In 2009, the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) entered a partnership with Australian Government Overseas Aid Program, now assimilated under the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The objective of this partnership is to improve the adaptive capacity of communities and reduce their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and its variability. The programme, which followed a two-phase process, was designed to create small-scale ‘project/policy laboratories’ to generate knowledge about how to achieve adaptation at the local level. The first phase of the partnership started in the Mekong and Asia Pacific region (known as MAP CBA) and was expanded to Small Island Developing States in 2011 (known as SIDS CBA).

This is the 5th annual report provided to DFAT and particularly reviews the CBA programme’s implementation activities and results for the period of 1 January - 31 December 2015. It also presents the cumulative programming and financial status, and accounts the progress made to the original budget plans. Just like previous donor reports, this report is based on the principles set out in the logical framework of the partnership project document. In addition, it addresses the recommendations provided by DFAT upon their review of the 2014 annual report. Lastly, with the adoption of Agenda 2030 and 2015 marking the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), connections to the SDGs are exemplified throughout the report, specifically on Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being, Goal 4: Quality Education, Goal 5: Gender Equality, Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities and Goal 13: Climate Action.
The information on this report was obtained from the following sources: 1.) annual reports submitted by the participating country and sub-regional programs which included responses to an in-depth survey designed and conducted specifically for this purpose; 2.) CBA-specific monitoring and tracking sheets developed and maintained by SGP CPMT; and 3.) the GEF SGP global project database.