Dear SeyCCAT friends,
In my last letter as CEO of SeyCCAT, I would like to look back at the highlights of 2021. It has been a truly extraordinary year for SeyCCAT – perhaps, the biggest year yet – and I am happy to share the events that made the last 12 months so impactful.
To start with, over the last year, our team grew by 6 new members bringing our total headcount from 5 to 11 people. Our new colleagues bring additional capacity to help us deliver on our promise to existing stakeholders and new partners who brought US$4.7 in additional funding over the last 12 months.
In 2021, we have wrapped up the fifth funding cycle for the Blue Grants Fund. While the total requested amount was twice more than the BGF budget, the final grant numbers fell below our target of US$700,000. We are looking into the underlying causes of this phenomenon and will incorporate our findings into the next BGF round in 2022. Additionally, we have commissioned a BGF impact evaluation report, which produced some interesting findings.
Last year has been also impactful for SeyCCAT’s participation in the international climate arena. In October, we presented three Blue Bond-financed projects and our work on seagrass at Expo2020 in Dubai.
Right after, SeyCCAT participated in the long-awaited COP-26 in Glasgow. There, we hosted an event that brought together policymakers and climate experts to discuss the urgent needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Specifically, we discussed options of financing mechanisms to support SIDS’ climate adaptation agenda.
Domestically, we continued raising important questions. In December, for example, we hosted a virtual conversation among policymakers, scientists, and the BGF community to understand how scientists and BGF-funded research projects can support policymakers in crafting evidence-based policies and laws. The event resulted in a proposal to organise an annual forum where the policy and scientific communities can discuss existing information gaps and cross-check their work programs. You can read my take on the role of SeyCCAT in this process in this blog.
To sum up, in 2021, we not only completed many things but also laid the foundation for exciting new developments for the next several years.
Finally, I would like to share some personal news. After 3 years as CEO of this wonderful organization, I feel that it is a good time to take a break and focus on my Ph.D. studies. In these 3 years, we have accomplished a lot, and I am extremely thankful to the small but mighty SeyCCAT team and to all our friends and partners who have supported our work over the years. Every success of SeyCCAT is a shared accomplishment of many people, and I would like to thank all of you for your trust and contribution.
Together we have built an impactful organization that is an example of integrity, transparency, and efficiency. I am proud of the work we have done so far and looking forward to seeing SeyCCAT grow and flourish in the future.
Angelique,
Outgoing CEO of SeyCCAT