NORPART 2021 Call for Applications – Funding between Norway and Developing Countries

The Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) is pleased to issue this call for applications for funding of long-term projects between higher education institutions in Norway and selected developing countries under the Norwegian Partnership Programme for Global Academic Cooperation (NORPART).

Application Deadline: 27th May 2021

Eligible Countries: A list of 39 relevant countries have been developed, all potential partner countries for Norwegian development cooperation.

Africa: Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Other Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, East Timor, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Sri Lanka, Vietnam

About the Program: NORPART shall enhance the quality of higher education in Norway and selected partner countries in the Global South through academic cooperation and mutual student mobility. The programme is funded by the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The programme will support academic partnerships and student mobility with an emphasis on the Master and PhD level. The programme addresses both higher education policy and development policy goals.

Objectives of NORPART: The programme shall lead to:

• Strengthened partnerships for education and research between developing countries and Norway
• Increased quality and internationalisation of academic programmes at participating institutions
• Increased mobility of students from developing countries to Norway, including mobility in connection with work placements
• Increased mobility of students from Norway to developing countries, including mobility in connection with work placements

Offered Since: 2016

Eligibility Criteria: In order to be eligible, applications must meet the following requirements:

• The applicant must be an accredited Norwegian higher education institution.
  The application must include at least one partner that is an accredited higher education institution in one of the NORPART partner countries.
• A curriculum vitae (CV) for the project coordinator must be uploaded.
• Applications must be written in English and be submitted fully completed, including attachments, through SIU’s online platform for applications and reporting (Espresso) within the call’s final deadline.
• All project activities described in the application must be completed within the project period defined in the duration below.

Failure to meet the above criteria will lead to dismissal of the application.

Selection criteria: The eligible applications’ relative strength will be assessed on the degree to which they are
deemed able to meet the following selection criteria:

• The project’s relevance to the overall aim and objectives of the programme
• The quality of the project design, including:
  • the application’s overall clarity and quality
  • correspondence between project goals, proposed activities, budget allocations and expected project results
  • demonstration of cost-effectiveness
  • the sustainability of the project results
  • the project’s feasibility, including the feasibility of the plans for student mobility
• The quality of the partnership, including:
  • complementarity, experience and expertise of the project team
  • level of formalised commitment
  • potential for long-term collaboration between the partners
  • the degree to which the partnership is based on mutual academic interests and capacity within relevant academic programmes at the participating institutions
  • documented synergies with other funding programmes, such as Erasmus+, Horizon 2020, other international and regional programmes for higher education and research in the partner countries, NORHED, NORGLOBAL and other Norwegian-funded programmes.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals’ commitment to leave no one behind, the following cross-cutting issues will be assessed as they pertain to all the three abovementioned selection criteria: Gender perspectives and gender equality in project activities; female participation in project activities, including student mobility; inclusive practices towards indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable or marginalised groups of society; and transparency and anti-corruption measures.

Please note that the selection criteria correspond to various compulsory fields in the online Espresso application form, and that the application’s ability to meet these relative criteria will be assessed on the basis of the description provided. In order to ensure coherence and a logical order in the description of your project, please read the relevant help texts in the online application form as well as the “Guidelines for applicants” carefully. Remaining questions may be directed to SIU.

Value: The total funds made available in this call are approximately NOK 90 million.  Each application may be awarded up to 5 000 000 Norwegian kroner (NOK).

Duration: The call is open to long-term project cooperation with a project period from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2026.

How to Apply: A seminar for applicants will be held online Wednesday 17 March 2021. More information will be made available on this page shortly.

Applications are submitted electronically through Diku’s online application and reporting system Espresso.

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details