Peatland ACTION - Monitoring project funding - guidance and application forms

The monitoring project funding application is divided into two routes depending on the value of an application. Eligible projects under £30k should use the application forms in the download section of this page. We recommend you apply 12 weeks before your intended start date, this is to allow time for us to complete our assessment and decision making in good time for you to start your project.

Those monitoring projects that are over £30k may require NatureScot to undertake wider consultation both with the NatureScot, the Peatland ACTION delivery partnership and with Scottish Government. This process of consultation is to ensure that we are making the best use of resources, our monitoring budgets are limited, and we must ensure that any interactions with active work are identified. The expression of interest form should be used for projects over £30k and an extended timescale of approximately 16 weeks is recommended to allow for this wider consultation 

All the information on terms and conditions are on the NatureScot's standard terms and conditions of Grant offered web page. Project specific conditions will be applied where appropriate.

Project eligibility

All projects must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Must deliver outcomes and outputs that directly contribute to the objectives of the Peatland ACTION Monitoring Strategy (applicants will be asked to provide details in the application form). This includes projects that:

• Objective A: Establish if restoration works are resulting in conditions favourable to the recovery of a functioning peatland habitat, e.g. using indicators such as water table level, vegetation cover, and bare peat extent.
   
• Objective B: Compare the effectiveness of different restoration techniques for a specific feature of degraded peatland, e.g. drainage, erosion, bare peat. 
   
• Objective B: Compare the effectiveness of a specific restoration technique in different conditions or settings, e.g. peatland type, geographical location, elevation, topography.
   
• Objective C: Contribute to the evidence base associated with the ecosystem services of peatlands, e.g. C1 Water quality, C2 Water quantity and flood alleviation, C3 Fire risk control, C4 Biodiversity, C5 Social and economic outcomes, C6 Greenhouse gas (GHG) storage and sequestration.
   
• Fill key evidence gaps in the reporting of peatland restoration, namely the area affected by restoration. The evidence gaps include ‘restoration footprint’ relates to the zone of influence for all ecosystem benefits, including greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
   
• Develop or trial new methods for monitoring peatland condition and the effects of peatland restoration. 

2. The project proposal includes sites where Peatland ACTION has funded or is considering funding on-the-ground peatland restoration activities (this includes sites within the other delivery partner remit). The contact details of the agent or name of the Peatland ACTION project officer who is helping to develop restoration plans should be included in the application form. Reference and control sites will not be subject to restoration plans but should be associated with a restoration site which may or may not be in the same landholding.

3. All raw data and a final report (as agreed with NatureScot) must be shared with NatureScot Peatland ACTION within the agreed timescales so that it can be made available for reuse under the Open Government Licence. Data embargos will not be available. 

4. Where NatureScot is funding part of a multi-year project, for example years one- and two of a six-year project, details of maintenance and insurance costs for the follow-on project activity – and proposed funding for this – will be requested at application stage.

5. Projects must include at least one of the following features in the study design in order to assess restoration trajectories:

• Monitoring before and after the restoration activity
• Control areas of degraded peatland that are not restored
• Reference areas of local near-natural peatland that represent a target state

These study design features may not be applicable in certain project types (e.g. method development), but this should be justified in the application. 

By applying for grant funding successful applicants are agreeing to work with the NatureScot Peatland ACTION Communication team to develop a communication plan for the monitoring project. 

Where the applicant is not the landowner, applicants will be asked to provide written evidence that they have permission for the project and to access the land for the duration of contract period. 

Current priorities

When considering the Monitoring Strategy objectives and our own organisational priorities NatureScot Peatland ACTION is currently looking to invest in projects that:

• Assess and compare bare peat restoration techniques.
• Develop the understanding of long-term trajectories, for each peat type and restoration technique. Of particular interest are those projects that identify indicators that the restoration ‘tipping point’ has been reached or is likely to be reached.
• Monitoring herbivore impacts on restoration outcomes.
• Fill evidence gaps and contribute to the understanding of greenhouse gas emission balances across the varying peatland types and conditions.
• Fill evidence gaps and contribute to the understanding of biodiversity responses to restoration.
• Provide evidence as to the social and economic impacts of peatland restoration.

This is a priority list but would not exclude applicants with projects that contribute to other aspects of the Objectives of the Monitoring Strategy. 

What costs can be funded?

• Staff costs – only staff directly involved in delivering the monitoring activities (covers salary, National Insurance and Employee Pension Contributions) 
• Contractor costs (e.g. to install monitoring equipment)
• Specific staff training to support project delivery
• Project staff travel and subsistence
• Capital equipment, resources and materials to deliver monitoring activities. 
• NatureScot cannot pay for VAT that you are able to reclaim from HM Revenue and Customs. If you are not able to reclaim VAT from HM Revenue and Customs, then you should include ‘irrecoverable VAT’ in your project costs.

What costs will not be funded?

• Costs related to preparing the monitoring project application. 
• Staff time unrelated to the monitoring proposal.
• Monitoring required for organisations to deliver reporting for statutory obligations or other sources of funding e.g. Peatland Code.
• Maintenance of equipment.
• Personal Protective Equipment will only be funded in exceptional cases where an organisation is not already established for supporting staff or volunteers in the field. 

Ownership of equipment

• Equipment purchased from grant funds is for use on the monitoring project and belongs to the applicant. 
• In exceptional circumstances it may be more appropriate for NatureScot Peatland ACTION to retain ownership of the equipment for redeployment, and this will be discussed at the application stage. 
• The applicant is responsible for the maintenance of equipment for the Contract Period of the funding offer. This is the duration of the project and any subsequent compliance period.  
• The applicant should have appropriate insurance to cover the potential theft, loss or damage to equipment. 

Match funding

All applications will be required to confirm cash and/or in-kind contributions to the project.  

• There is a maximum intervention rate of 90% of project costs.
• Projects which are able to bring significantly more than 10% match funding to their application will be preferred.
• However, NatureScot Peatland ACTION will, at its discretion, cover up to 100% of cash costs for projects that will make a significant contribution to the Monitoring Strategy priorities and can demonstrate a minimum of 10% in-kind support including staff time at a stated and agreed rate.

Funding from other NatureScot funding programmes cannot be used as match funding. 
Activity completed prior to the grant offer being issued and accepted (such as preparatory work, surveys, consultations) cannot be used for match or in-kind funding. Discounted staff and/or consultancy fees cannot be used as in-kind or match funds.

Decisions to fund projects will be based on the availability of funding, contribution to the Peatland ACTION Monitoring Strategy, our current priorities and our assessment of the quality of application and deliverability. 

Application process

Projects where the total fund requested will be below £30,000 are asked to complete the application form available on the website. We recommend you apply 12 weeks before your intended start date, this is to allow time for us to complete our assessment and decision making in good time for you to start your project.

Projects over £30,000 should complete and submit the expression of interest form to allow NatureScot Peatland ACTION to consult more widely on the higher investment. Budgets for monitoring are limited and investment must be considered in the context of wider Scottish Government and delivery partner active projects.  

Disclaimer

Applicants should be aware that the Peatland ACTION Monitoring Funding eligibility criteria, guidance and application process are reviewed periodically and may be subject to change. Please refer to the most up to date guidance at the time of application. 
 

NatureScot Peatland ACTION is committed to harnessing the power of the data to support reporting on, improving, and expanding peatland restoration efforts in Scotland. Planning to submit an application? Looking to submit your final report? Don’t forget to complete the spatial data templates, here are some hints and tips to get you started:

Why do we ask for this spatial data? The spatial data layers provide a consistent approach to recording the location of your Peatland ACTION monitoring project at both the application stage and final report stage. This enables the Peatland  ACTION to store and communicate this information more effectively.

What format is the spatial data template? The data template is provided for QGIS3.28.5. QGIS is recommended as free and open source software.

How do I download the spatial data templates? Go to the document download section below and download the data pack to your local drive. It is recommended that you download a new version each time you are completing an application or final report as important edits may have been made to the templates.

What is the minimum requirement? For monitoring applications, the data you provide us with must contain a minimum of one feature in one of the following tables: Monitoring Points, Monitoring Lines and / or Monitoring Areas. It is important that the provided template is used as-is - changes to layer names or other modification will invalidate the application.

Where can I get help? A guidance document is provided within the spatial data template pack. If you require further assistance with using the spatial data templates, please contact [email protected]

A final report must be sent to [email protected] for each monitoring project funded by Peatland ACTION once monitoring activities are completed.  These reports are a requirement of the Peatland ACTION funding. 

Completed reports may be used by NatureScot to help raise awareness of the range of peatland monitoring work we are funding. Writing style for the open questions should be journalistic – telling stories, showing how challenges were overcome and what helped to achieve goals. The information gathered from these reports may also be used for research purposes and published under an Open Government Licence (information on costs will be anonymised). We may also use project information on our website and for our communications and advocacy purposes. A final report template is provided in the document download section.

One of the Conditions of receiving funding from us is that you acknowledge our funding of your project during your Contract Period.  This will be outlined in your Funding Offer.  We may ask you to tell us how you will acknowledge our funding in your application.

Full details of what you must do are listed on our how to acknowledge support for your project web page.