LIFE is the European Union’s subsidy program for projects focused on environmental and nature preservation and climate actions. Entrepreneurs, governments and NGOs can receive financing for the development and implementation of nature and environmental policy. We supported the Ministry of Economic Affairs in submitting a project proposal.

Nature policy in the Netherlands

At the time the proposal was developed, the Ministry of Economic Affairs was responsible for the Dutch nature policy. For implementation of the policy, they collaborated with a wide range of organizations, such as provinces, water boards and nature managers such as Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten. Coordination between all stakeholders can be time-consuming and in some cases leads to delays due to conflicting interests.

Financing of the LIFE subsidy

To construct the model, the Ministry has received financial support from the LIFE program. Partners for Innovation supervised the development of the project proposal, for which we facilitated writing sessions. We also assisted in drafting the Concept Note, the first step of grant proposals. Finally, we developed the final version of the project plan based on the evaluation by the European Commission.

With this project we contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goals of the UN: