Looking to expand cooperation in Brazil

Many companies send their employees to Norway to share competence, knowledge and to strengthen their skills on certain fields. Few are aware of the fact that funding for this kind of exchange of personnel might be available to many through FK Norway.

FK Norway is a governmental agency funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs, which ambition is to contribute to development by exchange of personnel, and to strengthen and build capacity in a variety of sectors.

A priority
FK Norway is currently supporting several projects in Brazil, but still invites both Norwegian and Brazilian companies to get in touch if they have projects that might fit the framework for FK Norway funding.

“Brazil is one of the countries we want to give priority in Latin-America, and our focus for the coming years is on projects in the private sector, projects on health, climate, environmental issues and youth”, explains Mr. Håvard Hovdhaugen, who is the senior adviser and team leader on environment, climate and economic development in FK Norway.

FK Norway can fund exchange of personnel in already formed partnerships between companies and institutions, and the agency has funded the exchange of 5000 young professionals to 56 countries since the model of mutual exchange was established in 2000.  Usually, the exchange programs last for 12 months and the agreements are signed for a period covering 3 to 5 rounds of exchange

When FK Norway is approached by a company or institution, normally a feasibility study is conducted, and if the project is considered viable, FK Norway funds two meetings for the partners, one in Norway and another in Brazil. FK Norway assists in designing the project, and if an agreement is reached, the partners receive a grant covering salaries, housing, administration, insurance and travel. FK Norway can cover and pay a salary of maximum 16.000 Norwegian kroner a month for the people being exchanged.

Biosafety

At the moment, FK Norway is not funding any projects in the Rio de Janeiro area, but the entity has been supporting projects in Brazil since 2001.

“We have an ongoing project in Florianópolis, between the University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and Genøk, Centre for Biosafety in Tromsø. Two Norwegians are coming to Brazil and a Brazilian is going to Norway. We do not support educational programs and exchanges as such, but might support researchers and on the job training for people under 35 years of age. Our ambition is to contribute to  capacity building, increased understanding and easier communication and across borders”, says Håvard Hovdhaugen.

In Brazil, FK Norway is also supporting Instituto Socioambiental in Brasília, the Landless movement (MST) and several youth organizations in Recife, São Paulo and Curitiba.

Both well established and recently established companies could meet the demands for FK funding, as long as they have at least 5 employees. The Dream Learn Work program in Rio de Janeiro is one organization that will be looking into the possibilities of receiving some kind of funding from FK Norway.

“More and more Norwegian companies are establishing here, and Brazil is of great significance to the Norwegian government. We want to be present in countries considered important to the government, and we would like to expand our portfolio in the prioritized sectors that I mentioned. Brazil is one of the countries on our priority list. Many companies haven’t even heard about us, and we could play an important role here. We would consider all projects that fit our framework and can give input on how to designing an exchange project”, says Mr. Hovdhaugen.

Many Norwegian companies in Brazil have been sending employees to Norway to learn, exchange knowledge and skills, and to get to know the work routines in the company headquarters.

“With FK funding, companies can reduce the risk they take when hiring someone or giving the chance to someone they normally might not have given such a chance, says Mr. Hovdhaugen.

For those interested in knowing more about FK Norway and project funding, please contact Mr. Håvard Hovdhaugen at hh@fredskorpset.no

By Runa Hestmann Tierno, NBCC journalist