Conservation Learning Initiative – Flexible funding

The Conservation Learning Initiative aims to help better understand what works in funding organizations and projects in nature conservation. It is a collaboration between Foundations of Success, Conservation Evidence and the MAVA Foundation.

In a 5-step approach the initiative learns about the available evidence on key issues. One of them is flexible funding.

From the website: “There is an ongoing debate in the international donor community about the role flexible funding plays in strengthening conservation organisations. The MAVA foundation always believed that supporting key partners with flexible funding makes a difference in their capacity to deliver lasting conservation impacts.”

In an excellent review of the evidence, the project provides insights on the following learning questions:

• Does flexible funding enable organisations to be more strategic and follow through with their programmatic work?
• Are organisations that receive flexible funding more organisationally and financially sustainable?
• Does flexible funding increase the resilience of organisations and the likelihood of overcoming crises?