Direct Access Entities (DAEs) are central to enabling countries to access Green Climate Fund (GCF) resources directly and strengthen national ownership of climate finance. Yet, many DAEs, both accredited and candidate, still face practical challenges in translating institutional intent into credible, implementable readiness requests and high-quality climate finance pipelines.

This four-day, practice-oriented training course is designed to strengthen the institutional readiness and applied climate finance capacity of DAEs, enabling them to effectively access, manage, and report on GCF resources. The course provides a structured learning journey from foundational understanding of climate finance and the GCF ecosystem to practical skills for identifying institutional gaps and preparing readiness-oriented outputs.

The course focuses on the practical requirements for working effectively with the GCF, including fiduciary standards, environmental and social safeguards (ESS), responsiveness, results-based planning (logframes, deliverables, indicators), budgeting logic, among others.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the climate finance landscape and the role of the GCF, including key actors, financing instruments, and channels.
• Navigate the GCF architecture, its investment criteria, and specific roles and responsibilities of DAEs within the GCF ecosystem.
• Conduct institutional gap analysis against GCF Fiduciary Standards and Environmental & Social Safeguards (ESS) and formulate action plans to close them.
• Develop readiness packages and project pipelines aligned with national climate priorities (NDCs/NAPs) and GCF investment criteria.
• Apply project management, financial, procurement procedures, monitoring and reporting required for GCF-funded projects.
• Integrate cross-cutting considerations such as gender responsiveness and social inclusion, and engagement with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) where relevant into readiness design and documentation.

Module 1: Climate Finance Foundations and Institutional Gaps

• Climate finance landscape and architecture
• Climate finance sources and instruments
• MRV of climate finance
• Institutional readiness for DAE
• Exercise: Mapping of institutional gap and needs

Module 2: GCF Fundamentals and Project logic

• GCF architecture, programming approach, and investment criteria
• Navigating the GCF Online Accreditation System (OAS).
• Accreditation requirements: fiduciary standards, ESS, and gender integration
• Guidance for accessing GCF funding and the structure of the concept note
• Exercise: Drafting a simple Concept Note/Theory of Change

Module 3: DAE Pathways and Institutional Strengthening

• How the DAE Window works - first steps and access routes
• Action plan for institutional readiness
• Coordination and stakeholder engagement
• Risk management: identifying key project risks and mitigation measures
• Logframe design: outputs, indicators, assumptions/risks, and means of verification
• Case study: Lessons from a successful DAE (what worked, what to avoid)

Module 4: Project Management and Implementation

• Implementation basics and common bottlenecks
• Legal and operational requirements (e.g., agreements, conditions, reporting expectations)
• Procurement, financial management, and disbursement basics for GCF-funded activities
• Exercise: Draft implementation readiness plan
• Proposal clinic: peer review and coached feedback from a GCF expert

The course applies a practical, adult-learning approach designed to help participants translate concepts into usable outputs. Each module follows a learn–apply–review cycle, combining short technical inputs with structured exercises, guided templates, and facilitated feedback.

To ensure practical application, the course utilizes:

• Interactive mini lectures to introduce essential concepts, followed by Q&A.
• Hands-on group activities using step-by-step templates and guided tools.
• Peer-to-peer learning to exchange experiences, challenges, and solutions across institutions.
• Case studies from accredited DAEs and practitioners to highlight common pitfalls and success factors.
• Coached expert feedback from facilitators/resource persons to strengthen outputs and provide practical next steps.

• Accredited and candidate Direct Access Entities (DAEs)
• National Designated Authorities (NDAs) and Focal Points
• Readiness delivery partners and relevant national institutions supporting GCF access

$1,170 (without accommodation)
$1,575 [with accommodation (5 nights)]

Fees are inclusive of course materials (soft copy), cost of instructions and course certificate. For face-to-face training, fee is inclusive of morning and afternoon snacks and lunch during the course.

Interested individuals and organizations can register online at www.adpc.net/apply.

For more information about the course, you may also contact Apibarl Bunchongraksa at apibarl@adpc.net and telephone numbers +66 22980681 to 92 ext. 132.