What is NAPECA?
Recognizing that ecosystems do not follow political boundaries but rather often cross state, provincial and national borders, and that individual investments made by each country can achieve greater success if a shared sense of responsibility and stewardship for the environment across North America is developed, the Parties, through the CEC, established a grant program, the North American Partnership for Environmental Community Action (NAPECA) in 2010.
NAPECA is intended to support a flexible and diverse set of project types that will improve access to resources provided by the Parties through the CEC for smaller, more hands-on organizations and that build partnerships at the community level with a focus on sustainable communities and urban initiatives.
Project types can include, but are not limited to building capacity, pilot projects, transfer of innovative technologies, conducting outreach or education, sharing best practices, training environmental leaders, reducing risks to the environment, and many other types of non-regulatory efforts.
The Council may direct support for specific topics in any given cycle. Selected topics will be outlined in the Call for Proposals.
NAPECA grant selection criteria have been established to ensure that these projects deliver tangible results.
NAPECA grant selection criteria
The NAPECA grant process is designed to support projects that:
- Focus on “Sustainable communities and urban initiatives”;
- Achieve positive results for the environment at the community level within the timeframe of NAPECA support;
- Include a sound implementation plan;
- Achieve goals and measurable objectives, and clear and tangible results;
- Measure progress;
- Include a clear timeline for implementation of the activities, including a target end-date for NAPECA support;
- Create formal or informal partnerships or linkages at the state, local or indigenous community level, within the North American region; and
- Identify beneficiaries if the project is intended to build capacity.
- Are presented on time and through the established process.