive grant, not all eligible applications will be funded.

In the application form you will be asked to provide details about:

  • the project and how it fits within the scope of the fund to increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed available for planting in England
  • the longevity of the impacts resulting from the proposed activities
  • who is in the project team and what their roles are
  • your approach to delivering the project and any delivery risks
  • the impact that an injection of public funding would have on the project
  • the cost of the project and how it represents value for money for the project team and for the taxpayer
  • the source of your match funding if applying for a non-priority species 
  • whether you have received, have applied for, or intend to apply for any other government funds

How are applications assessed

All applications will be evaluated by a panel with expertise and experience of tree and seed production in England. If the grant is oversubscribed, funding will be awarded to the highest scoring successful applicants. Any applications deemed to fall outside the scope of the fund or that do not meet the SSG eligibility criteria will not be evaluated and will be rejected. If your application scores 0 for any of the scored questions or scores less than 20/40 overall it will be unsuccessful.

We reserve the right to not award all the funding available if insufficient bids of an appropriate quality are received. All eligible applications will remain valid for 6 months after the closing date. If the funds are oversubscribed and additional funds become available, we may reconsider valid applications for funding.

Reporting and payments

If your application is successful, you will be issued with a grant agreement.

You must not begin your project before the start date of your grant agreement or before you have signed your agreement.

Expenditure outside of the funding period will not be eligible to claim back. 

You may claim at the end of the financial year and at 2 other times of your choosing in the financial year. You must have received an item or completed a piece of work before you can claim for it.

The deadline for final claims is 27 March 2025.

We will pay claims in arrears by BACS transfer following receipt of completed claim forms. Payment of the claim will be made within 30 days of the us approving your claim. All claims must be supported by evidence of all expenditure (i.e., invoices/ timesheets). Where not accompanied by a final or end of year report, a progress update must be provided to demonstrate that works have been carried out as per the grant agreement.

You must submit an end of project report with your final claim. This should detail achievement against stated outcome and outputs, lessons learnt and any need for further development. Payments may be withheld or reclaimed if reports are not submitted on time.

Intellectual property rights and rights to genetic resources

Intellectual property and rights to genetic resources shall remain with grant recipients. Grant recipients should have appropriate material supply agreements in place with the landowners and other interested parties involved in sourcing and final planting locations of material to cover ownership of the resulting genetic resources and intellectual property rights.

Long term use of the seed stands and seed orchards

All seed stands and orchards funded by SSG must be registered on the National Register of Basic Material. They will be subject to the usual FRM inspections (see Marketing forest reproductive material for forestry purposes for more detail). Should these inspections show that the seed stand or orchard is not being properly maintained during the period of grant award, the Forestry Commission reserves the right to claw back funds.

Further information

In 2022 the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) ran an online event about ‘Seed Sourcing for Trees of the Future’. The sessions contained a range of guidance and advice that may be helpful when preparing your SSG application. You can watch the sessions by following the links below: 

The Forestry Commission reserves the right to change the deadline for applications or make changes to the application process at short notice. The Forestry Commission reserves the right to amend, add to or withdraw all or any part of the funding application process at any time during the process. All changes are recorded at the bottom of this page (click ‘show all updates’) and where these are made following the opening date the lead applicant for all applications already received will be contacted directly by email. Material changes (for example to the closing date or eligibility rules) will also be communicated via the Forestry Commission’s eAlert.  

If you wish to clarify any application requirements or the application process, please email ssg@forestrycommission.gov.uk. We will aim to respond to all requests for clarification within three working days of receipt. If we consider information requests relevant to any applicant, we will provide additional guidance to all applicants (via point of contact provided) by email to ensure a fair and open process. We may be unable to respond to other support requests due to the competitive bid process. The Forestry Commission reserves the right not to answer clarifications where it considers that the answer to that clarification would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests. 

Applicants who canvass Forestry Commission or Defra employees associated with the SSG may have their applications rejected from the process. Applicants who are unable to accept standard terms and conditions may have their application eliminated from the application process. 

The Forestry Commission may carry out checks on each application using a variety of government tools including the Cabinet Office’s automated grants due diligence tool called ‘Spotlight’ and Bank Account Verification software. As part of the due diligence process, the Forestry Commission may share details of the organisations involved in applications to this grant with other parts of government.

The Forestry Commission is not responsible for any losses, breakages or injuries incurred by the applicant whilst engaged in activities associated with the SSG.

Neither the Forestry Commission nor its respective advisers, directors, officers, members, partners, employees, other staff, or agents:

  • makes any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy, reasonableness, or completeness of this guidance
  • accepts any responsibility for the information contained in this guidance or for the fairness, accuracy or completeness of that information nor shall any of them be liable for any loss or damage (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) arising as a result of reliance on such information or any subsequent communication

Definition of terms

Basic material

The plant material from which FRM is derived and consists of seed stands, seed orchards, parent material held by tree breeders in archives, individual clones and clonal mixtures.

Forest Reproductive Material (FRM)

Can consist of fruit, seeds, and cones; all parts of plants obtained by vegetative propagation including embryos; and plant produced from any of these.

FRM (qualified)

Derives from the selection of superior individual trees which have not undergone any form of testing.

FRM (selected)

Collected from stands showing superior characteristics for example better form, growth rate, health.

FRM (source-identified)

This comes from general or specific locations within a single region of provenance or native seed zone with an altitude band but with no specific superior qualities recognised.

FRM (tested)

Derives from the selection or individual trees or stands which have been evaluated for genetic quality or, in comparison to accepted standards, have been shown to be superior.

Regions of provenance

Defined areas within which similar ecological and climatic conditions are found. They provide a framework for specifying sources of FRM.

The Register of UK Basic Materials

The source of all information on approved basic material.

Plus Tree

A tree that is selected for breeding programmes because of its superior characteristics, such as excellent form, timber volume, trunk straightness, or increase resistance to disease.

Seed orchards

Sources based on known individuals derived from tree breeding programmes. They can be qualified or tested.

Seed stand

Specifically defined areas or groups of trees with identified boundaries. They can be source-identified, selected, or tested.

Contact us

You can get further help from the Forestry Commission by emailing ssg@forestrycommission.gov.uk. Find out how to make a complaint or appeal.

Updates to this page

Published 22 September 2022
Last updated 13 November 2024 + show all updates

  1. Changed the case studies link to the main collection page.

  2. Applications are now closed.

  3. Information about 'Seed Sourcing Grant: how to apply' webinar has been removed as it is out of date.

  4. Page updated to reflect the grant has re-opened for applicants.

  5. Updated SSG content ahead of third round reopening. Minimum project value reduced from £10,000 to £2,000, video guidance from Seed Sourcing for Trees of the Future added, and year in which funding is available changed to 2024/25 only.

  6. Updating the information to note that the grant application window has now closed.

  7. Added the Seed Sourcing Grant Webinar recording.

  8. Updated made for new funding round.

  9. Updated ahead of new application round, updated Tree Seed Species Strategy document.

  10. First published.

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