The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian or ''Utenriksdepartementet''; or ''Utanriksdepartementet''; UD) is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June 7, 1905, the same day the Parliament of ...

. It is primarily concerned with offering development aid to international partners, but in matters regarding Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Norad reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. Norad's functions are laid down in the agency's terms of references and annual letters of allocation issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Climate and Environment. Norad works to ensure effective foreign aid, with quality assurance and evaluation. Norad finances

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

and does its own research and projects. The current director general is Bård Vegar Solhjell. Norad used to be the official development assistance organization in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. As of mid-2004, the responsibility for state-to-state

official development assistance Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It is w ...

has been transferred to the

, while Norad continues to fund NGO activities in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

(particularly through its NORHED program), and contributes to the management of development funds while ensuring that Norwegian development cooperation is accurately evaluated and efficiently implemented.

Organization

Norad consists of the following departments: * Director General's Office * Department for Climate, Energy, Environment and Research * Department for Education and Global Health * Department for Economic Development, Gender and Governance * Civil Society Department * Department for Quality Assurance * Department for Communication * Department of Human Resources and Administration * Evaluation Department

Finances

Norway granted NOK 36.6 billion in development assistance in 2016, corresponding to 1.11 per cent of Norway's gross national income (GNI). According to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

, Norway’s total ODA (USD 5.2 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2022 due to aid to Ukraine and increased in-donor refugee costs, and represented 0.86% of GNI.

Employees

* Director General, Bård Vegar Solhjell * Director of Communications, Eva Bratholm

References

External links

Agency official homepage
{{Authority control International development agencies Foreign relations of Norway

Development Cooperation Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid by ...

1968 establishments in Norway Government agencies established in 1968