Countries worldwide must adopt and implement climate mitigation and adaptation measures. However, not all are equally capable of doing so, especially developing ones.

This project is novel in that it focuses on analyzing strategies employed by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and other international funding agencies to enhance local capacity in the Andean region, with a view to produce knowledge that is actionable and valid in other cases, too.

The project will use quantitative methods to analyze the GEF-funded project database in Latin America, to understand the characteristics of local capacity strategies and develop a typology thereof. Secondly, a survey will be deployed with project stakeholders to identify factors that impact these capacity building strategies. Thirdly, the team will use qualitative analysis on a small sample of projects to uncover the mechanisms underlying the identified factors. Finally, the research will engage with development practitioners to discuss findings, identify gaps, and explore opportunities for enhancing capacity building strategies.

The research results will provide a better understanding of how international funding can effectively strengthen local capacities and inform the design of successful climate projects.