Final Report: Resilience for Peace and Stability, Food and Water Security Innovation Grant Programme

As the impacts of climate change deepen, communities in fragile regions like Uganda and Sudan are showing remarkable resilience. Despite environmental and socioeconomic challenges, innovative approaches are enabling transformational change. The Resilience for Peace and Stability, Food and Water Security Innovation Grant Programme was one of the nine winners of the GEF Challenge Fund in 2019. Implemented by UNDP and the Global Resilience Partnership, the programme aimed to invest in and scale up early-stage innovations that strengthen resilience while fostering peace and stability in fragile, conflict-prone regions vulnerable to climate change. The project was implemented in Uganda by Mountain Harvest through Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and in Sudan by the Near East Foundation from 2022-2024. 

Key lessons learned

The report highlight critical insights for driving resilience in fragile regions:

• Building on partnerships: Projects can achieve meaningful outcomes in a short timeframe by leveraging established relationships and local knowledge. Engaging local communities and aligning with government priorities is pivotal. Both Uganda and Sudan benefited from tailored interventions that built on local knowledge and needs.
• Empowering women: Women, in male-dominated societies, can lead entrepreneurial initiatives and financial management processes, proving to be powerful agents of change.
• Financial literacy matters: Training in financial management is key to well-managed small and micro enterprises.
• Sustaining local benefits: A sustainable business model that keeps financial benefits within local communities can ensure long-term resilience.
• Flexibility and adaptive management: In Sudan, the program adapted to civil unrest by relocating its coordination hub and transitioning to remote management. Such adaptability ensured progress despite significant challenges.

Read the full Terminal Evaluation to learn how innovative  development efforts in Uganda and Sudan are shaping resilient futures.