Overview of the EEA and Norway Grants

The EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to reducing economic and social disparities and to strengthening bilateral relations with 16 EU countries in Europe. 

In the 2014-2021 funding period, the EEA and Norway Grants consists of 2.8 billion euro.

Programmes will vary according to country, but in general we support projects on:

• Innovative technologies, processes and services
• Sustainable business development
• Greening of existing businesses and processes
• Development and implementation of innovative products and services

The project funding is provided to the four different focus areas below. The programmes support some of these focus areas in each country.

Are you an SME which is interested in innovative projects that will lead to greener and more sustainable outcomes? Are you active within the areas mentioned above? Then EEA and Norway Grants may be a relevant source to get your projects financed.

If you are legally registered in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, or Slovakia you can apply for funding from one of the Programmes running in your country. See if there are any open Calls for Proposals.

If you are a company from Norway, Iceland or Lichtenstein, you can be paid as a project partner to activities taking place in the different EEA and Norway Grants partner countries. Read our short partnership guide to find out more.

Innovation Norway is the Norwegian Government's most important instrument for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry. We are also the Government’s official trade representative abroad.  As a result of this, Innovation Norway has been given different roles under the EEA and Norway Grants.

More specifically, we have roles in those areas where the funds are aimed at developing industry and business and establishing long-term economic relations between Norway and the partner countries. For some partner countries Innovation Norway directly operates the funds. For other countries Innovation Norway only acts as an advisor and partner for the funds operator. 

Read more about EEA and Norway Grants

The EEA and Norway Grants by Innovation Norway primarily provide funding for our Business Development, Innovation and SMEs Programme. These Programmes are focused on strengthening competitiveness of European businesses through investments in innovation.

The Business Development, Innovation and SMEs Programmes are primarily open to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the following 10 European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia. The open Calls for Proposals can be found here.

The Business Development, Innovation and SMEs Programmes are primarily open to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the 10 countries mentioned above: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia.

Companies registered in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein cannot apply directly for the grants, but they can become partners and participate in a project partnership together with a company from the abovementioned countries. Read our short partnership guide to find out more.

Project partnerships consist of (at least) two parts: the project promoter and the project partner.

The project promoter is the company responsible for initiating, preparing and implementing a project in the context of EEA and Norway Grants. They will be from one of the 10 countries mentioned above.

The project partner is a company or organisation which provides assistance to the project. This assistance is expected to be in the form a unique contribution that must be essential to the success of the project. The project partner can be from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. Read more about what it means to be a partner in our short partnership guide.

Building a project collaboration takes time and requires mutual trust. It is therefore wise to start looking for a partner even before calls have been published. We can recommend attending one of our matchmaking events to find potential partners. Have a look to see if there are any upcoming events.

Whenever funding becomes available, we announce it on our page dedicated to Calls for Proposals. Each call includes information on what kind of activities are funded, who can apply, the application deadline and all application instructions. It’s important to remember that all project applications need to be submitted through these calls – we do not accept spontaneous applications via email or phone.