| Agency Name: | Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) |
| Nativename: | Norad |
| Type: | Government agency |
| Formed: | 1 December 1968[1] |
| Headquarters: | Bygdøy allé 2, Oslo, Norway |
| Chief1 Name: | Bård Vegar Solhjell[2] |
| Chief1 Position: | Director |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of Norway |
| Employees: | 224 (2013) |
| Budget: | 26.2 billion kroner |
| Parent Agency: | Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Website: | Official Homesite |
For other uses of NORAD or Norad, see NORAD (disambiguation).
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In matters regarding Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Norad reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment.
Norad's functions are laid down in the agency's terms of references and annual letters of allocation issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
Norad works to ensure effective foreign aid, with quality assurance and evaluation. Norad finances NGOs and does its own research and projects. The current director general is Bård Vegar Solhjell. Norad used to be the official development assistance organization in Norway. As of mid-2004, the responsibility for state-to-state official development assistance has been transferred to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Norad continues to fund NGO activities in developing countries (particularly through its NORHED program), and contributes to the management of development funds while ensuring that Norwegian development cooperation is accurately evaluated and efficiently implemented.
Norad consists of the following departments:
Norway granted NOK 36.6 billion in development assistance in 2016, corresponding to 1.11 per cent of Norway's gross national income (GNI).
According to the OECD, Norway’s total ODA (USD 5.2 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2022 due to aid to Ukraine and increased in-donor refugee costs, and represented 0.86% of GNI. [3]