6^th CALL FOR THE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOIL PROJECTS - 2024

This call ends on July 31, 2024 at midnight (CEST)

Objective & Benefits

The Formative Assessment of Soil Projects (FASP) aims to improve the relevance and visibility of your planned or ongoing project and thus the likelihood of funding for your ideas to bear fruit. FASP ensures that your project is aligned with the global strategy of the "4 per 1000" Initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs).  At the same time, the formative assessment is a valuable service to improve the decision-making of those who fund projects.

We will promote positively rated projects as an investment opportunity on the initiative's website (https://4p1000.org), the electronic platform, and at our events to attract the attention and support of funders. Project owners will receive an evaluation report with recommendations for further improvements, guidance on funding and collaboration opportunities, and a letter of support underlining the importance of the project.

FASP at different project stages

Formative assessment is provided by the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) of the "4 per 1000" Initiative in collaboration the Executive Secretariat. It provides feedback to project managers to help them recognize their strengths and weaknesses and identify areas that need work. It is essential as it provides valuable information for the design and refinement of the development or implementation process. Identifying areas for improvement early on can save time, resources, and money in the long run. It can also ensure that the final product or program meets the target audience's needs, leading to greater satisfaction and success. In addition, formative assessment can promote a culture of continuous improvement and learning. Organizations can improve their processes and outcomes by regularly soliciting feedback and adjusting. This can lead to greater efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation.

Depending on the stage of development of your project, you can apply for a formative assessment for the following purposes: 

a. Proposal stage: The aim is to make your existing project proposal more convincing to increase your chances of obtaining funding.

b. Ongoing: The aim is to improve your current project, increase its impact, and reduce/avoid negative effects. At this stage, FASP aims to strengthen the support of the project by the stakeholders and contribute to learning.

c. Conception stage: The aim is to develop a convincing project concept note you can present when funding opportunities arise or someone shows interest. It is useful to clarify open questions regarding content and partners. This gives you a decisive advantage if an opportunity arises.

Eligibility

This call is addressed to all partners and friends of the "4 per 1000" Initiative who are planning projects to increase the carbon content in the soil and improve soil health.

Procedure

Phase 1: Initiation

The procedure starts with the submission your FASP request. We will check eligibility and inform you about the result.

Phase 2: Compile information and submission

If your application is approved, we will create a folder for your project on the cooperation platform. It will contain three pages with the information needed for the evaluation and a few more pages for reporting and managing the process.

Depending on the project stage, you must provide the following information:

A) For projects at the Proposal stage and Ongoing projects

• Project documents  (mandatory): This is a page for uploading relevant project documents via drag & drop. This can be a variety of documents that the project owner considers helpful for understanding the project, e.g. a general document introducing the project, its goal, objectives, etc.
• FASP questionnaire  (mandatory): This is the central document of the formative assessment. It holds a range of question to verify the compliance of your project with the reference criteria and indicators. The questionnaire is divided in four sub-pages, one for each Step of the assessment (see below). You have to complete all.
• Project concept (optional): Filling out this template can be useful to summarize information about planned and ongoing projects to facilitate the assessment and to be able to present a summary on occasion.

B) For projects at the Conception stage

• Project concept note (mandatory): The template helps to elaborate your project idea and enables the formative assessment. Also, the concept note will help provide a good summary when an opportunity arises.
• FASP questionnaire  (mandatory): This is the central document of the formative assessment. It holds a range of question to verify the compliance of your project with the reference criteria and indicators. The questionnaire is divided in four sub-pages, one for each Step of the assessment (see below). You have to complete all.
• Project documents (optional): In addition you may use this page to for uploading relevant project documents via drag & drop. This can be a variety of documents that the project owner considers helpful for understanding the project.

The assessment team may request additional information as needed and will hold conference calls with project owners as appropriate.

Under no circumstances we will disclose your information to third parties without your consent.

Phase 3: Formality check

After submission, the Executive Secretariat will verify the completeness of the submitted information. We'll let the submitting organization know if the request was complete or not. If the information is complete they are forwarded to the STC for the formative assessment.

Phase 4: The Formative assessment

The project information you submit will be assessed by the STC . If necessary, it will seek the support of experts. The assessment is based on a set of reference criteria and indicators, methods, and measurement units that was developed by the STC and approved by the consortium of the "4 per 1000" Initiative.

The assessment in carried out in four consecutive steps. Each step deals with a specific category of reference criteria. The assessment continues with the next step only if the criteria of the previous step are met. If step 1 is successful, step 2 is completed, and if this is successful, the assessment continues with the third and fourth steps.

If the assessment is interrupted, the project owner will be informed of the reasons. Depending on the amount of technical information provided and the expertise available in the STC, technical advice will be given to the project owner to improve the project. 

Step 1-Safeguards: It assesses if the project does not restrict human rights or affect land rights and poverty reduction. If the project does not meet all the safeguard criteria, the STC interrupts the assessment and informs the project owner about the reasons.

Step 2-Direct: It assess the direct impact of projects on the following areas:

i) SOC stocks and land degradation neutrality (SDG 15 Life on land),
ii) Adaptation to climate change and
iii) climate change mitigation (SDG 13 Climate change) and
iv) Food security (SDG 2 Zero hunger).

A project must improve Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), i.e. increase SOC or reduce SOC loss compared to "business as usual". It should also work towards a positive impact on the other direct reference criteria. Otherwise, the STC interrupts the formative assessment and advises on how the proposal can be improved to achieve a positive impact on all direct reference criteria.

Step 3-Indirect criteria: It assess the indirect effects of projects on a range of other economic, social, and environmental dimensions, including welfare and well-being (SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production), biodiversity and ecosystem services (15 Life on land), water and nutrient cycles (SDG 6 Clean water and sanitation), etc. If, compared to a business-as-usual baseline, the project is likely to have a strong negative impact on social, economic, or environmental dimensions, it will be negatively evaluated on the corresponding criteria.

Step 4-Cross-cutting:  It assesses the extent to which the project takes into account participatory and socially inclusive approaches and contributes to capacity building.

 Schedule of the call

Make your request

Click here to submit your application online.