These are Norwegian aid's top international partners
Most Norwegian aid goes to domestic organizations — but which groups outside the country have managed to build partnerships with one of the world's most generous donors?
Norway is one of the world’s most generous donors, and each year it partners with both public and private organizations to distribute billions of dollars in aid. From 2017 to 2020, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation — also known as Norad — as well as the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the country’s other ministries and agencies, worked with over 1,500 organizations to deliver $17.5 billion in development aid across 17,872 activities. The country’s top 10 aid partners received a total of $6.7 billion — or 38% of Norway's total disbursements across that period. Most of it was channeled through multilateral institutions, with UNICEF receiving $907 million for 172 activities, followed by the World Bank with $770 million for 116 activities. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance also saw significant funding, including $611 million in core contributions to the alliance, $69 million for the Polio Endgame Strategy, and $26 million for the international COVAX initiative. While Norway’s aid is untied, its main nonprofit and private sector partners are Norwegian. The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, or Norfund, was the leading partner among public sector entities, receiving $858 million for 19 agreements. The Norwegian Refugee Council was the most funded NGO with $508 million for 372 activities. Other leading NGO partners for Norwegian aid include the Norwegian Red Cross, Norwegian Church Aid, and Norwegian People's Aid. But what about partners outside Norway? As part of an analysis of Norwegian aid funding trends, Devex has identified the donor’s leading international partners. Here are the top five, which received 78 agreements worth $232.5 million between them, with all dollar figures listed in 2020 constant prices: 1. World Resources Institute Headquarters: Washington. Number of activities: 26. Total value: $68.5 million. All 26 activities won by WRI are focused on the environment and energy. They were funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Of the total $68.5 million received by WRI between 2017 and 2020, 28% — or $19 million — was for a project on green economic development that started in 2017. In terms of country operations, WRI is implementing 74% of its total Norwegian funding globally, 24% in Indonesia, and the rest in Brazil and Ethiopia. 2. &Green Fund Headquarters: Amsterdam. Number of activities: Two. Total value of: $61.2 million. In 2017 and 2018, the Ministry of Climate and Environment gave funding to the &Green Fund for a public-private global financing project to protect and restore tropical forests and promote sustainable agriculture. 3. International Planned Parenthood Federation Headquarters: London. Number of activities: 22. Total value: $42.5 million. The Foreign Affairs Ministry and Norad funded IPPF activities focusing on health and social services globally. Seven of these activities were implemented by the Safe Abortion Action Fund, a multidonor mechanism designed to support abortion-related programming in response to the U.S. Mexico City Policy. At $35 million, the biggest share of funding went to an adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights project from 2017-2020. 4. Mines Advisory Group Headquarters: Manchester, England. Number of activities: 25. Total value: $39.5 million. Of the $39.5 million in total disbursements to MAG, $34 million — which came entirely from the Foreign Affairs Ministry — went to activities located in the Middle East. Six of these activities, worth $19 million, were in Iraq. The focus was the clearance of mines and education about their risks. Meanwhile, projects in Laos, Sri Lanka, and sub-Saharan Africa received the remaining $5.5 million. 5. ClimateWorks Foundation Headquarters: San Francisco. Number of activities: Three. Total value: $20.8 million. The Ministry of Climate and Environment funded three activities for the ClimateWorks Foundation under the Climate and Land Use Alliance’s 2018-2022 strategy, focusing on reducing emissions in Brazil and Indonesia, as well as increasing the role of forest carbon sinks and encouraging a shift in protein consumption in Brazil, China, and Central Africa. What about Norad? Norad is rarely mentioned in this list. Of the $6 billion that Norad spent on 9,121 activities from 2017 to 2020, two-thirds went to multilateral partners and Norway-based organizations. Among the international partners, CGIAR was Norad’s top partner, receiving a total of $53 million. Raquel Alcega contributed to this article. Explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content. Try a free 5-day trial of Devex Pro Funding today.
Norway is one of the world’s most generous donors, and each year it partners with both public and private organizations to distribute billions of dollars in aid. From 2017 to 2020, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation — also known as Norad — as well as the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the country’s other ministries and agencies, worked with over 1,500 organizations to deliver $17.5 billion in development aid across 17,872 activities.
The country’s top 10 aid partners received a total of $6.7 billion — or 38% of Norway's total disbursements across that period. Most of it was channeled through multilateral institutions, with UNICEF receiving $907 million for 172 activities, followed by the World Bank with $770 million for 116 activities. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance also saw significant funding, including $611 million in core contributions to the alliance, $69 million for the Polio Endgame Strategy, and $26 million for the international COVAX initiative.
While Norway’s aid is untied, its main nonprofit and private sector partners are Norwegian.
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Miguel Tamonan is a Senior Development Analyst at Devex, where he analyzes data from public and private donors to produce content and special reports for Pro and Pro Funding readers. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a Major in International Relations from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Janadale Leene Coralde works as a contributing analyst for Devex. Based in Manila she reports on development donors activities and designs funding data visualisations. She has a degree in political economy, specializing in international relations and development, and has previously worked as a researcher for Chemonics, the REID foundation, and the Philippines House of Representatives.
