News, Research & Development

Funding mechanism: Innovation in Education and Health to help Combat Poverty (VISJON2030)

The primary objective of the VISJON2030 initiative is to contribute to poverty reduction in countries receiving development aid from Norway, by further developing and scaling up innovative solutions that promote achievement of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals for education...

Background

The VISJON2030 initiative was launched in autumn 2014 by the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a national brainstorming effort to foster innovative Norwegian solutions that can promote achievement of the new Sustainable Development Goals for education and health. A new funding mechanism for innovation was introduced at the VISJON2030 conference in Trondheim, Norway, on 2–3 March 2015, with a budget frame of up to NOK 150 million over three years from 2016.

Norad is responsible for the funding mechanism, with The Research Council of Norway and Innovation Norway as important partners in distributing the funds.

There was a call for project outlines in December 2015 to February 2016, to allocate funds to the different funding partners and to identify the thematic areas for the forthcoming calls.

Identified priorities

The identified goals for the calls are:

  1. Increased enrollment/reduction in dropout/improved learning outcomes in primary, lower- and/or upper secondary school;
  2. Increased job creation and lifelong learning through digital access. The goal is divided into two sub goals

    a. Improved internet access for schools, health clinics and individual households in marginalized areas

    b. Youth and women acquire job relevant skills, with an emphasis on digital skills and entrepreneurship

  3. Improved health of women, children and especially youth.

Innovation projects

The Research Council will arrange a call for proposals on Innovation projects targeting research institutions, companies, and civil society organizations.

Innovation projects in RCN will target goal 1, 2b and 3. Innovation Norway will provide funding through a separate scheme.

It is not a prerequisite for applicants for innovation projects to have participated in the call for sketches.

Formative dialogue research

Included in the VISJON2030 activity it will be launched a call for proposals on formative dialogue research to follow the main projects from start to end. The purpose is to strengthen the implementation of the projects under the VISJON2030 activity.  

The formative dialogue research shall establish a knowledge foundation about the total funding mechanism, and to the degree that is possible also illuminate issues of relevance for innovation work within health- and educational aid.