Darwin Initiative Extra (Round 32) is sponsored by Darwin Initiative (UK Government - Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs). The Darwin Initiative supports communities in finding sustainable ways to conserve and restore nature while promoting economic growth and poverty reduction. A current project in Indonesia is enabling large-scale conservation across West Papua's land- and seascapes.

Capability & Capacity Applications Round 32 is now live! Please see below for more information. The Darwin Initiative is a UK Government grants scheme that supports communities to find just, scalable, and sustainable ways to conserve and restore nature while growing their economies and reducing poverty.

Successful Darwin Initiative projects are likely to: Facilitate changes that improve biodiversity conservation and reduce poverty Operate in ways that make change likely to last beyond external funding, including enhancing the capability and capacity of national and local partners and stakeholders Strengthen, promote, and use evidence to inform and scale changes Facilitate large-scale benefits for biodiversity and people, or test approaches that have the potential to deliver large-scale impact Demonstrate an understanding of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion within their context, and effectively reflect this in their approach to deliver sustained outcomes The guidance documents for each scheme can be found below.

All applications should be submitted via the Flexi-Grant application portal .

Round 32 of the Darwin Initiative includes the following schemes: Stage 1 – open – deadline Monday 20 th July 2026 Stage 2 – by invite only – deadline Monday 30 th November 2026 Stage 1 – open – deadline Wednesday 1 st July 2026 Stage 2 – by invite only – deadline Monday 2 nd November 2026 Darwin Initiative Capability & Capacity – open – deadline Monday 31 st August 2026 Round 32 funding update webinar On Thursday 28 May 2026, we hosted a Darwin Initiative Round 32 Funding Update Webinar.

This webinar provided an update on the Darwin Initiative, outlining what has changed in Round 32, why these changes have been introduced, and what they mean in practice. There was also an opportunity for participants to ask questions. You can access the webinar recording and presentation slides here .

Before applying, you should first read the following documents: Round 32 Guidance for applicants Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Guidance Darwin Initiative Standard Indicators Guidance Biodiversity Challenge Funds Risk Management Guidance Biodiversity Challenge Funds Terms & Conditions Biodiversity Challenge Funds Privacy Notice Biodiversity Challenge Funds AI Policy Please refer to the application guidance for the list of countries and organisations eligible for the schemes – this is particularly important for Round 32 as there have been significant changes to the geographic eligibility this year.

Once you have read the guidance, you will be required to complete additional material as part of your application, which can be found on the respective scheme pages found in the side menu, or downloaded from Flexi-Grant. All applications should be submitted via the Flexi-Grant application portal . For further queries, see our Frequently Asked Questions .

If you would like to contact us regarding an application, and you can’t find the answer in the guidance documents, please contact the Darwin Initiative Administration Team: General application queries: BCF-Darwin@niras. com For queries specific to using the Flexi-Grant system: BCF-Flexigrant@niras. com