The Joint Committee for the Bilateral Fund (JCBF) is a body established under the financial mechanisms of the EEA and Norway Grants in Croatia.
The JCBF is managed by the National Focal Point, the Croatian Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds. Together with the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of the donor countries, it holds voting rights and adopts decisions on the selection and support of initiatives of mutual interest. Further information on the roles and responsibilities of the JCBF is available in a dedicated article in Croatian.
Within the current programming period that initiated in 2025; EUR 1.5 million has been allocated to the identification and support of initiatives aimed at strengthening bilateral partnerships between Norway and Croatia.
In order to support our role as an active member of the JCBF, the Norwegian Embassy seeks to deepen its understanding of needs, interests, and cooperation potential across relevant sectors.
To this end, the Embassy aims to establish a database of relevant and eligible project ideas that may be consulted at a later stage, including during the preparation of future open calls.
For this reason, the Embassy is launching an open and rolling invitation for expressions of interest and encourages all eligible entities in Norway and Croatia to submit their applications.
The purpose of this invitation is to obtain an overview of potentially eligible initiatives, while the final eligible funding amounts, conditions, and funding modalities will be determined by the members of the Joint Committee for the Bilateral Fund at a currently unspecified time in the future.
Please Note Applicants should be aware that submission under this invitation does not guarantee the award of funding in any future calls. Furthermore, submitting an expression of interest does not exempt applicants from the requirement to submit a separate application under any future calls for proposals.
In which areas would we like to see cooperation flourish?
Based on previous experience, identified priorities, funding gaps within existing programmes, and an assessment of areas with strong capacity to develop high quality proposals, the Royal Norwegian Embassy has a particular interest in exploring partnerships and initiatives in the following priority areas:
- Culture
- Higher education, science and research
- Security and resilience
What kind of cooperation is supported?
All proposed project ideas must fall under one of the cooperation areas and corresponding objectives listed below.
1. Area of Cooperation: Culture
The Norwegian Embassy aims to strengthen institutional collaboration between Norwegian and Croatian public and non-profit institutions in the sectors of media and culture, particularly in the following areas:
- a) Programmes, conferences, workshops, performances, screenings, and television content marking the two hundred year anniversary of Henrik Ibsen in 2028
- b) Programmes, theatre productions, exhibitions, and other cultural events based on works by Norwegian authors, implemented in publicly funded Croatian institutions
2. Area of Cooperation: Research and Academic Cooperation
The Norwegian Embassy seeks to strengthen institutional collaboration in science and research between Norway and Croatia, particularly between universities, research institutes, and other relevant institutions, in the following areas:
- a) Electrification of transport in coastal areas
- b) Aquaculture
- c) Underwater research and robotics
- d) Protection of critical infrastructure
- e) Security studies
- f) Media studies
- h) Norwegian language studies
3. Area of Cooperation: Resilience and Security Cooperation
The Norwegian Embassy aims to strengthen institutional collaboration between Norway and Croatia in the field of resilience and security, including initiatives that contribute to social, demographic, and information resilience.
- a) Capacity building of journalists in fact-checking and responsible reporting
- b) Media literacy initiatives for the population, especially with respect to combating disinformation
- c) Supporting resilience of local communities, especially minorities and underserved areas
Who is eligible to apply?
The Embassy aims to support institutional cooperation which entails public entities, including government institutions and bodies, public universities, research organisations, and scientific institutions, as well as local and regional authorities. Support may also be provided to publicly funded institutions, foundations, non-profit organisations, chambers, and professional associations that do not engage in commercial activities.
Initiatives submitted by physical persons, informal citizens groups, crafts, other commercial entities or companies are not eligible.
Entities that satisfy the abovementioned criteria from both Norway and Croatia are eligible to apply as lead project partners.
All project ideas must include identified, and preferably confirmed, partners from both Norway and Croatia. At this stage, it is sufficient to identify the partner in the online form and confirm that it has expressed willingness to participate.
Eligible Activities
The Bilateral Fund is designed as a flexible mechanism for fostering cooperation, rather than for implementing large infrastructure projects. It is intended to support initial meetings, conferences, research projects, and initiatives or activities that may, in the long term, lead to larger investments from bigger calls from other sources.
It is therefore no surprise that Bilateral Fund resources are often invested in what is hardest to measure and most valuable to build: contacts, partnerships, knowledge exchange, and joint research.
Examples of eligible activities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Study tours, meetings, trainings, conferences and workshops benefiting both partners
- Joint work on an activity of shared interest
- Joint teaching programmes, joint research, joint desk research and studies in a given field
- Feasibility studies and expert research benefiting both partners
- Expert advice and consultancies on a topic of mutual interest
- Stakeholder consultations, surveys and gap analysis
- Promotional activities related to the initiatives
Duration of Initiatives
There are currently no specific limitations on the duration of initiatives, as this will depend upon a future decision of the JCBF and will be specified in the text of the potential call.
However, the minimal expected length of a project is 3 months, whereas most projects typically fit within a one-year implementation period.
The final day of eligibility of expenditures under the Bilateral Fund in Croatia is 30 April 2032, and all initiatives should be finalised at least three months before that date.
How to Apply?
Applicants are invited to submit their project idea via the online form.
The application in english should include a short initiative partnership proposal outlining the proposed topic, area of cooperation, expected outcomes, planned implementation duration, and estimated funding requirement.
The online form can be accessed here.
Maximum requested funding amount
Applicants are encouraged to apply with initiatives that do not exceed EUR 100,000.
There are no co-financing requirements for the use of the funds for bilateral relations.
All applicants are encouraged to demonstrate solidarity with other potential applicants and to apply the principles of proportionality and cost efficiency.
Applicants are advised not to inflate budgets to the maximum eligible amount, as this may misrepresent real needs and result in an inaccurate assessment of the application's feasibility.
Cost planning should be realistic, take into account the limited resources available, and be proportional to what is genuinely needed to deliver the proposed activities. Overspending by one applicant can reduce the resources available to others.
Please note that the maximum funding amount, project size, and other requirements are subject to change based on subsequent decisions of the JCBF.
Deadline for application
This invitation for expressions of interest is open on a rolling basis and does not have a fixed deadline or end date.
It is currently expected to remain open at least until autumn 2027.
The Embassy reserves the right to close the invitation at an earlier date or to prolong it further.
Have More Questions?
We believe that the information provided above offers an extensive overview of the requirements and purpose of this expression of interest. We kindly encourage you to read it carefully and to verify that your question is not already answered before reaching out to us.
Should you find that your question remains unanswered after reviewing all available information, you are welcome to submit a written inquiry via this form.
Please note that we respond only to written inquiries and are unable to answer questions over the phone.