What is the TAP?
The Transformative Actions Program (TAP) is a global initiative to support local and regional governments transform their net-zero and resilient development infrastructure concepts into mature, robust and bankable projects ready for financing and implementation.
TAP is also an acknowledged initiative of the Leadership for Urban Climate Investment (LUCI) and through ICLEI being a founding member of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) it contributes to close the finance gap and scale up subnational climate finance.
What the problem is
Funds for sustainable urban infrastructure projects are available and investors are ready; however, there is a shortage of bankable projects.
A “bankable” project is not just “profitable”: it quantifies the projected positive outcomes, such as social or environmental benefits, and has clear mechanisms for implementation and evaluation.
How the tap is helping
The TAP increases the visibility of local governments’ sustainable urban infrastructure projects, connects them to potential investors and project preparation facilities, as well as supports their project preparation through custom-made feedback, tools and services.
Projects are submitted through annual calls and screened by financial and technical experts at ICLEI World Secretariat to make sure they have a high transformative impact potential.
Just 3 steps
Tap numbers
Number of projects submitted
350+
Value of the TAP pipeline (billion €)
1.2+
Projects in the TAP Pipeline
62
Specialized TAP partnerships
16
The tap work is
- Developing publicly accessible guidelines, publications, and training materials related to project preparation
- Lowering the barrier to effective and efficient cooperation between local and regional governments, and public and private financial institutions.
- Building trust among local and regional governments, financial institutions, and investors to lower risk.
- Contributing to the creation of new financing mechanisms and the improvement of existing instruments.
- Strengthening the impact of local climate projects and better position local and regional governments to attract investment and funding.
- Raising the visibility of transformative actions and innovative local financing mechanisms to encourage investment, funding, and replication.
What they say about us
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The exposure and feedback we received from the financial experts were very constructive in helping us to develop our project proposal even further.
Environmental Management Officer, Overberg District Municipality, South Africa
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Makindye Ssabagabo was elevated to a municipality in 2016, raising the community's expectations who anticipated immediate quality services. We identified the critical projects but were resource-constrained. Through TAP, we have fine-tuned key project concepts and interacted with potential funders.
Head of Innovation and Resource Mobilisation committee, Makindye Ssabagabo Municipal Council, Uganda
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Project Developer and Director of the Mayor’s International Relations Office, Bukavu, D. R. Congo
As a project developer and manager in the city of Bukavu (DR.Congo), one thing I could not realize is that I was having limited knowledge about the needs and requirements of funders.
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The prospects of Makindye Municipality in Uganda to access climate funding for its Rail project were boasted after the project was showcased at the Darling Cities Event 2020.
Head of Innovation and Resource Mobilisation committee, Makindye Ssabagabo Municipal Council, Uganda
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Listening to the pitches [of local governments’ climate projects] has been very insightful for us, as we focus on early-stage project preparation. On the one hand, we got insights into a number of projects presented by very different actors with their own points of view on project preparation. On the other hand, we got a better understanding of the difficulties these diverse actors encounter, which we can take into account when developing trainings or providing support to municipalities.
Senior Policy Advisor, Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa
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We learned a lot about challenges on the ground and discussed ways to improve the overall planning process. A key factor is early-stage community engagement and the usage and implementation of social and environmental safeguards.
Urban Environment Specialist, Cities Alliance
Why the TAP?
Funds for climate projects are available and investors are ready; however, there is shortage of bankable projects.
A “bankable” project is not just “profitable”: it quantifies the projected positive outcomes, such as social or environmental benefits, and has clear mechanisms for implementation and evaluation.
The TAP therefore strives to help local governments’ projects improve their bankability by increasing their visibility to potential investors, connecting them to project preparation facilities, or helping them connect with specifics tools or services that can increase the maturity of their proposed concept.
The four TAP pillars
The TAP Project Pipeline serves as an incubator, collecting and screening applications based on their “transformative” potential. TAP projects bearing the TAP seal of approval can benefit from TAP Services, connect to project preparation facilities, and be displayed on the TAP and other platforms.
Local and regional governments have access to tailor-made services from ICLEI and TAP partners during the whole project cycle, from early stage project definition to long-term mentoring, with the aim of developing robust and bankable project concepts. TAP partners engage either financially or technically, supporting capacity building, developing feasibility studies, and guiding the finance and design of sustainable and resilient infrastructure.
The online TAP Platform displays select applications in the pipeline in a centralized, uniform format that optimizes visibility to potential investors and funders.
It is a first stop for funders as well as local and regional governments seeking information on ambitious and transformative local infrastructure projects committed to low-to-no emission and climate-resilient development.
TAP is an advocacy tool that presents the demand and diversity of local infrastructure projects, promotes multi-level governance, and calls for effective financing mechanisms to scale up climate action.
Through its four pillars, the TAP works to:
- Provide evaluation, feedback, and quality assurance services for transformative action project proposals.
- Lower the barrier to effective and efficient cooperation between local and regional governments, and public and private financial institutions.
- Build trust among local and regional governments, financial institutions, and investors to lower risk.
- Contribute to the creation of new financing mechanisms and the improvement of existing instruments.
- Strengthen the impact of local climate projects and better position local and regional governments to attract investment and funding.
- Raise the visibility of transformative actions and innovative local financing mechanisms to encourage investment, funding, and replication.
