Strengthening cooperation and bilateral relations between the donor countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and beneficiary countries is, along with reducing economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area, one of the main goals of the EEA and Norway Grants. Partnerships between entities from the beneficiary countries and their counterparts in donor countries are therefore a fundamental part of the Grants. They also offer a unique opportunity to tackle common European challenges. Partnerships between entities from Slovenia and donor countries are strongly promoted under the calls for proposals in the scope of both programmes. Project proposals involving bilateral partnership also receive additional scores during quality assessment.
Bilateral partnership
Taking part in a bilateral partnership can be a rewarding experience with many benefits, such as:
- international experience and networking,
- access to knowledge and experience,
- innovative approaches,
- increased visibility,
- stepping stone for the future.
A wide range of entities can participate in projects as donor project partners as long as they are eligible in accordance with the provisions of the call for proposals under the programme Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation and programme Education, Scholarships, Apprenticeship and Youth Entrepreneurship. Project partnerships come in many forms and will differ depending on a range of factors, such as the size of the project, the area/sector covered by the project, whether you will build on an already established partnership, or form a new one etc. Each project partner should have a clearly defined role assigned specifically to them to contribute actively to achieving the expected outputs, outcomes and objectives of the project. All project partners are expected to be actively involved in the project already in the project application preparation stage and fully committed to an active and efficient implementation of the project.
Just like their counterparts from Slovenia, donor project partners are expected to carefully plan their involvement in the project, actively participate in cooperation meetings, fulfil their administrative and financial requirements (e.g. reporting to the project promoter, informing the project promoter of the progress made and of any changes etc.), actually carry out the tasks and activities agreed in the approved project proposal and partnership agreement, fulfil information and communication requirements etc.
Partnerships must respect the provisions of the call for proposals and the documentation related to the call. Donor project partners should look for valuable information in the Partnership Guide; the document provides plenty of information on how to plan and prepare a partnership project, draw up a partnership agreement, consider and plan the costs etc.
Donor project partner search
There are several ways the applicants can go about finding potential donor project partners. They may contact the organisation they wish to cooperate with after doing their own research or through an already established international or European network that brings together entities interested in cooperating. A good starting point is an already established (existing) partnership. The programme operator, the donor programme partners, Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway or other contact points specified in Part 2 of the Guide for Beneficiaries and in the following chapter may assist the applicants in their search for the right partner.
The applicants can also check the following databases which are otherwise recommended under the Grants but are not directly linked to the programmes:
- The Explorer – an official database that helps find relevant Norwegian partners in the area of green technology,
- The Research Council of Norway – an EEA and Norway Grants Research Partner Database,
- Norwegian Technology Transfers – a provider of services of networking and finding a partner from the Norway in the area of energy,
- Enterprise Europe Network – a platform providing advice and support to get international entities from various areas matched,
- Innovation Norway – an instrument facilitating partner search in various areas.
Once the applicants have established contact with potential project partners, they should clearly present the project idea and the role that is expected of the donor project partner. To this end, they can use the form that has been specifically designed to facilitate project partner search under both programmes.
Donor project partner search form under the programme Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Donor project partner search form under the programme Education, Scholarships, Apprenticeship and Youth Entrepreneurship
Support within the programme
The form with a short presentation of the Project Promoter, the project idea and expected role of the Project Partner in the project is published on the website of the EEA and Norway Grants in the Republic of Slovenia to assist in searching for and making contact with Donor Project Partners. The Project Promoter shall send a complete form to the Programme Operator to the following address: nor_egp.svrk@gov.si or use it to contact the identified Project Partners directly or via the below mentioned contacts.
The Royal Norwegian Embassy with its head office in Budapest that also covers the Republic of Slovenia provides support in searching for and making contacts with Donor Project Partners from Norway:
Royal Norwegian Embassy
Ostrom u. 13, H-1015 Budapest
E-mail: emb.budapest@mfa.no
Tel: + 36 1 325 33 00
Within the scope of the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Programme the following institution provides support in searching for and making contacts with Donor Project Partners:
Norwegian Environment Agency – NEA
Website: https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/
Contact person: Ms Kari Aa
E-mail: kari.aa@miljodir.no
Tel: +47 73 58 05 00
National Energy Office of Iceland
Contact person: Mr Baldur Petursson
E-mail: baldur.petursson@os.is
Within the scope of the Education Programme the following institution provides support in searching for and making contacts with Donor Project Partners:
Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills – HK-dir
Website: https://diku.no/en/resources-and-tools/eea-and-norway-grants, with the contact form.
Information about NGOs from Donor States is available on the Active Citizens Fund website, managed by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Icelandic Human Rights Centre:
Active Citizens Fund
Website: www.ngonorway.org with partner database: https://ngonorway.org/partners/
E-mail: acf@nhc.no
Icelandic Human Rights Centre
Website: www.humanrights.is
E-mail: info@humanrights.is
In addition to the contacts specified above, a Facebook group has been created to facilitate matchmaking between donor project partners and Slovenian project partners. The Facebook group for the programme Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation can be accessed here, and for the programme Education, Scholarships, Apprenticeship and Youth Entrepreneurship here. Entities interested in discussing partnership opportunities should post a comment about this. In case the applicants are looking for a project partner from a donor country, all communication should be made in English.