Bilateral cooperation within the EEA Grants and NGO Fund Lillian Solheim Norwegian 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: You already have a contact You are being contacted 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?

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More information and contact www.ngonorway.org www.eeagrants.org solheim@nhc.no