Norway–South Africa Research Funding Opportunity Conference

The Norway–South Africa Research Funding Opportunity Conference will take place at the National Research Foundation in Pretoria from 04 to 05 June 2026.

It will showcase progress and insights from 10 joint projects funded by the NRF and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) to address critical global challenges such as urban development, biodiversity loss, renewable energy planning, marine and fisheries management, global wine value chains, and increasing forest fires.

Conference Objectives

• Reflection: To review achievements, challenges, and lessons learned across all ten projects.
• Integration of knowledge: To identify cross-cutting themes emerging from diverse research streams, particularly in ecosystem management and sustainable development.
• Strengthening collaboration: To enhance linkages between South African and Norwegian researchers, as well as between academic and non-academic stakeholders.
• Advancing equity and transformation: To ensure that projects are effectively contributing to human capacity development, including the meaningful participation of emerging researchers, women, and persons with disabilities.
• Preparation for final engagement: To ensure alignment and readiness for the final conference, including synthesis of results and articulation of impact pathways.

Stakeholders

The conference will bring together researchers, policymakers, and non-academic partners from South Africa and Norway to strengthen bilateral collaboration on climate and biodiversity research. It will include stakeholders from the DSTI; the Royal Norwegian Embassy; PhD students and postdoctoral Fellows involved in the projects; researchers from participating academic institutions; non-academic research partners including private sector companies and industries; and NGOs.

Focus Areas

Six focus areas will form the foundation of the conference:

1. Effective co-existence between different societal considerations, interests, and business activities
2. Sustainable use of natural resources
3. Reduced consumption of natural resources in a circular economy
4. Societal security, emergency preparedness and prevention, security of supply
5. Social and cultural dimensions of sustainable and holistic land use and management
6. Sustainable use and management of cultural environments in the face of spatial challenges

Find out more information here.