This discussion paper provides an overview of the concept of direct access to climate finance and focuses on three main components of the public architecture used to deliver international public finance from global funds. The different institutional arrangements can cover the following functions: fund manager or strategic oversight body implementing body (sometimes referred to as a supervisory body) and an executing body (chapter 4). The role of the fund manager is to take funding decisions and to channel funds to the approved project proposals. The implementing body’s responsibility is to identify, evaluate, propose, oversee and appraise programmes or projects for the Board. The executing bodies receive funding to implement the projects. Furthermore, the experience with this financing modality in other global funds (the Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria (the Global Fund)is reviewed.