AWARDEE PROFILE: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

In recognition of your commitment to build funding partnerships that deliver long-term sustainability.

The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, or Norad, is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs which ensures that Norwegian development aid funds are spent in the most efficient way. In 2019, it handled 37,8 billion NOK (around 4.4 billion USD) in Norwegian development assistance. It also grants funding to organisations within civil society, research, higher education and private sector development globally.

NORAD has been a long-term, strategic and flexible supporter of social enterprises, investing in both organisational capacities and innovations and delivery of scaled programmes. They have been very supportive of models that extend and amplify impact through training and community-led sharing. Among bilateral funders that tend towards restrictions, prescriptive programming, and complex paperwork, NORAD stands out as a partner seeking to build funding partnerships that deliver both short-term impact and long-term sustainability, and that prioritizes organizational health and community impact and learning alongside more traditional grant-making priorities.

Recognising its commitment to partnership, we are proud to confer the Catalyst 2030 Award on Norad.

Norad is honoured to be the winner of the Catalyst 2030 Awards in the Bi/Multilateral Regional Bodies category in 2021.
2020 was an extraordinary year. Over the course of a few months, Covid-19 changed everything for everyone, everywhere. It is truly global. To recover from the pandemic and ensure that no one is left behind, collaboration among governments, businesses and civil society is essential. The Sustainability Goals are common goals the world has pledged to reach. It is also what binds us all together in the decade we are now entering.
Thank you for acknowledging Norad as a partner and for recognising our commitment to the SDGs.” – NORAD

Visit the NORAD website

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) funds research in developing countries to promote growth, reduce poverty, and drive large-scale positive change through global challenges. They strive never to impose ideas from the North but listen to and value contributions from the South. This is shown in their flexibility as a donor in understanding the different circumstances that occur when implementing and evaluating programmes and acting as a partner in assessing the best course of action. Their support has fostered meaningful collaborations with different organisations from the North and South.

Never before in our lifetime has quality research, sound evidence, and effective policymaking been so critical to the immediate and long-term health of the global community. Together, we can develop innovative solutions that accelerate progress towards the SDGs. – Jean Lebel, IDRC President

Visit the IDRC website

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) strives to reduce world poverty by allocating resources and knowledge with the goal of making a difference for people in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. A significant part of Sweden’s development assistance is carried out through multi-year agreements with civil society organisations in SIDA’s partner countries. SIDA has been sustainable, flexible and available for long-term funding in important work such as anti-corruption towards achieving the SDGs.

Carin Jämtin | Director general of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Sida firmly believes in building long-term partnerships, based on trust, that create the necessary space for innovating and adapting to changed circumstances. This is particularly the case when we engage in complex environments that are affected by conflict.
– SIDA

Visit the SIDA website

Swiss Development Cooperation

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) provides humanitarian aid and longer-term development cooperation in the South and the East through direct cooperation with both individual countries and international organisations. Credit for low and middle-income countries is channelled to multilateral organisations in the form of general financial assistance. Their funding is known for being very flexible, with funding initially being granted for four years and, thereafter, for an additional four years to encourage innovation and change through their systems change thinking.

“The Agenda 2030 offers a multitude of business opportunities. Social entrepreneurs are tapping into this potential with their innovative solutions and their commitment to deliver economic, social and environmental impact. Social entrepreneurship is in addition an attractive field for young people allowing them to fully seize their potential and to stand on their own feet. I am proud that SDC is nominated for the Catalyst 2030 Award thus recognising our global engagement in fostering social entrepreneurship and our commitment towards the youth.”  – Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Patricia Danzi, Director General

Visit the Swiss Development Cooperation website