Ideation Grants (Resilient Futures Call)

Ideation Grants (Resilient Futures Call) is sponsored by Better Politics Fund. The Resilient Futures Call supports non-partisan initiatives working at the intersection of democratic political leadership and climate resilience globally. Ideation Grants are for organizations and individuals anywhere in the world with bold, new ideas or innovative approaches.

Resilient Futures Call | Better Politics Fund Apply by 04 September 2026 A co-funded initiative by The Resilient Futures Call is a co-funded initiative by the Better Politics Fund , the European Climate Foundation , Naia Trust , and the Vibe Fund to support non-partisan initiatives working at the intersection of democratic political leadership and climate resilience globally.

The total available funding is USD 700,000 across two funding streams: Ideation Grants and Incubation Grants . The Call is global, with priority countries outlined below.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​​​​​​​ Open Call for Ideation Grants Organizations and individuals anywhere in the world with bold, new ideas or innovative approaches Grants of USD 10,000–20,000 ​ Late November / early December 2026 Two online sessions on 17 August 2026: Session 1: 8:00 CET (full; registration closed) Session 2: 16:00 CET (full; registration closed) Request recording here ; we will send you a link to the recording once it is available.

resilientfutures@betterpolitics. foundation Application Guidelines PDF Application Questions PDF - English Application Questions PDF - Español Application Questions PDF - Français Organizations and individuals anywhere in the world with ideas that have moved beyond early testing — where the approach itself is proven and the evidence is there, but the organization hasn't yet had the chance to build it out further.

Grants of up to USD 50,000 There is no application process; Incubation Grants are awarded by nomination. You will be contacted if you have been nominated. ​ Late November / early December 2026 ​ resilientfutures@betterpolitics.

foundation The Resilient Futures Call supports non-partisan initiatives working at the intersection of political leadership and climate resilience, across three areas: Pathways.

Helping climate scientists, advocates, and affected communities work more effectively with political and/or governance decision-makers so that good evidence and local knowledge shape policy, and so that policy gets carried through at every level of government, from town councils to national parliaments. Leadership.

Supporting programs that integrate a critical climate lens into democratic leadership development, strengthening ethical communication, policy design, effective implementation, and strategic coalition-building at all levels of governance. This includes initiatives that open doors and build pipelines for leaders from underrepresented backgrounds to engage in climate-related political processes. Cross-Sector Leadership.

Backing leadership on the issues climate touches most directly — energy, housing, transport, food, security, health, and conservation — and helping reform political systems and institutions so that leaders and new ideas in these areas can succeed. We’re looking for work where political leadership is a key driver of change — not a side effect, or a collateral element of a broader idea. ​​​​​​​ The Resilient Futures Call is global.

Each co-founder has identified priority countries where we especially want to see strong proposals, and where a portion of funding is directed. Even if you are not in a priority country, your application is still welcome and will be considered on its merits.

Country and thematic priorities by region ​ Priority countries per region are: Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa Asia: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand Europe: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, UK Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname Pacific: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu ​Priority countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand Overview: Early, untested initiatives to strengthen the conditions that enable climate-related policies to survive political transitions, fiscal crises, and governance challenges.

Much of this work won't carry a climate label. We welcome proposals from initiatives that: Accountability of public institutions. Convert a live public concern, for example a tariff increase, a fuel shortage, a disaster response, into terms by which an institution can be held accountable — and build the local, municipal, parliamentary, regulatory, or legal footholds needed to make that accountability stick.

Plugging network or evidence gaps. Step into a role no one currently occupies, whether that's brokering a coalition across groups that normally operate in isolation, or tracking whether a public commitment (on budgets, procurement, adaptation finance, licensing, service delivery) are being kept. Sustaining actors through cycles.

Help the leaders and institutions doing this work survive backlash and outlast any single news cycle — through investment in leadership pipelines, organizational development, and coalitions that hold together across phases as well as legal, security, or documentation support.

​Priority countries: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, UK Overview: Initiatives that make the transition more democratic, inclusive and grounded in people’s lived realities.

We are especially interested in projects that are replicable or adaptable across countries, connect actors working in different national contexts, and build bridges beyond the traditional climate movement — including with democracy, social justice, youth, community, local government, labor, housing, food, transport and civic space actors. ​​ We welcome proposals from initiatives that: Democratic legitimacy and public ownership.

Support rebuilding trust between people and political and public leaders and institutions—especially with communities most exposed to climate impacts, economic insecurity, energy poverty, or political exclusion - by equipping those leaders and institutions to engage meaningfully, and by giving people real voice, agency and ownership over the climate decisions that affect them. Affordability and everyday resilience.

Support democratic leadership and participatory approaches to the affordability challenges at the heart of the transition, including energy, transport, housing, food prices and access to essential services. We are interested in initiatives that help leaders, institutions and communities address real trade-offs and design fairer solutions. Multi-level governance for a fair transition.

Strengthen the capacity of local political leaders and institutions and support communities to co-design local transition plans, public investment and long-term resilience strategies to shape and deliver the transition.

​Priority countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname Overview: Initiatives that strengthen the capacity of political leaders and public institutions to govern, finance, conserve, restore, and regenerate critical climate ecosystems, embedding them into democratic institutions, public investment, and long-term development strategies to build more resilient, inclusive, and prosperous societies.

​​ We welcome proposals from initiatives that: Governing living systems for climate resilience. Support political leadership and institutions to develop, communicate and implement policy and initiatives to effectively govern forests, rivers, biodiversity, coastal ecosystems, and other living systems as foundations of climate resilience and sustainable development. Inclusive democratic leadership.

Strengthen the participation of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, youth, and subnational leaders in democratic institutions and territorial decision-making. Multi-level governance for a resilient Amazon Basin. Strengthen coordination across national governments, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and public institutions to more effectively govern transboundary living ecosystems, with a particular focus on the Amazon Basin.

​Priority countries: Pacific Small Island Developing States ( Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) Overview: Initiatives that promote localized strategies for climate finance and adaptation, regional mobility, and training the next generation of democratic political leaders — ensuring local and scientific knowledge inform decision-making at every level of government, particularly on issues related to renewable energy grids, climate-resilient infrastructure, food security, and coastal ecosystem restoration.

​​ We welcome proposals from initiatives that: Political leadership capacity. Support a pipeline of more representative political leaders and institutions with localized skills, tools, and networks to drive the policy and systems change needed to address such issues as coastal erosion and food insecurity. Accessing climate finance.

Strengthen coordination across national governments, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and public institutions so that local evidence and lived experience carry through into finance negotiations and regulatory decisions — from village and provincial levels up to the region's representation on the international stage. Anticipatory disaster governance.

Strengthen local and national capacity for proactive, cross-sector planning rather than reactive response — so that governments and communities can act ahead of shocks, not just recover from them. This includes sustaining political commitment even as short-term pressures compete for attention and resources.

​Priority countries: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa Overview: Initiatives that strengthen inclusive political leadership capable of navigating the structural, economic, and social dimensions of the climate transition — particularly where climate resilience intersects with racial, gender, class, and income inequality. ​​ We welcome proposals from initiatives that: Inclusive political leadership for structural transformation.

Strengthen political leaders and institutions to pursue structural transformation of political and economic systems that is explicitly inclusive of racial, gender, class, and income dimensions — rather than incremental change that leaves existing exclusions intact. Political leadership through a just transition.

Build the political leadership capacity needed to navigate the employment and social risks of the energy transition, helping leaders design, communicate, and deliver just-transition responses that manage job displacement and its political fallout. Representation of historically underrepresented groups in leadership.

Strengthen the participation and representation of historically underrepresented groups within political leadership and decision-making institutions, including attention to the language and framing used to engage these groups.

Where we are unable to fund​ Due to legal and operational limitations we are not able to fund individuals and organizations based or registered in: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Burkina Faso, China, Cuba, DR Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar/Burma, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Palestine (Gaza), Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, US, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine: (Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson).

​​ ​ ​ We apologize if this affects you. Resilient Futures Open Call for Ideation Grants​ The call is global and open for organizations, networks, collectives, or individuals. No need to be a registered charity, and no need to be based in a priority country (though it strengthens regional fit).

​​​​​​​ You should be able to say yes to all of the following points: Your idea is new or early-stage (organization under 12 months old, or a new pilot from an older organization). Established programs with a strong track record aren't right for an Ideation Grant. It aligns with at least one of the three funding areas and regional priorities.

It's non-partisan (we don't fund parties, candidates, or campaigns). You're based in an eligible location (see Where We Cannot Fund). Fill out the application form before midnight CET on 4 September 2026.

The form is short by design. There is no second full proposal stage — we have kept the process as light as possible because we respect your time. Submit before the deadline on 4 September 2026 — every application is acknowledged.

All applications are screened and shortlisted; our Grantmaking Council (eight regional experts across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific) reviews shortlisted applications and makes recommendations. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted with a request to provide supporting documentation for due diligence (sometimes including a short call).

Innovation: Does your approach bring something genuinely new: a new idea, method, or audience? Impact potential: How much difference could this make if it succeeds? Strategic clarity: Is there a credible plan connecting your activities to your intended outcome?

Financial clarity: Is your budget realistic and proportionate? Regional fit: How well does your idea reflect the political and institutional context of your region, and fit within one of the regional thematic priorities? Leadership: How convincing is your motivation and experience, and how rooted are you in your local context?

What we do and do not fund These examples are illustrative only, they are not a template you need to replicate. A first-of-its-kind training program for local councilors in flood-prone Philippine cities on climate risk, budgets, and coalitions. A new Romanian initiative bringing young politicians across the political spectrum together on energy transition debates.

An early-stage network of Indigenous Amazon leaders developing shared strategies to reach national climate policy processes. A Kenyan organization piloting an existing leadership framework for the first time with women politicians on water governance. A South African coalition testing a new approach to political strategy around just transition legislation.

A pilot in Sri Lanka tracking whether leaders deliver on flood relief commitments, mobilizing pressure where they don't. Examples of what we could fund Physical infrastructure (e.g. solar panels, climate infrastructure) — even where communities clearly benefit, if political leadership isn't a driver of your model.

Research, accountability scorecards and policy-gap mapping — we support the leaders and institutions who act on evidence, not the generation of it. Public awareness campaigns (e.g. plastic pollution, climate education) without a political leadership dimension. Programs affiliated with a political party or candidate — even if the content is climate-relevant, we don't fund anything connected to single parties or campaigning candidates.

Corporate sustainability or ESG initiatives — company-led programs are outside our scope. Outside-pressure advocacy campaigns — pushing governments on emissions targets without building new leadership capacity or changing how systems work. Citizens' assemblies or deliberation projects without a link connecting outcomes to political leaders or institutions acting on them.

Transparency or open-data initiatives without feeding into political or institutional decision-making. Watchdog or investigative journalism without a direct link to strengthening political leadership or institutional response. Examples of what we do not fund Read the Ideation Grants FAQs Resilient Futures Incubation Grants​ Incubation Grants are awarded by nomination only .

The Better Politics Fund will reach out to trusted partners, including Resilient Futures Call co-funders, Global Grantmaking Council, and the Political Leadership Entrepreneurship Network, to ask them to nominate organizations they know well — people doing proven, effective work that may not be widely visible. There is no need to reach out to us. We will contact you if you have been nominated.

Incubation Grants are for ideas that have moved beyond early testing — where the approach itself is proven and the evidence is there, but the organization hasn't yet had the chance to build it out further. We provide funding (€20,000- €50,000) and expert support to those ready to build their vision into sustainable and efficient organizations or projects.

This grant targets initiatives or organizations that, up to this point, might have heavily relied on voluntary work, the investment of private resources to operate, or informal processes. ​ ​