Readiness Support and Project Preparation Facility (PPF)
To enhance access to climate finance and strengthen institutional capacity, the GCF provides two key forms of early-stage support: the PPF and the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme. These instruments are designed to help developing countries overcome capacity and information gaps that hinder the development of high-quality, fundable project proposals. While the PPF focuses on supporting accredited entities in preparing specific funding proposals, Readiness Support targets broader systemic needs such as policy development, stakeholder coordination, and institutional strengthening. Both forms of support can also be accessed through a country platform approach, which aligns national priorities with coordinated investments and multi-stakeholder engagement. The sections below outline the scope, procedures, and examples of PPF and Readiness support, particularly in the Asia-Pacific context.
Project Preparation Facility
The Project Preparation Facility (PPF) is a programme that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries facing various challenges in securing climate finance due to capacity constraints, to support the preparation of project and programme Funding Proposals. It aims to help accredited entities (AEs) build capacity for preparing full proposals for the GCF. The application process usually starts with the submission of a PPF concept note or application form and proceeds through a GCF review and approval process. Once approved for further processing, the AE must submit a full PPF Application Package. Critically, this package must include a mandatory no-objection letter from the host country’s National Designated Authority (NDA), as this is required for all GCF proposals to ensure alignment with national priorities.
The PPF can support one or more of the activities listed in the table below. If using this form of support, proponents must aim to submit one project proposal to the GCF.
Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies
Evaluate scenarios both with and without the project, incorporating climate change projections and using a defined baseline for comparison. This process should include data collection, research, site-specific technical assessments, cost-benefit analysis, market research, and estimated calculations of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction.
Environmental, social and gender studies
The GCF requires that due diligence be applied to all projects and programmes to ensure the identification, assessment, and management of environmental and social risks and impacts. This due diligence must adhere to good international industry practices (GIIP) and be guided by established, relevant standards and frameworks.
Risk assessments
Examples: Analysis on site-specific risk analysis as part of the pre-feasibility and detailed feasibility studies; Development of sensitivities and case scenarios as part of the financial analysis; or Identification and assessment of potential executing entities.
Identification of programme/ project-level indicators
Examples of activities: Logical frameworks, including GCF relevant indicators and project indicators; Assessment based on the GCF Investment Criteria; Market assessment and recommendations; Economic analysis and recommendations; or Financial analysis and recommendations.
Pre-contract services
Examples of services: Terms of Reference (TOR); Bidding Documents: Procurement Packages: Request for Proposals; Expression of Interests; or Prequalification criteria.
Advisory services
Examples of advisory services: Advice on costing and budgeting according to GCF standards; or Advice on legal, financial, tax, regulatory and governance matters, to help structure the investments.
Other project preparation activities
Where justified and deemed necessary, additional activities --- such as workshops, stakeholder consultations, or document translation --- may also be supported under the PPF.
Source: Based on Project Preparation Facility
AE plays an important role in the application and implementation of PPF. The figure below shows the process from PPF application to the submission of the proposal, which is the goal.Prior to this process, the AE typically begins by either submitting a PPF concept note or submitting the PPF application form. If approved by the GCF review, the concept note (if not already submitted and endorsed), PPF application, and no objection letter for PPF from the NDA or focal point are submitted as the PPF Application Package, marking the official start of the process. All the relevant forms can be downloaded at GCF website.
| Project Preparation Facility (PPF) | |
|---|---|
|
PPF Funding - Suport through funding - AEs receive grants, repayable grants, or equity to carry out project preparation activities directly, managing procurement, implementation, and reporting. Those requesting up to USD 300,000 are eligible for Simplified PPF Funding. |
PPF Support Offers project preparation support through a roster of consultancy firms for AEs that prefer not to manage procurement and implementation themselves, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery. |
For the review process, it is important to cover all the criteria that is indicated by GCF (https://www.greenclimate.fund/projects/ppf/process). In particular, the checklist will serve as a guiding question to complete the application concept note by meeting the criteria. This checklist is mainly developed for PPF funding applications, whereas PPF service application is required to meet only the first, second and seventh criteria of this checklist.
