Deciding which projects recieve funding

One of Digni’s most important tasks is to distribute funds to our 20 member organizations’ development work. Each year, Digni’s members have to apply for funding for the projects for the coming year. Once Digni has received all the applications and conducted a quality assessment, we submit an overall application to Norad with the approved projects. When the foreign ministry and Norad receive their allocations, Digni are notified of how much funding we will receive. The organizations will then receive funding based on a specific allocation formula, how much they’ve received in the past, and the quality of the projects. Our member organizations maintain daily contact with their local partners, who carry out the work in about 35 developing countries.

Assure the quality of the projects

Throughout the year, we work to ensure that the projects are of the necessary quality. We keep a close dialogue with our members, and often discuss whether there are certain actions that can be taken to further improve the projects. We also make sure that the projects follow our policies and guidelines, and that no money disappear on the way to the projects. We also carefully examine all accounts to ensure that the numbers matches the reality. Sometimes we also visit different projects to learn more about the methods and ways of working that are used locally.

A LINK TO NORAD

Digni is the members’ link to Norad. Every spring, we receive reports from the projects, and deliver a combined report to Norad. In this report we account for how the money has been spent, and what results have been achieved. In the period between 2013 and 2017, Digni has a framework agreement with Norad for approximately 17.3 million euros (160 million NOK) a year, or approximately 85.5 million euros (800 million NOK) in total during the aforementioned time period.

EMPOWERING ORGANISATIONS AND BUILDING NETWORKS

Digni takes part in empowering civil society in developing countries, by supporting local partners in about 35 countries. Through a line of annual organizational reviews, we provide organizations with advice and tips on how to improve the use of their resources. In addition, we gather representatives from Digni, our member organisations and their partners every other year for regional network meetings. Here we exchange experiences and share useful knowledge from the different projects.

COMMUNICATE

Digni possesses significant expertise that we wish to share with others. Therefore, we are working hard to be visible in the Norwegian media landscape. At the same time, we are working strategically towards relevant decision-makers, to ensure good terms for our members.