Through encouraging partnership projects, the EEA and Norway Grants have created a wide variety of new arenas and possibilities for bilateral dialogue and cooperation. This is especially the case within the field of academic research, in which close to 60% of all projects are implemented in cooperation between project promoters in the beneficiary states and partners from the donor states.
Environmental research on top
The large majority of partnership projects within the field of research concerns protection of the environment and sustainable development. One example is a monitoring project on sulphur and nitrogen pollution in the Czech Republic, carried out in partnership between the Czech Geological Survey and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. Other examples are an Estonian project on soil-based emissions of greenhouse gases, and a Portuguese project on the effects of global climate change on marine ecosystems.
Polish-Nordic research
Norwegian institutions are involved in all 56 partnership projects in the field of research, of which half originate in Poland. One of these projects also involves an Icelandic partner. The Centre of Migration Research (CMR) at the University of Warsaw aims to develop a new methodology for migration research in collaboration with both the Icelandic Centre of Immigration Research (CIRRA) and the Norwegian Institute of Social Sciences and Labour Market (FAFO). Other areas of Polish-Norwegian cooperation include research on innovative solutions for wastewater management, research on a novel method for removal of gas and petrochemical pollutants, and research on modeling of biomass energy production.