Evaluation of Norwegian Support to the protection of Cultural Heritage

Support to culture and cultural heritage has been part of Norwegian development cooperation since the early 1980s. This support has now been evaluated by Chr. Michelsen Institute in collaboration with Nordland Research Institute, and local researchers in the countries studied.


A main conclusion is that support to tangible and intangible cultural heritage can be important components of economic innovation and local development. A precondition, however, is that the cooperation has solid local basis. The consultants found weak local basis in the UNESCO projects studied and question the current balance in the Norwegian support, with UNESCO as a main channel.

The evaluation covers the period 2000 - 2008. Total support in the period was 275 mill. NOK, approximately 60 % of which was channeled through UNESCO. The support to Ethiopia, Malawi and Nepal was chosen for specific study. Many positive results are referred to, where the objectives for the projects have been reached. The report also presents critical judgments regarding the implementation of the cooperation, especially concerning too weak local basis. The consultants emphasize that institution building requires different kinds of knowledge and expertise. They consider that Norwegian researchers and institutions can contribute more to capacity building than what they do at present, but that this would require a better organization of the resources.


For more information see the report. The report was presented at a seminar on 27th August, see program.