Funding opportunity of up to $5 million to support more climate-smart, sustainable, productive and profitable agriculture, forestry, fishing and aquaculture industries and sectors in Australia.
Current status of program
CLOSED
To register your interest in future rounds or discuss alternative grant opportunities please contact us here.
On this page you will find
What is the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program – Partnerships and Innovation Grants (CSPI)?
Partnerships and Innovation grants under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program will be comprised of up to 2 rounds of open, competitive, grant opportunities.
This grant opportunity will support large scale projects to be delivered across Australia by consortium arrangement to develop, trial and implement new and innovative tools that lead to practice change and reduce pressure on Australia’s natural resources while increasing productive and profitable agriculture industries and systems. It will provide investment to help accelerate and support the adoption of climate-smart and sustainable agricultural practices on-ground by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon sequestration and build resilience in farming systems to the impacts of climate change.
Partnerships and Innovation projects will allow new ideas to be developed, tested and shared across farms, industries and regions, to the benefit of the Australian landscape, community and economy. Industry implementation of innovative tools and practices also assists Australia to meet its obligations under international treaties including those addressing climate change, desertification and biological diversity.
CSPI level of support
Grants
- Minimum grant amount – $250,000
- Maximum grant amount – $5 million
Co-contribution
- The consortium arrangement is encouraged to provide co-contributions at least equal to the anticipated private benefit in order to offset private benefit accrued through the project activities. Higher co-contributions will be considered favourably as part of the assessment processes.
- You cannot use funding from other Commonwealth Government sources as part of your project co-contributions.
- In-kind (special services, knowledge, expertise) contributions are allowed as part of your co-contribution, this figure will be assessed for appropriateness as part of assessment of your application.
CSPI important dates
- This program is currently closed
- Register your interest here with GrantHelper
CSPI objectives and outcomes
The purpose of Partnerships and Innovation grants is to foster sustainable agricultural and natural resource management innovation. The grants will deliver on the Australian Government’s policy of using innovation to support a more climate-smart, sustainable, productive and profitable agriculture, forestry, fishing and aquaculture industry; to protect Australia’s biodiversity; to protect and improve the condition of natural resources (in particular on-farm soils, water and vegetation); and assist Australia to meet its national and international obligations.
This will be achieved through substantial projects funded by grants that deliver against one or more of the outcomes detailed below.
The intended outcomes for this grant opportunity are:
- Outcome 1: by 2028 Partnerships and Innovations grants will have increased the number and area of Australia’s agriculture sector entities and land managers that have trialled, developed and/or implemented innovative technologies, tools or practices to improve the uptake and use of sustainable agricultural practices leading to the protection and enhancement of our soil, water and vegetation resources.
- Outcome 2: by 2028 Partnerships and Innovations grants will have increased the number and area of Australia’s agriculture sector entities and land managers that have adopted practices which have or will build resilience to the impacts of climate change, increase carbon sequestration, and/or reduce emissions on farming systems.
- Outcome 3: by 2028 Partnerships and Innovations grants will have supported the operationalisation and uptake of industry sustainability frameworks and credentials, and will have increased the number of sustainable agricultural practices that meet evolving market access requirements.
Activities eligible for CSPI support
Some examples of eligible grant activities that may be undertaken include:
- The development and introduction of climate-smart technologies
- The development of innovative systems that monitor natural resource condition and use, reduce input costs and improve land management decision making
- The development and application of extension methodology
- Encouraging the uptake and adoption of new and innovative sustainable land management practices and climate-smart technology, as well as practices that build resilience to climate change and reduce emissions.
- Providing new information on, and creating new and innovative practices that highlight the advantages of crop and pasture species diversification and improved pasture management to build climate resilience on farming land and disseminating the information to appropriate target agri-business and markets.
- Developing and extending new practices for sustainable grazing, cropping systems, pasture management and rotational grazing
- Trialling and demonstrating the benefits of new species/varieties that increase species diversity, climate resilience and provide new options for farming systems that are expected to deliver improvements in soil health
- Improvements to stock monitoring and grazing management systems
- Innovative practices which maintain and increase groundcover levels above regional groundcover targets to reduce soil and nutrient loss, reduce wind and water erosion and improve air and water quality.
- New and innovative practices that increase carbon sequestration through the planting and seeding of native trees/shrubs and/or farm forestry practices which lead to more productive and profitable farming systems.
- Optimised application of inputs – including use of precision agriculture technology systems
- Demonstrating use of low emission nitrogen fertilisers in farming systems (such as fertilisers developed from low or zero emissions hydrogen and ammonia production).
- Demonstrating innovative technologies and systems for management of soil acidification to improve productivity and avoid future loss of productive land through surface and subsoil acidification.
- Improving soil health through improved soil organic matter and biological activity, better nutrient availability matching with plant use, and management of soil structure where it can be demonstrated that this will lead to increased productivity, reduced nutrient loss and emissions reductions.
- Developing and demonstrating new systems-based approaches for effective, economical and environmentally sound on-farm management of pest and weed populations that threaten native flora and fauna, habitats or ecosystems.
- Strategic fire management in northern Australian savannahs/promotion of the application of new and innovative savannah burning practices in rangelands ecosystems (use of Indigenous knowledges burning methodology and the incorporation of science-based practices)
- Trialling and demonstrating the use of First Nations knowledge and land management practices and/or native plant species in farming systems that build the climate resilience of agricultural landscapes.
- Building partnerships that leverage other funding to improve on farm soil and vegetation management while increasing productivity and profitability across a range of primary industries through the use of flexible, innovative and cost-effective approaches.
- Projects that pilot engaging in a new activity or changing practices to take advantage of changing climatic conditions.
- Projects that demonstrate opportunities for climate adaptation co-benefits.
- First Nations-led initiatives which encompass any of the above eligible grant activities.
See the guidelines for full details of activities eligible for CSPI support.
Expenditure eligible for CSPI support
Eligible expenditure can include:
- salary of employees you directly employ on the core elements of grant activities. A person is considered to be an employee when you pay a regular salary or wage, out of which you make regular tax instalment deductions
- up to 30% labour on costs to cover employer paid superannuation, payroll tax, workers compensation insurance and overheads, such as office rent and the provision of computers for staff directly working on grant activities
- administrative support and overheads additional to the normal day to day running costs of the organisation, including project management or project co-ordination. This can be a maximum of 10% of the grant
- stipends for First Nations eldership, expertise, Indigenous knowledges, or advisory services which inform the design and/or delivery of the project
- purchase or hire of equipment and supplies, including minor capital works worth less than 20% of the grant amount sought to support eligible activities covered by the grant
- domestic travel limited to the reasonable cost of accommodation and transportation required to conduct agreed grant activities in Australia
- training and capacity building initiatives that directly support the achievements of the grant and program objectives
- communication and engagement initiatives that directly supports the achievements of the grant and program objectives
- costs of independent audit of expenditure on activities covered by the grant. This can be a maximum of 1% of the total grant funding.
You cannot use the grant for the following activities:
- purchase of land
- wages for staff/employees not directly involved in grant activity and delivery
- major capital expenditure the covering of retrospective costs
- activities that have commenced before execution of the grant agreement
- costs incurred in the preparation of a grant application or related documentation
- subsidy of general ongoing administration of an organisation such as electricity, phone and rent which is not directly related to the grant activity and delivery
- activities relating to the energy sector and on-farm energy use and efficiencies
- water infrastructure
- the direct development of methodologies as part of the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme
- activities registered for participation in the ACCU Scheme
- overseas travel
- activities outside of Australia (including outside Australia’s maritime zone)
- grants from you to another entity – including devolved grants
- activities with the potential to adversely impact on a matter of national environmental significance under the EPBC Act
- the introduction of plants, animals or other biological agents known to be, or that could become, environmental or agricultural weeds and pests
- activities for which other Commonwealth, state, territory or local government bodies have primary responsibility
- activities that are the legal responsibility of the applicant or others, such as managing or controlling certain weeds and pests
- activities (including purchases of equipment or materials) that could reasonably be considered to be part of a land manager’s ordinary responsibility unless you demonstrate:
- a substantial public benefit that would not occur without the grant and that exceeds the amount of the grant, and
- the private beneficiary’s contribution to the cost of the project exceeds the amount of the private benefit obtained
- business-as-usual activities for the participants or beneficiaries of the project
- activities that are reasonably considered to be the same as ones which are already underway, or activities that are so closely related that they could not be reasonably considered to be additional to those already underway or completed
- subsidies of commercial operations, business and enterprise start-ups or where the primary activity is for commercial gain, or activities designed to raise revenue for an organisation or individual
- activities and trials related to sustainable agriculture practices that are already well-established best or common practice for industries or regions relevant to the project.
You cannot use the grant for the same project activities or costs that have been funded through another element of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.
See the guidelines for full details of expenditure eligible for CSPI support.
Other CSPI important details that you will need to know
Organisations eligible for CSPI support
To be eligible you must:
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be a permanent resident of Australia
- have an account with an Australian financial institution
- be financially viable
- be located in Australia
- be part of a consortium arrangement that meets the requirements set out in section 2.1.2. of the guidelines
Also, you must be one of the following entity types:
- Indigenous Corporation
- Company
- Incorporated association
- Local Government Entity
- Cooperative
- Corporate Commonwealth Entity
- Corporate State or Territory Entity
- Non-corporate State or Territory Entity
- Non-corporate State or Territory Statutory Authority
- Partnership
- Person
- Sole Trader
- Statutory Entity.
If you are applying as a Trustee on behalf of a Trust, the Trustee must have an eligible entity type as listed above.
Your project must contribute to improving Australian food and fibre business productivity and profitability as well as assist in reducing emissions, increasing carbon sequestration and/or building resilience to the impacts of climate change on farming systems.
Your project must also contribute to protecting or improving one or more of the following natural resources in Australia (whether on- or off-farm)
- soil, including marine sediments
- water – freshwater or marine
- threatened species listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act)
- threatened ecological communities listed under the EPBC Act
- Ramsar sites
- World Heritage properties
- native biodiversity (including both terrestrial and marine).
On-ground project activities should be carried out on-farm and consider protection and improvements in on-farm and off-farm natural resources and/or reduce the impacts of food and fibre production on off-farm natural resources.
In your application you must identify and describe the eligible natural resources your project will protect or improve. You must also outline the productivity and profitability improvements that will be delivered as a result of addressing threats to these natural resources, and identify the agrifood industries involved.
Ineligible entities include the following entity types:
- Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
- Non-corporate Commonwealth Statutory Authority
- International Entity
- Unincorporated Association
- organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’
- organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, that is included on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency website on the non-compliant list.
See the guidelines for full details of organisations eligible for CSPI support.
CSPI assessment criteria
Criterion 1: Project Delivery – Demonstrated capacity and capability of the consortium to deliver the proposal
- experience in delivering projects similar in scope and scale to the proposal
- detailed project scope, including information about how the proposal will be delivered and implemented
- capacity to carry out the project activities and successfully achieve the project outcomes
- capacity to develop, implement, manage, monitor and report on the project activities you will carry out, on time and within budget
- administration of the grant and management of the grant funds
- the skills and experience of the personnel that will be allocated to your proposed activities, including personnel of your project partners
- assessment and management of risk.
In providing a response to this criterion you must:
- Clearly demonstrate how you, and your consortium arrangement, will meet the eligibility criteria in section 4 of these guidelines.
- Describe how your consortium arrangement was established, and how the consortium developed your project in consultation with relevant stakeholders. Describe the roles of all consortium members in managing the project and delivering the project activities.
- Describe your experience, and the experience of the consortium arrangement members, with projects of comparable objectives, activities, scope and budget. Explain how the consortium is capable of implementing, monitoring and reporting on your project and of identifying and managing risk.
- Describe your structure, governance and business management systems, detailing how this would support your proposed activities (noting that the required consortium must have a nominated lead proponent).
- The way in which the consortium members will operate both administratively and practically and the benefit they will provide to the project.
- Outline risks associated with the grant activities and explain how they will be managed and mitigated.
- Describe how you will partner with and/or engage with relevant stakeholders including, where relevant, First Nations groups and culturally and linguistically diverse groups and communities in project activities.
- Describe how you will promote project outcomes to land managers and the broader community. How will you maintain project outcomes into the future?
Criterion 2: Link to Grant Purpose and Outcomes – suitability and relevance of the project objectives and activities to the Partnerships and Innovation Grants purpose and outcomes
- whether your project objectives and your project activities are suitable and relevant to the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program and the Partnerships and Innovation grant opportunity purpose and outcomes.
- consider if your proposed project expenditure and activities are eligible
In providing a response to this criterion you must:
- Clearly describe what you want to achieve with your project. What is your project objective(s)?
- Explain why you want to achieve the objective(s)
-
- why is it important?
- why is it worthwhile?
- what will happen if you do not carry out your project?
- how and to whom the findings or deliverables will be shared or made available?
- Describe your project activities
-
- for the most significant project activities you will carry out to achieve your project objective(s), what activities will you undertake?
- when will you carry out these activities?
- who will participate in the activities?
- who will deliver the activities?
Criterion 3: Innovation – the suitability and contribution of innovation in the project
- the suitability and contribution of the innovation that is being trialled, developed or implemented
- how the innovation will contribute to climate-smart, sustainable natural resource management and agriculture practice change by the agrifood industry and other land managers as a result of your project
In providing a response to this criterion you must:
- Describe the genuinely innovative practices, methods or tools your project will develop, trial or implement. Include information about:
- how the innovation being delivered differs from standard or common practice, including how the activity will build on or complement (and not duplicate or repeat) previous activity at this location or in this industry, and how the innovation will meet an identified need.
- the extent to which the project is underpinned by proof of concept plus robust scientific research and evidence demonstrating its usefulness, and has been informed by, and will build on, current best practice.
- the technical feasibility of the project activities and any risks and potential unintended consequences.
- Describe how the innovation you described will support the industry/area practice change leading to increased response to climate change, including building climate resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by maintaining or improving the condition of Australia’s soil, water and vegetation resources and the sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity. Include information about:
- how the innovation is suitable for adoption by Australia’s farming, fisheries, aquaculture or farm forestry businesses and other land managers.
- how you will encourage adoption of the innovation by agrifood industry and other land managers using effective communication and extension methods. This could include the use of new and innovative extension methods.
Criterion 4: Value for Money – outline the project activities you propose to undertake and how these activities address public good and value for money
- the extent to which the project is suitable for public funding and the value for money of your project
- who will benefit from this project and the extent of the benefit likely to flow to each beneficiary
- who will contribute to the cost of the project and the extent of their contribution
- whether the public benefits to be achieved by the project are additional to those that would otherwise be achieved and exceed the amount of the grant sought
- whether any private benefit to be achieved by your project exceeds the amount of any private contribution to the project.
In providing a response to this criterion you must:
- Describe your budget for the project and the project activities (using the template provided)
- Explain how the grant amount requested is proportionate to the outcomes your project will achieve and the activities you will carry out.
- Describe the public good benefits that will occur because of the project (benefits to target stakeholders and the broader community, and the value that your project would add that would not have occurred without the project)
- State whether you have previously received funding from the Australian Government for this project or a similar project, and if so, outline how this project would be coordinated with and amplify the outcomes of both projects.
- If the project will achieve private benefits, describe these benefits and the beneficiaries
- Identify the amount of financial or in-kind co-contributions that you, or others you have partnered with, will make to enhance the value of your proposed activities and offset the amount of private benefit provided by project activities. Please note that higher financial co-contributions will be considered favourably during the assessment process.
Each criterion is equally weighted. Responses to each criterion will be scored in accordance with a scale of 1-5. A total score will also be given to your application, with the highest score being 20.
See the guidelines for the scoring matrix and for full details of the assessment criteria.
How do I get the CSPI?
Applicants must:
- Read and understand the guidelines.
- Ensure eligibility for the funding. Applicants that do not meet all the eligibility criteria will not be considered.
- Deliver the project as outlined in the application.
- Provide complete information requirements.
Successful projects will:
- develop, trial and implement new and innovative tools and practices on ground that lead to practice change and more climate-smart, sustainable, productive and profitable agriculture industries and systems
- deliver benefits to Australia’s natural resource base and the broader community through better protected soil, vegetation and biodiversity, cleaner air and water, and improved economic and social outcomes through improved and more innovative food and fibre industry sustainability, productivity, and profitability
- improve knowledge about, capacity for, and the ability to demonstrate the adoption of, sustainable agricultural and natural resource management practices.
- develop, trial and implement new and innovative tools and practices on-ground that build resilience to the impacts of climate change, increase carbon sequestration, reduce emissions, and increase awareness of emerging carbon and biodiversity markets (such as the Nature Repair Market)
- actively increase the awareness and understanding of carbon and biodiversity markets by farmers and land managers to inform decisions on engagement with these markets.
- assist natural resource-dependent agrifood businesses to improve their sustainability, productivity, profitability and ability to adapt to changes in markets and supply chains
- develop and promote the uptake of industry sustainability frameworks and credentials to improve market access. This can include the development of new frameworks, and the enhancement of existing frameworks and credentials.
Information to prepare for the CSPI application
All of the following mandatory templates and mandatory documents must be attached to your application for it to be considered compliant and for it to proceed to assessment. Templates are provided for your use with the grant opportunity documents as specified.
- A proposed budget and consortium arrangement – mandatory template provided.
- A project management plan including a detailed description of project scope and timeline – mandatory template provided.
- A risk management plan – mandatory template provided.
- Letter/s of support for consortia arrangements (see section 7.2 for further information) mandatory attachment.
- Where applicable, evidence of support from your organisation’s board or CEO.
- Trust deed and any subsequent variations, if applying as a Trustee on behalf of a Trust.
As outlined in section 2.1.2 of the guidelines, all Partnerships and Innovation grant applications must involve a consortium of partners to deliver the grant and project services, with one of the partners appointed by the consortium as the ‘applicant’.
The application must identify all other members of the consortium and include a letter of support from each of the partners (consolidated into one document).
Each letter of support should include:
- details of all the members of the consortium arrangement
- an overview of how the members of the consortium arrangement will work with the lead organisation and any other partner organisations in the group to successfully complete the grant activity
- an outline of the relevant experience and/or expertise the consortium members will bring to the consortium arrangement
- the roles/responsibilities of the consortium members and the resources they will contribute (if any)
- details of a nominated management level contact officer.
Organisations will not be eligible to be members of a consortium arrangement if they are included on the:
- National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’
- Workplace Gender Equality Agency website on the non-compliant list.
Eligible organisations can form consortia which include ineligible organisations as members.
See the guidelines for full details of information requirements.
Applying for the CSPI
To apply, you must complete the online grant opportunity application form on the GrantConnect website.
Register your interest here with GrantHelper to explore your alignment with this grant and how we can assist you to increase your chances of success.
CSPI resources
The guidelines and application form are available from the GrantConnect website.
After you register, click on ‘Grant Opportunities’ and search for Climate-Smart Agriculture Program – Partnerships and Innovation Grants or GO ID: GO6801.
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