Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) grants challenge

Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) grants challenge is sponsored by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Supports evidence-based strategies to address gender-based violence in environment and climate-related programming.

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Use the link below to apply Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments Download the RISE grants challenge 2025 call for proposals Application window will open on 11 August 2025!

Use the link below to apply The Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) grants challenge is a first-of-its-kind granting mechanism that supports activities designed to address gender-based violence and environmental linkages in environmental and climate-related programmes and generate evidence on promising interventions .

The RISE grants challenge is led by IUCN with support from Norway, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and is a direct response to a landmark study on gender-based violence and environment linkages by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), commissioned by USAID through the Advancing Gender in the Environment (AGENT) partnership.

With input from IUCN and diverse partners and peers, this first-of-its-kind grants mechanism was designed to fill knowledge, cooperation and investment gaps at the gender-based violence and environment nexus.

In complement, IUCN launched the Gender-based Violence and Environment Linkages Center (GBV-ENV Center), which brings together resources and tools, mobilises learning, provides tailored technical support and forges collective action to build knowledge, capacities and improved policies. Since 2022, the RISE grants challenge has been managed and hosted by the IUCN, in conjunction with the GBV-ENV Center.

In 2024, Norway joined the RISE grants challenge. The 2025 RISE Call for Proposals is the sixth RISE grants challenge open call. A new cohort of RISE grantees will join the five previous cohorts, growing a community of practice and contributing to critical knowledge and strategies toward meeting interlinked global goals of eradicating gender-based violence and securing a healthy and peaceful planet.

The overarching purpose of the RISE grants challenge is to fund projects that address gender-based violence that is occurring within and linked to environment and climate-related sectors.

In 2025, the RISE grants challenge seeks to fund applications that embed gender-based violence risk mitigation in environmental projects working with or led by communities within and/or around marine and/or terrestrial Indigenous-managed lands, protected areas, and lands conserved using other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs).

While gender-based violence prevention and response measures can be included as complementary activities, the RISE grants challenge in 2025 seeks to fund applications that focus on gender-based violence risk mitigation . The RISE grants challenge encourages applications to also deliver improved rights-based, gender-responsive, socially inclusive conservation, climate action and sustainable development outcomes.

In 2025, we continue to be interested in intersectional approaches that include or emphasise vulnerable groups such as Indigenous women, environmental defenders, youth, LGBTQIA+ individuals and women and girls who are underrepresented and marginalised in their communities, among others.

Eligible countries in 2025 Partnership and collaborations Operational and administrative capacity Self- and collective care Eligible countries in 2025 The RISE grants challenge will only accept applications proposing implementation in one of the eligible countries. Within that country, applicants are strongly encouraged to focus on no more than two or three sub-counties, or equivalent local administrative areas.

Democratic Republic of the Congo United Republic of Tanzania Please refer to Annex 1 of the Call for Proposals for the list of eligible countries.

The RISE grants challenge is open to legally registered local, national, regional, or international organisations, including: Non-governmental organisations (NGOs); Grassroots, local and community-based organisations (CBOs), including women, and youth-led organisations; Civil society organisations (CSOs); Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations (IPOs); Women-owned/women-led enterprises; Faith-based organisations (FBOs); International non-governmental organisations (INGOs); Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs); Universities and other academic institutions that are NOT publicly funded; Research institutes and think tanks; Private sector companies (international, regional, national, local) (for-profit organisations must clearly demonstrate that the proposed project pursues strictly non-profit objectives and does not generate any income); Consortiums, partnerships and other already existing forms of collaboration; Organisations that are members of IUCN and/or others with track record improving environment outcomes; and Organisations that have previously applied for and/or received RISE funding (these applicants must specifically articulate how another grant builds on the learnings and results of the first).

Partnership and collaborations The RISE grants challenge requires partnerships between environmental organisations, gender and GBV-expert organisations, Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations, local communities and/or relevant experts. Lead applicants must partner with no more than two organisations. Please note that governments and public entities are not eligible as partners, but they can be engaged as project stakeholders.

The applicant must already have a presence in the country where the activities are proposed, OR be a local organisation, OR have a duly registered local partner that meets the requirements for consortia and partnerships.

It is preferred that at least one of the partners is a grassroots, locally-led organisation; that is, local people and institutions who possess the capability, connectedness and credibility to drive change in their own countries and communities. IUCN will require supporting documentation to demonstrate legal status to operate where the intervention is taking place.

Proposals must address the scope, purpose and objectives of the RISE grants challenge, which are defined in section 3 of the Call for Proposals. Additionally, the RISE grants challenge requires interventions that meet the programmatic requirements in section 4. 5 of the Call for Proposals.

Operational and administrative capacity Eligible applicants must have sufficient capacity to allow for professional and timely implementation of proposed projects. Applicants will be asked to answer some initial due diligence questions as part of their application. Applicants must submit their proposal in English.

Hand-written documents will not be accepted. The primary working language for the RISE grants challenge and related trainings and cohort peer learning is English.

Sexual exploitation, abuse and Harassment (SEAH) policy In accordance with IUCN’s Policy on the Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment, IUCN will “encourage its partners involved in IUCN-related activities to abide by this Policy or adopt policies and procedures that are consistent with this Policy, with the purpose of safeguarding against SEAH in IUCN-related activities” ( IUCN, 2019 ).

Applicants to RISE will be expected to either have SEAH policies and procedures – or to include their development as part of their RISE activities – in order to be in compliance with IUCN. Self- and collective care Self and collective care is an important strategy for ensuring the well-being of those working on gender-based violence.

RISE applicants have an ethical responsibility to do no harm and mitigate risks to the psychological well-being and safety of staff. RISE applicants will be expected to incorporate structures or frameworks to strengthen broader efforts to support staff , such as spaces for learning and discussing stress and trauma, or flexible work arrangements and leave policies for mental health as a part of their proposals and budgets.

Applying for a RISE grant: step by step Stage 1 – Technical application stage 07 August to 15 September 2025 07 August 2025 The 2025 call for proposal for the RISE grants challenge is launched. Call for Proposals launched and timeframe for submitting questions is open via email to RISE@iucn. org 11 August 2025 Application window opens Application window open.

Submit your application via SMApply 25 August 2025 Window for sending questions via email to RISE@iucn. org closes at 11:59 p. m.

EST Timeframe for sending questions via email to RISE@iucn. org closes 26 August 2025 Frequently Asked Questions available online Frequently Asked Questions available online on the RISE webpage. Scroll down to the FAQ section to view them.

15 September 2025 Proposal submission deadline Application submission deadline – late submissions will not be considered.

Stage 2 - Eligibility and technical screening stage 20 to 28 October 2025 20 to 28 October 2025 Eligibility and technical screening and selecting applicants for TEC review Eligibility and technical screening and selecting applicants for TEC review Stage 3 - Technical evaluation stage 03 November to December 2025 03 to 14 November 2025 TEC review and scoring Technical Evaluation Committee review and scoring of up to 12 applications 17 to 21 November 2025 Applicant interviews RISE Steering Committee interviews up to 8 shortlisted applications 24 November - December 2025 Due diligence selection RISE Steering Committee selects finalists for due diligence December 2025 Finaists selected for due diligence Finalists are notified to proceed to the due diligence stage.

Stage 4 – Due diligence stage December 2025 to January 2026 December 2025 to January 2026 Finalist due diligence Selected finalists undergo a due diligence process. With no exception, final selection is conditional on a successful due diligence process. Stage 5 – Grant winners finalisation January to February 2026 January to February 2026 Signing grant agreements Grant agreements are signed.

All applicants will be informed about the results.

Interventions RISE seeks to fund Projects must include a gender analysis to assess context and inform gender-based violence risk mitigation approaches and a baseline and endline assessment to measure changes in perceptions of safety and other relevant RISE indicators Project must coordinate with existing mechanisms to address gender-based violence, such as existing referral pathways and service providers Projects must engage men and boys as a risk mitigation strategy in complement to any women’s economic empowerment and other capacity building and empowerment activities Evidence-based strategies adapted from global GBV approaches—tailored to environment-focused sectors —to contribute to cross-sectoral learning and strengthen integration in RISE-eligible countries Survivor-centred and trauma-informed approaches; Integration of risk mitigation measures, including strengthening safeguards in environmental programmes and training environmental stakeholders Strategies, tools and capacities contributing to the overall global knowledge and capacity base to address GBV and environment linkages Institutional learning to improve implementation and scale-up of rights-based gender-responsive environment approaches and outcomes Innovative arrangements – e.g., via partnerships, institutional enabling conditions, policy reform or social protection measures – that contribute to existing evidence on addressing gender-based violence in environment linkages Enabling conditions to implement interventions to reduce gender-based violence and support survivors, for example through legislative action, infrastructure or institutionalisation, or mobilising political will Bridging knowledge gaps , for example through deepening local and contextual knowledge; showcasing context-specific promising practices; and/ or demonstrating how RISE grantees’ interventions will influence national, regional or global policy and programming agendas Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) The window to submit questions to the RISE team via email at RISE@iucn.

org is open until 25 August 2025. All questions will be collated and summarized, and corresponding answers will be available below.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Advancing Gender in the Environment (AGENT) Gender-Responsive Climate Action Climate Change Gender Action Plans (ccGAPs) Advancing progress on gender and climate linkages under the UNFCCC Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Environment Linkages Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments Gender in Fisheries: A Sea of Opportunities Past themes and collaborations Environment and Gender Information Gender and Renewable Energy (G-REEN) Shared Resources, Joint Solutions Sustainable and climate resilient landscapes Women in African Power (WiAP) Gender Rise Funded project by rise Water Ccgap Oops!

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