EUKI – Cost-Effectiveness, Transparent, Audited

Our Approach to Cost-Effectiveness in EUKI Projects

Strict Project Selection

Projects are selected together with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety according to clear criteria: Are the planned costs realistic and economical? Are the targets ambitious? Are the planned measures suitable for achieving these goals? Do the projects continue to have an impact even after the funding has ended? The auditors must adhere to the specified and extensive assessment criteria, which can be found in the funding information on the EUKI website.

Audit of Funding Recipients

All organisations are comprehensively audited with a focus on financial management, experience in handling public funds and compliance. A commercial and legal suitability check is always carried out on potential recipients.

The suitability check ensures that:

• The recipient is not on any of the relevant sanctions lists.
• The legal personality has been verified, and legal independence has been proven.
• The recipient is not-for-profit or fulfils a not-for-profit purpose.
• The recipient can demonstrate the necessary commercial skills, such as appropriate accounting and auditing, internal and external control systems and appropriate procurement rules.

In addition, it is checked whether the recipient already has experience of working with GIZ or whether there are known allegations of corruption or breaches of the law. If the recipient does not comply with these strict rules applied by the financial auditors, the project will not be funded.

Reliable Financial Control

Security deposits, reporting obligations, close financial monitoring and document checks reduce risks. Every item of expenditure is subject to the dual control principle.

External Control

In addition, independent auditors check projects at the end of their term following a risk analysis to ensure that the disbursed funds have been used for their intended purpose.

If there are concerns about the use of funds, the recipients have four weeks to submit further documents to clarify the situation. If the auditors consider the documents subsequently submitted to be insufficient, the non-approved funds are deducted from the total amount of funding.

Economic Efficiency at the EUKI Secretariat

External Service Providers

Contracts are awarded to external service providers exclusively via award procedures that guarantee the selection of the most cost-effective offer. As a contracting authority, the EUKI is subject to the following legislation:

For contracts above the EU threshold, currently EUR 214,000, the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) and the Public Procurement Ordinance (VgV) apply.

For contracts below the EU thresholds, the Sub-Threshold Procurement Regulations (UVgO) apply.

Increasing Efficiency through Innovation

Digital solutions and continuous process optimisation reduce administrative costs and speed up workflows:

Since 2025, the EUKI Secretariat has used a standardised evaluation template when reviewing new EUKI projects. Clearly defined selection criteria, such as the applicants’ project experience or the project’s thematic focus, are evaluated before the in-depth review. These process optimisations help manage the steadily increasing number of funding applications while keeping costs low. Particular emphasis is placed on the data protection-compliant use of these technologies..

The EUKI Secretariat uses AI to analyse the findings from the large number of reports, studies and applications from the more than 230 EUKI projects. The non-sensitive data serves as the basis for the organisation of events at which EUKI experts disseminate and communicate this knowledge.

Conclusion

EUKI works according to clear economic principles: It selects its projects carefully, has strict financial controls, commissions independent audits and insists on transparent cost structures. EUKI shows that climate funding can be utilised efficiently and responsibly.