CORANGAMITE COASTAL CMA SMALL GRANTS (<$10,000)
ROUND 4
GUIDELINES
1. INTRODUCTION
The Corangamite CMA Coastal Small Grants (CSG) program makes available National Landcare Program,
(Australian Government) funding for community coastal projects delivered by non-government organisations
(NGOs,) community groups and schools for works on public land.
2. OBJECTIVES
The objective of the program is to support community involvement in protecting and/or enhancing coastal
biodiversity assets with a focus on combining community engagement activities with on ground coastal
outcomes. The Coastal Small Grants program is designed to provide opportunities for community based
groups along the Corangamite coastline to be engaged in environmental works on public land.
The Coastal Small Grants Program is designed to contribute to the following:

Facilitate on ground biodiversity conservation in coastal areas.

Enhance and maintain the capacity of individuals and / or community groups to undertake coastal
biodiversity activities.

Increase the volunteer movement for coastal NRM.

Relationships and partnerships are built, maintained and strengthened.

Raise awareness and generate enthusiasm for participation and innovation in coastal NRM activities.

Provide a catalyst for changing coastal land management behaviour/practices.
3. FUNDING CONDITIONS
The Coastal Small Grants program places emphasis on combining community engagement with on ground
coastal outcomes. Projects are sought with multiple benefits and where appropriate encourage groups to
work together to achieve coastal biodiversity outcomes.
Each project must address four key selection criteria; the current biophysical state, the likelihood of project
success, the social outcomes of a project and the timing opportunity / risk (see Attachment 1 for a description
of the assessment criteria).
Projects will be funded on a cost versus benefit basis. Projects must have a nominated project manager.
Projects must have the consent of the appropriate public land manager to receive funding and prior to any
works commencing.
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Criteria
Conditions
Projects must cover at least one coastal biodiversity
management practice:
 The on-ground works projects should not be ongoing maintenance projects.

Weed management;

Pest management;

Soil erosion;

Vegetation protection, enhancement or
establishment; or

 Projects for weeds must be for high threat weed
species at a project site (CCMA Catchment
Officer can assist with determining high threat
weed species for a site).
 Program will NOT support the employment of
coordinators, facilitators or project officers
Protective fencing.
AND

Education / Engagement (for example, forums,
field days, newsletters, training, school
events).
Proponents may be community based groups or
schools or NGOs.
Projects are for public not private benefit.
Projects will be assessed based on cost versus
benefit. Project benefit will be determined against
established assessment criteria (Attachment 1)
Requested funding must not exceed $10,000 per
project per annum. Multiple year projects may be
approved and a multiple year approach is
encouraged where this will provide benefit to the
outcomes achieved.
4. EXPRESSION OF INTEREST PROCESS
Proponents will need to register an expression of interest (EOI) by calling the Corangamite CMA. At this stage
basic details about the proposal and proponent organisation will be collected. The person lodging the EOI
should be suitably prepared to provide a basic overview of the site location and approximate size, as well as
information about the nature of the works to be undertaken and contact details for the group.
Following lodgment of an expression of interest, a site assessment will be undertaken by a Catchment Officer
from the Corangamite CMA. This officer will organise a time to meet at least one representative of the
proponent group on site. The proposed project will be discussed, the site will be mapped, and an assessment
of the quality of the vegetation will occur. Recommended management actions will be discussed at this stage.
Following this site assessment and discussion, the field officer will develop a summary management plan for
review by the proponent. This process may take some time (probably weeks if not months) as these staff have
other competing tasks to also complete. The Management Plan will form a core part of the contract, in the
case that the project is deemed to be good value for money and therefore contracted /funded. The proponent
will be given an application form at the end of the site assessment to provide additional information and a
proposed project costing. All proponents will have to submit application forms within 28 days of receiving their
management plan and proposal pack.
5. ELIGIBILITY
Grants are available to NGOs, community groups and schools for eligible works on public land.
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6. INELIGIBILITY
Grant funding cannot be spent on:

Project administration only;

Community education / capacity building projects alone;

The costs associated with the establishment and maintenance of an organisation;

Primarily commercial tree crops e.g. agro forests or plantations;

Provision of incentives for activities where an existing duty of care requires them to occur (typically
through legislation);

The hire of equipment owned by organizations’ or groups members (may be shown as contribution in
kind).
7. TIMELINE
This current round of the Coastal Small Grants opened on 25 September 2015. The call for expressions of
interest will remain open until the Corangamite CMA is satisfied that either; 1) a sufficient number of
proposals has been nominated to effectively utilise available funding or 2) additional interest being registered
is insufficient to keep the current round open to EOIs.
8. FUNDING RATES & BUDGET
Applications are sought for project budgets ranging up to $10,000 per project per year. The total funding
available for coastal small grants through until June 2018 (three years) is $200, 000. An additional two rounds
of grants are scheduled to be run following this current round. Applicants should use the following table to
guide proposal costing. Funding rates detailed below are the maximum rates to be applied. Proponents may
wish to apply for lesser rates in order to ensure that proposals are competitive.
Activity
Maximum Funding Rates
(GST Exclusive)
Standard Fencing (minimum 5 wire)
$5.00/m
Rabbit proof fencing
$7.00/m
Cell grown seedlings
$1:00/plant
Guards (milk cartons & stakes)
$0.45/guard
Note- if alternative guards are required- please nominate a rate and include an
explanation of why alternative guards are required.
Pre-planting spot spray
Maximum rate for site preparation pre-planting
Labour planting per / plant
$0.33/plant
Max $45.00/ha
$ 1.00 / plant
Weed control (heavy infestation)
$2,500 / hectare
Weed control (standard infestation)
$1,000 / hectare
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9. ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE
All Aboriginal cultural heritage, that is, Aboriginal places, Aboriginal objects and Aboriginal human remains,
are protected under the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006. It is an offence to disturb or desecrate
Aboriginal cultural heritage or carry out works that is likely to harm Aboriginal cultural heritage.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that Aboriginal cultural heritage is not impacted upon by
proposed works. The public land manager of the proposed project site may be able to assist to determine the
likelihood of cultural heritage being impacted as well as how best to mitigate potential impacts.
10. PAYMENT
Successful applicants are required to enter into a signed agreement with the Corangamite CMA. The Applicant
shall receive 50% of the payment upon signing of the contract, 25% payment on satisfactory completion of
the progress report and the final 25% upon satisfactory completion of the final report.
11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Progress reports will be required to be submitted on a six monthly basis. A standard reporting proforma will
be supplied by the CMA, and will be based on the management activities of the project. Reporting will include
the need to provide photo point monitoring of on ground works, these points will be established in the first
instance as part of the site assessment conducted by the CMA project officer.
12. LODGEMENT OF PROPOSAL
The proposal must be lodged electronically with the CMA using the standard coastal small grants proforma.
The proposal will consist of a proposal costing, the project management plan (to be developed by the CMA)
and other relevant details to enable the proposal to be effectively assessed. A standard grants proforma will
be provided by the CMA with the draft project management plan.
13. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Please see Attachment 1 for a full description of the assessment criteria and explanation of each criteria
component.
Each of the three criteria are weighted and a score out of 5 is assigned to each criteria. Each criteria has a final
score which is determined by multiplying the criteria score by the weighting. The total score is developed by
adding each of the four final criteria scores and then dividing this by the investment sought for each project.
14. FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information regarding the coastal small grants, please contact Polly Matthews – Catchment
Coordinator on 0407 341 350. Please note that Polly works Monday to Thursday.
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Attachment 1
Selection Criteria
(1 page)
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Category
Current biophysical state
Criteria Component
EVC Status
Vegetation Condition
Site size
Threatened species habitat
Likelihood of success
Likely management gain
Methodology
Proponent Capacity
Predicted benefit
Partnerships
Community capacity building
Timing opportunity / risk
Timing opportunity and risk
Assessment Method
The EVC status of every potential project site will be determined with assistance from a
CCMA Catchment Officer. Projects will be prioritised based on their EVC status with the
most endangered EVCs being prioritised - from endangered, vulnerable, depleted, rare
and least concern.
The EVC condition of each potential project site will be undertaken using either the
Habitat Hectares method or the Index of Wetland Condition method. This approach
includes assessment of the landscape context of sites.
The size of each potential project site will be measured using a GPS Unit and recorded in
hectares.
This criteria will be assessed using two methods. The first method is use of the GIS
layer, NaturePrint which is a state-wide mapping layer that identifies priority areas for
environmental projects based on a range of parameters, including threatened species
habitat. The site assessment process will also be used to assess this criteria, where
threatened species are observed in the field. Note that this does not include identifying
suitable habitat for threatened species at a site, the threatened species must be
observed (and preferably photographed) to be included.
Assesses how significant and certain is the environmental gain that can be achieved
from the project. In other words, how effective will the project activities be in delivering
the intended environmental outcome? 0-3 highly uncertain, 4-5 somewhat certain, 6-8
certain 8-10 very certain.
Is the project logic sound?
How do the methods contribute to the proposed outcomes? Is the project technically
feasible ?
Are there better methods?
Has the proponent demonstrated capacity to deliver agreed outcomes on time and
within budget, including capacity to adhere to reporting requirements?
Are appropriate project partners part of the bid? Is co-investment appropriate?
How does the proposal maximise community capacity building? Is what is intended
appropriate in its nature and scale given what is proposed?
How urgent is the project and what would happen if it did not proceed?
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