Grant Competition for: Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue Secretariat Role

The FACT (Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade) Dialogue aims to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable land-use practices in a way that opens up new opportunities for investment, for jobs and livelihoods in forests, land use and agriculture, and to ensure that the economies which have a sustainable relationship with forests are the ones that thrive and grow.

The UK launched the FACT Dialogue in February 2021 as part of its COP26 Nature campaign. It is a government-to-government forum, supported by multi-stakeholder consultation, that aims to enhance the policy environment for the international trade in sustainably produced commodities that promote development and protect nature. The FACT Dialogue convenes governments from producer and consumer countries of agricultural commodities for collaborative dialogue to deepen cooperation on policy measures and best practices that promote the trade in sustainably produced commodities.

The year after COP26 will be a critical period for the FACT Dialogue, where the focus will need to turn to institutionalising the successes to date, delivering tangible early added value and establishing a multilateral platform that is built to last. A secretariat is essential for the long-term functioning of the FACT Dialogue’s workstreams, for building and sustaining consensus between member governments, and for supporting the implementation of the action plans and policy measures originating in the Dialogue.

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Partnerships for Forests (P4F), a programme being delivered by Palladium International Limited, are offering grant funding to an organisation to undertake the delivery of an independent and neutral secretariat for the government-to-government component of the FACT Dialogue following COP26 and to provide a variety of ‘specialist’ and ‘core’ services to member countries:

Specialist secretariat services:

• Technical support/analysis
• Policymaker knowledge-sharing

Core secretariat services:

• Event management & logistics
• Meeting secretary & governance
• Member relations & coordination
• Legacy planning
• Progress monitoring & reporting
• External outreach
• Day-to-day administration & financial management

The initial period of funding is for one year with the potential for extension and is envisioned to enable an independent secretariat to establish a solid financial footing; develop a multilateral governance and funding model that can mobilise co-funding from other members; and extend the initiative’s reach, influence and leverage.

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Partnerships for Forests (P4F) will be providing grant funding to enable an organisation to undertake the delivery of an independent and neutral secretariat for the government-to-government component of the FACT Dialogue following COP26.

This will be a Grant and not a Services contract.