Support to civil society and journalists for greater transparency and fair taxation
This autumn Norad has entered into agreements with eight civil society and journalist organisations under a call for proposals on “Financial integrity, economic justice and domestic resource mobilization.”
The grants are provided as core support for a period of three years (2026–2028). A total allocation of NOK 180 million is awarded to the following organisations, with grants between NOK 20 and 25 million per agreement:
- Global Witness
- Tax Justice Network Africa
- Oxfam Denmark
- Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI)
- International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
- Tax Justice Network
- African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD)
- Transparency International
The selection was based on the criteria specified in the call for proposals. In a highly competitive process, all applications were assessed. The selected partners have strong track records of results and strategies highly relevant to one or more of the three objectives presented in the call for proposals:
Objective 1: Civil society in developing countries
Civil society in developing countries advances public discourse and solutions for improved domestic resource mobilization, economic justice, transparency and financial integrity.
Objective 2: Engagement of civil society from developing countries in global processes
Civil society’s representation in and contributions to multilateral forums for public finance and financial integrity have been strengthened, either through direct engagement in multilateral processes or by championing policy ideas and solutions that serve the interests of developing countries in the areas of tax, domestic resource mobilization, transparency and financial integrity.
Objective 3: Capacity of journalists in developing countries
Journalists in developing countries have increased capacity to produce stories and conduct investigative journalism that improves transparency and information regarding financial secrecy and justice (tax, corruption and illicit financial flows).
The support will contribute to strengthening local civil society actors and journalists in the global south, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The thematic focus is on governance issues such as anti-corruption, tax and public financial management.
Each of the partnerships will, in different ways, add value to Norad’s governance portfolio in the coming years and help connect work and perspectives in local and national contexts with regional and global processes and institutions.
The overall goal of the governance portfolio is:
“Improved revenue and governance of public finance in developing countries enable financing of development goals.”
Civil society engagement and independent journalism are key to promoting accountability and transparency, and to supporting policy development and implementation at different levels to achieve the SDGs and related national development plans.
A total of 124 proposals were received for this call. Norad’s Section for Governance is grateful for the interest shown by all organisations that applied.