Bilateral cooperation within the EEA Grants and NGO Fund

Lillian SolheimNorwegian Helsinki Committee

22/11/2012

Experiences from 2004-2009

• Large numbers of partnership requests • Voluntary work dedicated to project development • Positive feedback: added value of bilateral

cooperation • Capacity-challenge • Bilateral fund

What role did Norwegian NGOs have?

• Provide expertise and training • Mutual competence building • Exchange of experiences • 30% of projects in Slovenia had partners

Bilateral partnerships: findings

• Common understanding of content and strategy• Good project planning• Building good and sustainable relations • Common understanding of important values • Agreement of financial framework• Long-term perspective

Challenges

• Language issues • Norway is an expensive country • Different administrative and bureaucratic cultures • 3 donor countries, 15 beneficiary countries

Define your interest

• Why get involved? What is the right motivation? • What is your capacity as an organisation? • What are your strenghts and weaknesses? • What would you like to learn? What can you

offer? • What is your target area of cooperation? Country

of preference?

Establishing contact with a partner

3 scenarios: 1.You already have a contact 2.You are being contacted 3.You look for a contact

How to find a partner?

• Build on excisting contacts • European and International networks • NGO Fund launching conferences • Conferences and workshops• Ngonorway.org

Establishing contact with a partner

Fundamental questions •Are you compatible with the partner? •Will you have time to develop a project proposal in time for an open call? •Is there a programme in the target country which captures your area of interest?

ngonorway.org

NGO Partnership Portal

@ngopartnership

More information and contact

www.ngonorway.orgwww.eeagrants.org

solheim@nhc.no