Strengthening bilateral relations
A key goal of the EEA and Norway Grants is to strengthen bilateral relations and to bring actors from beneficiary states and donor states together at the project level in areas where partnerships may be of mutual benefit by bringing added value and strengthening quality. More than one in five supported projects is implemented in cooperation with donor partners, the majority being Norwegian entities. The 275 partnership projects have been awarded €308 million in grants. In addition, a multitude of partnership projects are supported through specific funds set up for academic research, scholarships, NGOs and regional development.
High level of academic research cooperation
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 two out of three supported projects are based on bilateral partnerships. Additional partnership projects are supported through a variety of academic research funds, such as the €25 million Polish-Norwegian Research Fund.
Large numbers of partnership projects are also found within the sectors for protection of the environment and for human resource development, with 50 and 45 bilateral partnership projects respectively. The priority sector absorbing the largest amount of grants to partnership projects is the sector for cultural heritage protection, in which €67 million has been awarded to 41 partnership projects.
Portugal and Poland in the lead
Portugal is the beneficiary states with the largest overall percentage of partnership projects: 14 of 29 Portuguese projects have Norwegian partners. The largest amount of partnerships, however, is to be found in Poland, Hungary and Latvia. Of the 275 partnership projects, 103 are carried out in Poland, reflecting the fact that Poland is the largest beneficiary state of the EEA and Norway Grants. 31 and 28 partnership projects respectively are carried out in Hungary and Latvia.
Among the Norwegian institutions involved in partnership projects the most active institutions under the EEA and Norway Grants are the University of Oslo (16 projects), the SINTEF research group (13 projects) and the National Police Directorate (12 projects).
Cooperation programmes with Bulgaria and Romania
Under the Norway Grants, special cooperation programmes are set up with Bulgaria and Romania where all 53 supported projects are implemented in partnership with one or more Norwegian institutions. These programmes are administered separately by Innovation Norway.
SEE ALSO: Supported partnership projects and bilateral funds: pooling resources and connecting people.
Photo credit: The Romanian National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (ANCPI).