Strengthening civil society in developing countries? Development aid and Norwegian organisations

Abstract

Norway channels a large portion of its development aid budget through Norwegian civil society organisations. This also includes disbursements from Norad’s civil society grant for strengthening civil society where more than 98% has been channelled through Norwegian organisations. This brief summarises some of the key findings from a 2017 evaluation commissioned by Norad’s evaluation department. The evaluation gives credit to the work done by Norwegian civil society organisation and their partners to strengthen civil society in developing countries. However, the evaluation also finds that effectiveness in relation to civil society strengthening is currently not optimal. There are several areas for improvement, including the role of Norwegian organisations.