Frequently asked questions

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE TAP?

Enabling access to finance to scale up local climate action
Accelerating net-zero emission and climate-resilient development
Supporting national ambitions through impactful local infrastructure projects

WHAT IS THE TAP?

A subnational demand-driven Project Pipeline
A a one-stop interface for subnational governments and local businesses to submit their sustainable infrastructure projects, which are then supported by the various Project Preparation Facilities backing TAP
A platform publicly presenting projects seeking finance, while also partnering with other platforms
An advocacy instrument presenting the demand and diversity for subnational project finance

WHO ARE THE TAP PARTNERS?

As of January 2024 the TAP partners are:

bettervest
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40)
Cities Alliance
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) / Covenant of Mayors in Sub Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) component III
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) / FELICITY
European Investment Bank (EIB)
Global 100% RE Platform
Global Covenant of Mayors (GcOM)
Global Fund for Cities Development (FMDV)
Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) Foundation
Lincoln Institute
R20 – Regions of Climate Action (R20)
Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation (SIF)
UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

IS IT A CLOSED PARTNERSHIP? WHO CAN BE A TAP PARTNER?

The TAP partnership is growing and is open for all wishing to support cities, towns, and regions to a low-to no-carbon, resilient development. Interested organization can express their interest to any TAP partner or by contacting ICLEI directly at tap@iclei.org.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES OFFERED BY THE TAP?

Subnational governments and local businesses benefit from personalized services from TAP partners during the whole project cycle, from early stage project definition to long-term mentoring, with the aim to develop solid and investment-ready projects.

Depending on the maturity of the project, the TAP services can include:

Matchmaking with potential investors and funding institutions
A thorough exploration of possible funding opportunities and financial strategies
Connection to Project Preparation Facilities and initiatives that offer additional technical assistance
Exploration of innovative financing mechanisms fitting and suitable to local demand
Capacity building and technical assistance on preparing robust project concepts, including planning and feasibility studies

WHO CAN APPLY? WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA?

Projects must be submitted by a subnational government (or their partners/representative) or local business
(Hard) infrastructure projects
Proven impact (ambitious, cross-cutting, inclusive)

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF IMPACTFUL?

In the case of TAP, “impactful” refers to a project that contributes to tackling climate change (e.g. reducing emissions or adapting to the consequences of climate change). It supports systematic and sustainable change at the community level, with the potential for large-scale impact and scalability.

Alongside this criteria, TAP projects should embed the three key components: Ambitious, cross-cutting, inclusive. There will be a basic screening process of these criteria when projects are submitted.

Ambitious	Cross-cutting	Inclusive
Aligned with the Paris Agreement Contributes to domestic and international commitments to cut global greenhouse gas emissions to meet the 2°C or 1.5°C goal Fosters climate change adaptation and resilience at the local level	Relevant Serves a meaningful percentage of the population. Has potential scaling opportunities to serve an increasing percentage of the population. Delivers local benefits beyond climate change impacts	Administration Coordinates within the multiple departments / teams to ensure co-design. Uses or sets up appropriate coordination mechanisms and processes to ensure effective project management
Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) support local sustainable development priorities particular focus on Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and Goal 13 (climate action)	Holistic and integrated approach Considers resource and energy use of the project throughout its entire life cycle (e.g. optimizing the use of local resources) Uses a holistic project design approach that supports multiple sectors (e.g. buildings connected to district energy) Supports comprehensive climate risk management (e.g. disaster prevention, insurance)	Residents Engages communities and local stakeholders actively, encouraging their participation in all the project’s stages. Demonstrates how citizens will benefit in the short- and mid-term. Highlights the benefits for traditionally vulnerable communities (e.g. contribute to poverty alleviation, addresses unemployment among women, ethnic minorities, indigenous groups, etc.)
		Local business and industry Engages local business and industries to stimulate sustainable development and enhance resilience in the private sector

Ambitious

Cross-cutting

Inclusive

Aligned with the Paris Agreement

Contributes to domestic and international commitments to cut global greenhouse gas emissions to meet the 2°C or 1.5°C goal
Fosters climate change adaptation and resilience at the local level

Relevant

Serves a meaningful percentage of the population.
Has potential scaling opportunities to serve an increasing percentage of the population.
Delivers local benefits beyond climate change impacts

Administration

Coordinates within the multiple departments / teams to ensure co-design.
Uses or sets up appropriate coordination mechanisms and processes to ensure effective project management

Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

support local sustainable development priorities
particular focus on Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and Goal 13 (climate action)

Holistic and integrated approach

Considers resource and energy use of the project throughout its entire life cycle (e.g. optimizing the use of local resources)
Uses a holistic project design approach that supports multiple sectors (e.g. buildings connected to district energy)
Supports comprehensive climate risk management (e.g. disaster prevention, insurance)

Residents

Engages communities and local stakeholders actively, encouraging their participation in all the project’s stages.
Demonstrates how citizens will benefit in the short- and mid-term.
Highlights the benefits for traditionally vulnerable communities (e.g. contribute to poverty alleviation, addresses unemployment among women, ethnic minorities, indigenous groups, etc.)

Local business and industry

Engages local business and industries to stimulate sustainable development and enhance resilience in the private sector

HOW TO APPLY?

There is an annual TAP call, announced at an international event and on the TAP website. The 2021 TAP call opens on 1 March.

Once the call is open, applicants can Register or Login to access the application form (available in 4 languages), developed by TAP Partners in consultation with city networks and financial institutions.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE APPLICATION IS SENT?

Submitted projects are screened by experts in sustainable finance. Those with great potential for impact can receive personalized feedback and, once considered investment-ready, are connected to project preparation facilities and financial partners that will support their implementation.

Projectss not meeting the requirements will anyway get feedback and recommendations to further improve.

IS THERE FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR THE PROJECTS AND TAP SERVICES?

The TAP’s role is not to provide financial support for project preparation. TAP will engage its partners that could provide project preparation support/technical assistance, and will search for a matching funding partners. Services provided by the TAP partners are conditional and depend on the partners’ focus and their funds availability.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEING IN THE TAP PIPELINE?

TAP explores options and engages financial and technical partners to find support for the project idea
Projects in the pipeline are regularly advertised to potential funders and get national and international visibility

IS THE TAP A MATCHMAKING TOOL?

A crucial part of TAP is matchmaking and connecting the projects to other Project Preparation Facilities. Moreover, TAP is a very important an advocacy tool that shows the demand and diversity of local needs while promoting multi-level governance.