Every Collaborative Fund project addresses a high priority biodiversity conservation issue and includes some combination of research, education, policy and practice.

There’s no shortage of collaborative ideas and opportunities, but having funding and capacity to develop  these ideas into practices may be a barrier.

The CCI Collaborative Fund was established in 2008 thanks to the generous support of Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, which recognises the vital need for collaborative approaches to investigating global conservation problems and creating sustainable solutions. In addition to the Arcadia fund, support to the CCI Fund is, or has been, provided by the following donors: the A. G. Leventis Foundation, the Mitsubishi Foundation, the Grantham Foundation, the Rothschild Foundation, the Isaac Newton Trust, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Paul and Louise Cooke Endowment.

The CCI Collaborative Fund is administered by the office of the Executive Director of CCI with grants being awarded by a Selection Panel. The Collaborative Fund Selection Panel is responsible for the independent evaluation of applications to the Fund and selecting the most appropriate projects to receive grants.

Applications should normally address one or more of the agreed CCI Goals and Themes. The CCI Collaborative Fund aims to facilitate innovative and necessary collaborations between CCI members, with particular emphasis on enabling successful partnerships between University of Cambridge Departments and conservation organisations based in the Cambridge area.

Only CCI partners are eligible to apply for this fund. CCI partners can access further guidance on eligibility and how to apply on the Collaborative Fund page on the CCI intranet.