Species Recovery Programme: call for ideas funding opportunity
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-03)

The Species Recovery Programme has launched a new opportunity calling for ideas to support threatened species.

Call for ideas has closed

New ideas cannot be submitted for this funding opportunity. The deadline for submitting new ideas was on or before 2 November 2025.

If you submitted an idea before the deadline, you will be contacted by early December 2025 and advised if you have been shortlisted or not.

If your idea is shortlisted, you will be notified and invited to submit a full funding application with an 8-week application period.

Only ideas submitted and shortlisted through the call for ideas process will be eligible to submit a full funding application.

What is the Species Recovery Programme

For over 30 years, the Species Recovery Programme has worked with partners to save many of England’s most threatened species from extinction.

In the Environment Act 2021, the government set out new, legally binding targets around species. The Species Recovery Programme now directly contributes to these targets, focusing on the long-term biodiversity goal of reducing species’ extinction risk by 2042, relative to 2022 levels.

While achieving these targets will depend on landscape-scale approaches that restore natural ecosystem functioning, the Species Recovery Programme complements these measures by providing targeted action for threatened species with bespoke needs, to prevent national extinctions.

Call for ideas opportunity

The Species Recovery Programme is seeking new ideas that focus on action to recover threatened species. Ideas should be ambitious and achievable, delivering either or both:
- targeted action
- research and development
Ideas should outline activities planned between summer 2026 and March 2029, for any duration within that period. Ideas should have a clear start and end point and should be a standalone piece of work.

You are strongly encouraged to co-ordinate and work strategically with others who are proposing ideas for the same species and actions.

The programme also encourages submissions of ideas that will deliver for multiple species through multiple actions at a landscape scale, if those species share common recovery needs.

Participation in this call for ideas shall not in any way guarantee funding, regardless of the eligibility of the submission. Shortlisted project ideas will be invited to submit a full funding application for Natural England’s consideration.

Who can submit

This opportunity is open to:
- formally constituted organisations or partnerships – environmental groups, charities, local authorities, academic institutions, landowners, public bodies, non-profit organisations, farmer clusters
- the following Defra agencies – Natural England, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Broads Authority, National Park Authorities
Other Defra bodies (including the Environment Agency and Foresty Commission) cannot apply to receive funding from this programme. They can be a partner in a project who provides support, technical advice or their own funding, but cannot be a lead partner.

Each submission must be led by a single organisation and should be submitted by an authorised representative of that organisation. Organisations can submit multiple separate responses to this call for ideas opportunity.

You cannot apply for this opportunity with an idea for private gain or profit.

What ideas are eligible

Ideas must:
- be eligible within the Threatened Species Recovery Actions (TSRA) dataset (#TSRA-eligible)
- meet the funding criteria (#funding-criteria)
- be delivered in England
Research that will be carried out in other parts of the UK (outside of England) can be considered, only if the outcome of the project is focused on benefitting a TSRA species in England.

In addition, ideas can:
- deliver multiple actions, or for multiple species where it is ecologically sensible
- continue existing work, or be seeking funding for new work
Check eligibility in the TSRA dataset

All ideas must target the species and directly address the actions listed in the Threatened Species Recovery Actions (TSRA) dataset (https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6106216194113536).

Species in the TSRA dataset are those most in need of targeted recovery action in England. These species are understood to need bespoke interventions and actions beyond wider habitat creation and restoration.

The Species Recovery Programme can only fund some of these actions. You should ensure the species and actions in your idea are eligible within the TSRA dataset before submitting your idea.

Navigating the TSRA dataset

Download the spreadsheet (https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6106216194113536) and go to tab 4 – ‘Key action summary’.

Filter for actions eligible for Species Recovery Programme funding in column J – ‘action type’.

Action types eligible for funding:

The following TSRA action types are eligible for funding and should form the primary focus of a project:
- climate change adaptation
- ex situ conservation
- habitat creation
- habitat management
- pressure mitigation
- reintroduction
- scientific research
- special (in situ) measures
- other
Action types eligible for funding as enabling actions:

The following TSRA action types are eligible only as enabling actions. They cannot form the sole focus of a project but can be part of a broader project that delivers one (or more) of the eligible action types listed above:
- advice and support
- education/awareness raising
- status survey/review
- targeted monitoring
Action types not eligible for funding:

The following TSRA action types are not eligible for funding under this opportunity:
- landscape/catchment/marine management
- legal protection
- site protection
Note that definitions for each action type can be found on tab 7 (‘Action typology’) of the TSRA dataset.

For advice or support navigating the dataset, contact xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Funding criteria

The following funding criteria apply for this opportunity:
- funding requested should be between £10,000 and £1.5 million
- funding should not be used to pay for work which can otherwise be funded by other mechanisms such as Environmental Land Management schemes (or equivalent)
- funding cannot be used to meet the obligations set by other funding awards, including the obligation period commitments from the Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme 2023 to 2025
- no work can be double funded
- funding may be used to add on to work paid for by other funding mechanisms, provided there is a clear differentiation
- costs should represent good value for public money (commercial rates should not be used)
Screening

Each idea will be considered on the following elements:
- eligibility – does the idea carry out an action or suite of actions from the TSRA dataset?
- suitability – are the activities proposed suitable for addressing the action identified?
- value for money – does the idea offer good value for money, are the costs reasonable and does the idea include match contributions (for example, cash or in-kind)?
We encourage match contribution, but this is not essential for ideas to be shortlisted for an invitation to apply.

Note that past performance under the Species Recovery Programme will also be considered when screening ideas.

The decision to shortlist is final and will not be reconsidered.

How to submit

The deadline for submitting new ideas has passed. New ideas cannot be submitted for this funding opportunity.

What happens next

All responses to the call for ideas will be acknowledged and then reviewed by the Species Recovery Programme team.

All call for ideas respondents will be contacted within 4 weeks of the submission deadline and advised if shortlisted or not.

Shortlisted respondents will be invited to submit a full funding application for Natural England’s consideration and will be provided with guidance and advised of the process to follow.

Full funding applications will need to be submitted through a detailed application form and will include at least a project plan, budget plan and evidence of costs and permissions. Depending on the proposal, applicants will be required to use a specific application type and platform, but the information needed will be the same.

Due diligence checks (for example, financial status) will be conducted on all applicants at full funding application stage before any award of funding is made.

Important note

This call for ideas is an exploratory stage and does not constitute a formal funding offer or guarantee funding in any way, regardless of eligibility. Funding availability is strictly subject to Natural England’s formal written confirmation.

Any award of funding to successful applicants shall be strictly subject to compliance with specified conditions and entry into an appropriate form of legal arrangement. This arrangement may, for example, take the form of a government grant or a Memorandum of Agreement which will be determined by Natural England in its sole discretion.

Get help

For further information or any queries, contact xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

You can also read this blog from the Species Recovery Programme team on the call for ideas opportunity (https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/23/species-recovery-programme-call-for-ideas-opportunity/).