The grant scheme for Civil Society Strengthening is changing

10 September 2026:  

In autumn 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed Norad to change the grant scheme for strengthening civil society. In response to this instruction, Norad has collected new knowledge and made several clear recommendations. Based on this, the political leadership has decided on a new direction. Norad is now working to prepare these changes. 

The restructuring will help to strengthen the role of local actors, ensure better results and make aid management more efficient. 

– Norad must adapt to a new era. Going forward, we will place greater emphasis on genuine partnerships where money, power and influence are transferred to actors on the ground. Most people agree on this. Now we want to see it in practice, says Norad Director General Gunn Jorid Roset. 

Greater competition among applicants is also an important consideration as the grant scheme for Civil Society Strengthening is being changed. This is the largest development assistance grant scheme targeting civil society, and many organisations naturally want updates and information about the changes to come. 

– Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad have high ambitions, and many new elements must be developed. We do not yet have all the answers, but we promise to share relevant information with all interested parties as soon as we can, the Norad Director General continues. 

Norad is working along several tracks to prepare the restructuring of the grant scheme: 

• We are exploring adjusted objectives and new ways of measuring results
• We are considering how the scheme can be geographically focused
• We are considering changes in partnerships to ensure locally led development to a greater extent
• We are planning calls for proposals that will communicate criteria, objectives and expectations to applicants in the best possible way 

– We appreciate all the input we have received so far in connection with the restructuring of this scheme. We will seek further contributions from civil society organisations and other actors, both in Norway and in other countries, during the process, says Stine Horn, Director of the Department for Human Development in Norad. 

Before decisions are made on the new design, Norad will openly invite all interested parties to comment on the proposals. This will take place in December 2026, after the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) has adopted the new national budget for 2027. 

Call for proposals for Norwegian organisations in 2027 – call for proposals for international and South-based organisations in 2028 

Norad aims to launch a call for proposals targeting Norwegian organisations in the first quarter of 2027, with funding decisions to be made late 2027 / early 2028. The application deadline has not yet been decided, but Norad will allow more time than usual so that local partners can play a central role in developing proposals. The timeline is also dependent on factors beyond Norad’s control and will be updated on an ongoing basis. 

– Although the 2027 call for proposals is limited to Norwegian organisations, we already want to see changes now. There will be greater requirements to ensure locally led development and equitable partnerships with actors in the Global South. Applicants must clearly demonstrate how they contribute to strengthening civil society in developing countries, says Stine Horn. 

Norad is planning a more targeted call for proposals for South-based and international organisations in 2028, with agreements to be entered into in early 2029. Norad aims to gradually increase the share of direct support to South-based organisations, although support to Norwegian organisations working in partnership with local actors will still constitute the largest recipient group over this budget line. 

Transitional arrangements 

Organisations whose agreements expire before a potential new funding period will have their agreements extended. This means that Norwegian organisations with agreements expiring in 2026 or early in 2027 will have their agreements extended until the end of 2027. 

All Norwegian organisations that wish to receive funding from Norad under this grant scheme in the period 2028–2032 may apply under the 2027 call for proposals, regardless of whether the organisation needs funding for the whole support period or only for the last four or three years of the period. 

– It is important to emphasise that Norad does not plan to terminate any agreements. We will facilitate all existing agreements running until the end of their agreement period – with the usual reservation regarding appropriations by the Storting. This will ensure good transitional arrangements for those currently receiving funding, explains Horn. 

Questions and comments regarding the process can be directed to menneskerettigheter.og.sivilt.samfunn@norad.no. 

– We cannot promise to answer all questions as they arise, but we will share the information we can and ensure that we take all the input we receive into account, Horn concludes.