Strengthening Local Ownership in Development Cooperation – seminar in Oslo

Norec and ForUM invite you to a seminar exploring concrete and practical ways to strengthen local ownership in development cooperation.

International aid is changing. Local partners are calling for greater influence, and international donors increasingly recognise the need for genuine power shifts. Local ownership is high on the agenda in current development policy debates. Yet an important question remains:

What does this actually mean in practice for organisations working with partnerships, project implementation, and reporting – within existing systems and constraints?

This seminar highlights practical examples of locally led development that actually work, even in contexts characterised by extensive reporting requirements and structural barriers. We will share experiences from organisations that are actively strengthening local ownership, building more equitable partnerships, and adapting approaches to local realities.

The seminar will open with short inputs from Caritas, SAIH, Norec, and NEAR. This will be followed by an interactive workshop, designed to facilitate experience sharing among Norwegian organisations and to explore how organisations can better position themselves for increased power sharing – within today’s frameworks and accountability systems. Participants will gain concrete reflections and tools that can be taken directly back to their own organisations.

The seminar is relevant for programme advisers, project managers, senior management, and others working with international partnerships in civil society, development cooperation, or aid management.

You may attend in person or online.

Norwegian organisations are encouraged to invite their “global South” partners to participate.

The seminar will be conducted in English.

Venue: Hausmannsgate 19, ForUM, Oslo
Date: 3 June
Time: 08:00–11:00 (breakfast served from 08:00–08:30)
Registration: Please register by 24 May