GovWire

About the Seed Sourcing Grant

Applications for the Seed Sourcing Grant are now closed. The SSG is a competitive grant to provide support for activities that enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed sources in England.

The Government has renewed commitment to net zero targets, and?the SSG will help to ensure the availability of planting stock to meet these targets.

The SSG is looking to support projects that will increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of seed stands and seed orchards on the Forest Reproductive Material (FRM) National Register for Basic Material. See Marketing forest reproductive material for forestry purposes for more details.

What is the deadline for applications?

Applications for the Seed Sourcing Grant are now closed. The final deadline was 23.55 Sunday 13 November 2022.

A list of the projects awarded funding in round one can be found here: Seed Sourcing Grant: successful projects 2022.

The Seed Sourcing Grant is reopening soon - please subscribe to our eAlert to get the latest information.

What funding is available?

Through the SSG, 1.2 million will be made available between 2022/23 and 2024/25 to support activities designed to enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of tree seed sources in England. Up to 400,000 will be made available in each financial year.

Proposals for projects spanning multiple financial years will be accepted and all project activities must be completed and invoiced by March 2025. Projects, whether single or multi-year, must have a minimum total cost of 10,000 to be eligible for funding under the SSG. Applicants may submit more than one bid during each funding round, but each lead applicant may only apply for a maximum of 75,000 per annum, across all their bids.

All activities related to the 23 species seed sourcing strategies will be funded at 100%, and other projects will be funded at 50%.

Eligible activities:

1. Management of existing seed stands, to ensure they are productive for seed collectors. Seed stands must either already be registered on the National Register of Basic Material or should be registered on the National Register of Basic Material as part of the proposed project. This may include bringing current Source Identified (SI) seed sources under management and registering them as a seed stand as part of the project (see guidance note for further information). These must be time-bound rather than ongoing activities.

2. Desk studies and field studies to identify and bring additional seed stands onto the National Register of Basic Material.

3. Planning and planting of new seed stands, and their registration on the National Register of Basic Material.

4. Planning and planting of new seed orchards and their registration on the National Register of Basic Material.

Proposals can include a combination of activities from the list above.

To be eligible for funding:

• the project proposal must be relevant to the production of tree seed fromspecies covered by the UK FRM scheme (including those in the voluntary scheme)
• the seed stand or seed orchard must be in England
• the work to be funded must not have commenced
• activities must be associated with an eligible FRM category as detailed below

All eligibility criteria are fully described in the SSG application form and associated Guidance Notes.

Eligible categories of FRM:

• Source-Identified (SI) Seed Stands
• Selected and Tested Seed Stands
• Qualified and Tested Seed Orchards
• Clones and Clonal Mixtures

Source-Identified (SI) Seed Sources are also eligible for funding under this grant if they meet the criteria to be registered as SI seed stands and are registered as seed stands as part of the proposed project.

Eligible costs that may be claimed for include but are not limited to:

• staff, or contractor, costs for project delivery, including for research and technical advice
• seeds and saplings
• consumables and temporary infrastructure required for management of seed stands, for example fencing
• contribution sought towards costs of equipment required to complete the project
• travel and subsistence specifically for the SSG grant activity, carried out in the most economically and sustainable way possible

The following expenditure is ineligible:

• ongoing maintenance of seed stand and/or seed orchard after the project delivery window
• insurance for capital items or staff
• repairs and ongoing maintenance to existing or purchased equipment
• any other travel and subsistence (inclusive of other grant schemes)
• costs or overheads such as rent, and utilities apportioned to those staff directly or indirectly employed on the project.For equipment over 500, the contribution offered will be at the evaluation panels discretion
• costs incurred outside of the project delivery window
• costs involved in preparing your application or work on another grant scheme
• retrospective funding for work that has already been started/carried out before grant agreement

Find out if you are eligible

The SSG is open to any UK-based public, private, or third sector organisation that can demonstrate how the grant will be used to enhance the quality, quantity, and diversity of English seed stands and seed orchards. Individual private landowners may also apply for eligible activities on their own land. Joint applications are also acceptable, and any partners should be listed in the application form.

The following groups are identified as potential applicants to the SSG:

• public and private sector tree nurseries and tree seed suppliers
• research institutes including public sector research establishments
• landowners including private and public landowners and NGOs
• NGOs working on tree improvement and other aspects of seed and tree production

Forestry England (FE) and Forest Research (FR) are not eligible for grant funding under the SSGbut may be subcontracted on behalf of eligible organisations to complete SSG related work packages.

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