PHOTO: ANNIE SPRATT
The Humanitarian Innovation Programme provides grant funding and support to develop, test and scale new solutions that can contribute to better and more efficient humanitarian action. The Programme supports humanitarian-private innovation partnerships.
We support innovation projects led by humanitarian organisations where the expertise and technical know-how from the private sector is applied to find new solutions to humanitarian challenges. The Programme supports both early stage innovation (Innovation Lab Grant Scheme) and scaling and diffusion of solutions that have proven to be successful at the pilot stage (Scaling Grant Scheme). Read more about the projects that have received funding here.
The Humanitarian Innovation Programme is a grant and support mechanism, fully financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and administered by Innovation Norway.
Who can apply?
- UN agencies with a humanitarian mandate
- Norwegian humanitarian organisations with an international mandate (The organisation must be registered at the Brønnøysund Register and have both an office in Norway and a Norwegian Board)
- Consortiums of multiple humanitarian organisations. In such collaborations, one organisation has to come from category a or b, other organisations can either come from these categories, or not, e.g. national NGOs etc.
The programme mobilises and supports humanitarian-private partnerships. The humanitarian organisation/agency is the applicant and receiver of the grant.
We encourage humanitarian organisations to collaborate on joint applications.
What are we looking for?
Innovation Norway is looking for bold ideas that seek to improve resilience against natural disasters or improve humanitarian response in conflicts and disasters, specifically projects addressing issues related to:
- Green humanitarian response: Humanitarian organisations’ efforts that contribute to more sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions within the humanitarian sector.
- Health and sanitation: Humanitarian organisations’ efforts to ensure lifesaving basic health services, including prevention/control of pandemics, efforts within women’s, children’s and young people’s health, sexual and reproductive health, mental health and psycho-social support, and the provision of facilities and services for the maintenance of hygienic conditions and the safe disposal of human waste.
- Protection:Humanitarian organisations’ efforts that contribute to protecting people from violence, abuse and violation of international law due to humanitarian crises. Applications focusing on protection from sexual and gender-based violence are encouraged.
- Innovative financing: Innovative financing refers to a number of non-traditional mechanisms for raising additional funds for humanitarian and development assistance. This may be through innovations such as micro-contributions, impact bonds, public-private partnerships and market-based approaches/ business models.