Helsinki is one of the European cities where data projects promoting sustainable development can apply for funding through a call for applications of the ICLEI Action Fund launched in May.
The projects for which funding is sought must implement the environmental and climate objectives of the City of Helsinki and also support the social and fairness objectives of the city. Helsinki projects, in particular, are desired to promote sustainable mobility, energy efficiency of buildings, development of solar energy, adaptation and resilience to climate change, monitoring and management of air quality, as well as general environmental and air quality activities.
The main actor in the project applying for funding must be a non-profit organisation (e.g., universities, research institutes or expert organisations in various fields). However, other actors can also be involved as partners in the project. The duration of projects should be 18–24 months. Project activities can be diverse, such as planning, implementing solutions or scaling them up, and 100% support can be sought for these. The maximum funding per project is EUR 1 million.
A total of EUR 7 million in project funding is available in eight European cities. The background funding comes from Google, which does not, however, impose any conditions on the projects.
The call for applications is open until 24 July 2022. The application for funding must be submitted electronically. The projects to be funded will be selected by the ICLEI Europe panel. The selection process weighs supporting the local objectives of each city, data-orientation (combining different data, using public data), innovation, climate justice, the applicant’s experience, scalability, clarity and method of implementation.
After an approved selection, the applicant has three months to prepare a detailed application, which can be supported by ICLEI.
The ICLEI Action Fund is a funding programme implemented by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability with the support of Google.org to encourage environmental and climate projects through data from private and public sources. ICLEI is a global network of cities to promote sustainable urban development.
More information on the call for applications on the ICLEI website(Link leads to external service)
(Link leads to external service)
ICLEI Europe(Link leads to external service)
Sustainable Helsinki website(Link leads to external service)