Rationale
Since not all project partners have personnel that can, or would wish to, participate in the more academic aspects of the research project we have funds to assist in financing high quality and complementary applied research. Applied research with partners will be an integral part of the project, focusing on adaptive learning; communication research; development of indicators; building capacity; scaling up; sharing and getting feedback on research outputs (especially lessons learned); and implementation or testing of recommendations in order to change attitudes, behaviour and policy under various systems of governance. Provision is made for 2-3 small grants per year, each up to BBD$17,500, during the project.

Granting process
Eligibility requirements

• Restricted to partners in research project implementation or utilisation of outputs
• Can be a new or existing partner to the research, but not an ad hoc applicant
• Although organisations are preferred, grants can also be to responsible individuals
• Applicants should be from the study area and have ties to marine resource governance
• Applications can be from alliances among partners to increase effective capacity
• Proposed activity should take place in the study area (OECS members and Barbados)
• Applications from government units may require NGO partners for effective financing
• Activities must be cost-effective and must be completed within the research period
• Activities will be guided by applicable research ethics and other MarGov standards
• Some expenditure (e.g. capital purchases, salary support, travel) may be excluded
• Preference may be given to building capacity as an added value of the small grant
• Other requirements may apply and are subject to change as the project progresses

Application procedures

• Applicants should first ensure that they are familiar with the project before applying
• Applicants will be guided by research plan, objectives and questions of the study
• Applications may be submitted at any time, but may be considered only in batches
• The standard application form must be used, submitted with supporting documents
• Electronic applications and documents are preferred; send paper as a last resort
• The application process is not competitive, and CERMES may invite applicants
• Applications will be evaluated by selected persons before being approved
• CERMES will assist applicants to verify that interests align with the research
• The application process is a negotiation and must be seen as such by applicants

Disbursement and conditions

• A letter of agreement between the project and grantee will be required upon approval
• Procedures may be determined by UWI and IDRC policies for financial accountability
• CERMES may set conditions specific to the approved activity including periodic reporting

Monitoring and evaluation

• A multi-stakeholder review panel has been set up to monitor and evaluate small grants
• The small grant research forms an integral part of the MarGov project for evaluation

Grants awarded

Recipient :	Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI)
Grant Title :	Institutional framework and capacity for fisheries governance in Trinidad and Tobago
Purpose :	The overall purpose is to analyse the current institutional framework and capacity for fisheries governance both at the national level and in a few selected regions (e.g. N.E. Trinidad, S.W Tobago) in Trinidad and Tobago , with a view to contributing to a better understanding of: a) characteristics of networks that are relevant to resilience and adaptability of fisheries governance; b) what kinds of interventions and governance structures have been effective in enhancing adaptive capacity and enabling self-organisation
Duration :	Oct 2007 – May 2008
Recipient :	Grenada Fisheries Division in association with the Agency for Rural Transformation
Grant Title	Sea urchin fishery governance in Grenada
Purpose :	To develop a draft fisheries management plan and governance arrangements for the Grenada sea urchin fishery, using ecosystem-based and sustainable livelihood approaches to fisheries management.
Duration :	May – Nov 2008
Recipient :	Fisheries Advisory Committee (FAC) of Barbados
Grant Title :	Improving governance through the Barbados Fisheries Advisory Committee (FAC)
Purpose :	In the contexts of the legal mandate of the 1993 Fisheries Act, as amended in 2000, and the new (2008) policy mandate of the new fisheries minister for the FAC to serve as a major link between the minister and the fishing industry, the FAC will seek to promote and facilitate the involvement of all stakeholders in the Barbados fishing industry in improving governance through information exchange and demonstration.
Duration :	Aug – Dec 2008
Recipient :	Sustainable Grenadines Project
Grant Title :	Strengthening fisherfolk collaboration in the Grenadines
Purpose :	To establish governance arrangements through which fisherfolk collaboration can be strengthened in the Grenadines at a multi-island, transboundary (across islands and two nations) scale to address shared fisheries issues. The means to achieve the purpose include updating information on shared fisheries issues; improving the network of fishers on each islands and amongst islands; improving collaboration among fishers of the Grenadines and existing PFOs, NFOs and the CNFO; improving collaboration between Grenadines fisherfolk and the two governments; building the capacity of Grenadines fisherfolk to participate in any fisherfolk organisation that serves the Grenadines; and establishing a network fisherfolk organisation specifically for the Grenadines if this is warranted and feasible.
Duration :	Nov 2009 – Oct 2010
Recipient :	Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (via its Coordinating Unit, CNFO-CU)
Grant Title :	The adaptive capacity of the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations
Purpose :	Purpose: The purpose of this grant is to further develop the adaptive capacity of the CNFO through enhanced learning by addressing three specific areas in its operational plan for 2009-2010 that are not currently funded through other means. These areas are: Develop deeper understanding about what EAF is with identified linkages to fishers’ perspectives and current fishing activities, and share widely with all FFOs Develop and disseminate simple systems for participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) of CNFO-guided activities Develop sets of lessons learned from project experiences to share among all FFO levels in all CNFO countries
Duration :	Jan - Jun 2010
Recipient :	Department of Fisheries, Saint Lucia
Grant Title :	Formalising a Participatory Decision-Making Mechanism for the Management of Sea Urchin Resources in St Lucia
Purpose :	To mainstream a participatory mechanism that facilitates sustainable management of sea urchin resources through an approach that allows key stakeholders to be involved in resource assessment, awareness-building and decision making in terms of resource management and use. The overall objective of the initiative is to empower users of the resource and help to develop their ability to use the resource sustainably.
Duration :	Apr – Oct 2010
Recipient :	Department of Marine Resources of St. Kitts and Nevis
Grant Title :	Preparing for fisheries governance in St Kitts and Nevis based on the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF)
Purpose :	In April the government of St Kitts and Nevis restructured a Department of Marine Resources to deal with fisheries and other matters. This provides an excellent opportunity to introduce inter-sectoral policy, plans and management such as via the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) that is being promoted by several regional and international agencies and projects. This small grant contributes to this direction. Preparing for fisheries governance in St Kitts and Nevis based on EAF aims to determine what EAF in St Kitts and Nevis would look like (general visioning), what would be needed to get the fisheries authority and fishing industry to the point of engaging in EAF (capacity development outline), and where would starting points on this path be that are most likely to succeed (key EAF entry points). These would be the 3 main parts of the small grant. This would all be in preparation for fisheries management planning that could be under another MarGov grant or may already be covered by the ACP Fish II project.
Duration :	Oct 2010 – Jan 2011
Recipient :	Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI)
Grant Title :	Institutional framework and capacity for fisheries governance both at the national level and in a few selected regions
Purpose :	The overall purpose of the activity is to finalise the analysis of the current institutional framework and capacity for fisheries governance both at the national level and in a few selected regions (e.g. N.E. Trinidad, S.W Tobago) in Trinidad and Tobago, with a view to contributing to a better understanding of: a) characteristics of networks that are relevant to resilience and adaptability of fisheries governance; b) the kinds of interventions and governance structures that have been effective in enhancing adaptive capacity and enabling self-organisation. This project will finalise the analysis of data from a previous MarGov project.
Duration :	Dec 2010 – Feb 2010