Bilateral cooperation

The second edition of the Norway and EEA Grants put great emphasis on strengthening bilateral co-operation with the Donor States such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway. As a result of this approach several actions were undertaken i.e.:

  • establishment of the so-called affiliate Donor Partnership Programmes,
  • establishment of bilateral co-operation funds at national and programme level,
  • promoting partnership co-operation at project level.

Partnership at project level

As a general rule, there is no obligation to carry out projects in collaboration with partners from the Donor States. Only some programmes involve implementation of bilateral projects. These include the following:

  • Polish-Norwegian Research Programme,
  • Promoting cultural and artistic diversity,
  • most measures under the Scholarship and Training Fund.

In order to develop partnerships within each programme the Bilateral Cooperation Fund at the programme level was established. The fund is intended to facilitate such actions as: searching partners from the Donor States (before or during the preparation of an application), development of partnerships, networking, exchange, sharing and transfer of knowledge, technology, experience and best practices between the beneficiaries and the Donor’s entities. The amount of the fund is about 1.5 per cent of the eligible costs of the programme.

Donor Partnership Programmes

In Poland, there are 7 Donor Partnership Programmes. This formula means that these programmes were developed in collaboration with partner institutions from Donor States. Usually the partner is responsible for professional support for the Programme Operator, facilitating partnerships and promoting the programme in Donor’s countries.

The following programmes are implemented in collaboration with partner institutions from Donor States

  • Promotion of Diversity in Culture and Arts within European Cultural Heritage
    Operator: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
    Partner: Arts Council Norway with support from the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage
  • Norwegian-Polish Research Programme
    Operator: National Centre for Research and Development
    Partner: Research Council of Norway
  • Scholarship and Training Fund
    Operator: Foundation for the Development of the Education System
    Partners:
    • Norwegian Centre for Cooperation in Education SIU from Norway,
    • Icelandic Centre for Research RANNIS from Iceland,
    • National Agency for International Affairs AIBA from Liechtenstein.
  • Strengthen environmental monitoring and inspection
    Operator: Ministry of the Environment with support from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management
    Partner: Climate and Pollution Agency in Norway
  • Judicial capacity-building and cooperation/Improvement of the efficiency of justice
    Operator: Ministry of Justice
    Partner: Norwegian National Courts Administration
  • Support for the Prison Service including non-custodial sanctions
    Operator: Central Board of the Prison Service
    Partner: Norwegian Correctional Services
  • Reducing social inequalities in health
    Operator: Ministry of Health
    Partner: Norwegian Directorate of Health

Bilateral Fund at national level
Bilateral Fund at national level is a flexible source of funding for initiatives that contribute to the strengthening bilateral relations with the Donor States. The allocation of the Fund amounts 0.5 percent of the total allocation for Poland, i.e. EUR 2,890,500.