How to apply for funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers
Although the projects span a wide variety of areas, common to all is that they have Nordic added value and are anchored in the Nordic Council of Ministers’ vision. The majority are run by an “administrative body”, usually a national agency in the Nordic Region, commissioned for this purpose by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Council of Ministers issues direct calls for funding applications on particular topics from time to time.
All projects are conducted on the basis of political discussion in the various ministerial councils or committees of senior officials. Decisions on the allocation of funding are made by them or on the basis of application programmes and announcements. Current opportunities to apply for project funding can be found here:
Please note that we cannot accept spontaneous applications.
Conditions
All projects that are granted funding need to meet the Nordic Council of Ministers’ conditions. Below is a list of the general conditions that apply to all projects. In addition, specific requirements may apply depending on the project and announcement.
Projects financed with Nordic funds must be linked to the Nordic Council of Ministers’ vision, action plan, and budget.
Vision 2030 is the overriding vision for Nordic co-operation, which is that the Nordic Region is to be the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by the year 2030.
This means that we strive to be:
- A competitive Nordic Region: Together we will promote green growth in the Nordic Region based on knowledge, innovation, mobility, and digital integration.
- A green Nordic Region: Together we will promote the green transition of our societies and work towards carbon neutrality and a sustainable, circular, and bio-based economy.
- A socially sustainable Nordic Region: Together we will promote an inclusive, gender-equal, and cohesive region with shared values, increased cultural exchanges, and enhanced welfare provisions.
The various ministerial councils draw up plans, strategies, and programmes that reflect their political priorities. The Nordic Council of Ministers also has three intersectoral strategies: for sustainability, gender equality, and children and young people.
In order to get funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Nordic countries must be involved in the initiative. This means that at least three of the following must be involved: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, or Åland. One of these can be replaced by one or more countries from outside the Nordic Region. “Involvement” is defined as helping to run or implement the project.
Projects must add Nordic value. This is defined as:
- the project being a collaborative effort between the Nordic countries, and
- the outcomes benefiting the Nordic countries.
Projects financed with Nordic funds must comply with the three cross-sectoral perspectives:
- Sustainable development
- Gender equality
- A children’s rights and youth perspective
The successful integration of these three perspectives is a prerequisite to achieving the vision of the Nordic Region as the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. Integration is a joint responsibility and our efforts affect the lives of people in the Nordic Region. We implement initiatives that make people’s day-to-day lives easier, we bring together Nordic stakeholders, and we create knowledge and solutions that support the countries’ development. For these reasons, it’s important that we ensure that our work is sustainable, gender-equal, inclusive, representative, and accessible. You can find out more about this here:
Project process
Supporting material for the project process
On 1 January 2025, the Nordic Council of Ministers implemented a new system for managing the project process. Access to the system is obtained once it has been agreed with the Secretariat that a project description is to be submitted in order to proceed with the process.
Here you will find supporting material related to both the new system and the objective and results-based management process that is used:
To facilitate the reporting on the project, our project process has two phases. Depending on where in the process the project is, the following pages contain more information about the two phases and what documents are needed to complete each step.
For those with a framework agreement in 2025
Initiatives during 2025 that have a framework agreement must be reported on in accordance with a common template for annual reports.
Standard terms and conditions for Nordic Council of Ministers’ project contracts
The standard terms and conditions appended to all contracts set out the administrative body’s responsibilities, obligations, and rights. The conditions also state the requirements that apply to reporting and auditing, and the conditions that apply in the event of negligence or disputes.