What We Do

Great Place to Work® Certified Oct 2021-Oct 2022 Norway

The Nordic International Support Foundation (NIS) implements a large range of projects together with donors and key national stakeholders to assist countries and communities to successfully emerge from conflict. Escaping conflict requires a broad mix of activities targeting peacebuilding, state building, reconciliation processes and community recovery efforts. As a result, NIS believes there are multiple ways to support communities and institutions in transitioning away from conflict. Our projects include constructing, rehabilitating and installing economic and community infrastructure such as solar streetlights, stadiums and markets, roads, government buildings, solar electrification to hospitals, health clinics and government buildings. In addition, NIS works with creating vocational training facilities and curricula, managing secondees to government institutions and managing grant-making programmes supporting peace-building and social cohesion. For NIS, the exact nature of a project is secondary to its ability to help a country emerge from conflict.

NIS has been certified as a great workplace! Great Place to Work® Institute Norway has documented this through a comprehensive survey of NIS employees’ experience of trust, pride and camaraderie at the workplace. Read more about Great Place to Work and the certification here: https://www.greatplacetowork.no/.

Although NIS is a Norwegian non-profit foundation, it has developed extensive partnerships with other bilateral and multilateral donors since being founded in 2011. As of 2022, NIS received funding from 12 different donors for programmes across three countries. As a result, support from non-Norwegian partners as a percentage of total funding has steadily increased, reaching 70% in 2022. NIS believes that a diverse donor base is an important indicator of an organisation’s transparency and effectiveness in carrying out its stated mission.

*NIS’ project in Norway, Hva nå? Endringslaben, benefits from the support of various public and private sector donors. For more information about project donors and collaboration partners, please visit https://endringslaben.no/

Some examples of NIS’ projects

Somalia

Mali

NIS’ partners have access to further facts and figures about our completed and ongoing projects on our Interface.

Annual Reports

Current and previous annual reports can be found here.

How We Operate

NIS projects seek first and foremost to support communities and institutions to recover from the negative effects of conflict, regardless of the type of intervention. NIS works with international donors, national governments, community leaders, national civil society groups and other key stakeholders to support processes that facilitate recovery from conflict through a variety of means: improving public service delivery, rehabilitating social and economic infrastructure, supporting the functional recovery of national institutions, designing programmes that target gender and social inclusivity, and managing grant-making bodies that support peace-building and strengthening social cohesion. Across these many types of projects, we continually emphasise the need to delivery concrete benefits to conflicted-affected communities: infrastructure must support increased community activities of all kinds; grants must support relevant actors with strong local relationships; and support to institutions must help boost their ability to deliver on their mandates. In order to ensure our projects are relevant in both the practical and political dimensions of our work, NIS lays a great deal of emphasis on continuous contact with stakeholders, carrying out extensive community engagements tailored for the given context.

…the exact nature of a project is secondary to its ability to help a country emerge from conflictright quote mark

NIS PROVE Principles 2.0

In 2014, NIS first developed the PROVE principles to help guide our project design and field operations. The PROVE principles helped to address what we saw as the greatest obstacles to effective policies and interventions in conflict-affected environments. PROVE stands for: Political, Relevant, Opportune, Verified and Expedited. Following on nearly six years of implementation experience, the PROVE Principles have been updated to better reflect what we believe need to be the guiding themes for our work into the future. The PROVE Principles 2.0 recognise a broader range of issues that can contribute to helping conflict-affected countries meet the challenges of transitioning towards longer-term development and greater social, economic and political resilience.

PROVE 2.0 stands for: Politically attuned, Restorative, On-demand, Value-adding and Expedited. A major challenge that often continues to plague the sector is the failure to appreciate the need for urgent action in unstable environments: populations not only suffer from an absence of essential needs, but often also from a lack of trust in their governments, fellow community members and international donors and implementers. A project conceived of under the PROVE Principles 2.0 observes the following criteria:

  • Politically attuned — projects must be designed and managed in a way that incorporates the complex politics often present in conflict-affected environments. Genuine political understanding not only relates to local politics, but also the politics of the region, global considerations, as well as inter-donor politics and how donor missions interact with their capitals. Only through acknowledging these multiple dimensions can programmes be implemented in a Conflict Sensitive manner and avoid causing potential harm.
  • Restorative — projects must help to restore the functioning of key societal elements such as economic activity, social interaction, public service provision, a safe security environment and social trust.
  • On-demand — projects must provide benefits that cater to the most immediate needs demanded by project beneficiaries, including better security, improved economic and community infrastructure, increased livelihoods, capacity-building and greater social inclusiveness.
  • Value-adding — projects must be designed to add-value in an operational context. This can mean complimenting and boosting the effectiveness of existing projects, furthering discussions of difficult issues or challenging the status quo, including project themes, locations, technologies or types of intervention.
  • Expedited — projects must be implemented quickly and with minimal time lag between initial discussions and actual project implementation, as windows of opportunity are unpredictable and most conflict-affected communities have expectations that have long been waiting to be fulfilled. Responsive and timely implementation builds the trust, momentum and optimism necessary for projects to succeed, regardless of a project’s main objectives.

For NIS, the PROVE Principles 2.0 will better ensure our work is helping governments and communities to build the momentum necessary to escape the pull of conflict that often keep countries mired in instability. There is often a heavy focus on humanitarian-style interventions in fragile environments, but these alone do not help to address the underlying causes of conflict or help build the institutions necessary to sustain a countries path towards long-term social and economic development and stability.

Please click here to learn more about the NIS PROVE principles.

NIS organisational staffing approach

NIS’ staffing strategy means that we have highly skilled national and diaspora staff in-country that can effectively navigate the complex political, cultural and security landscapes that often characterise highly politicised environments. This allows NIS to understand the political nuances of complex environments and ensure the best chances for successful programme implementation. Furthermore, NIS’ approach to staffing ensures that the vast majority of staff resources are based in the field, supported by a service-focused HQ in Oslo. Presently, NIS has around 150 employees spread across its three programme countries, supported by an HQ staff of  around ten.

Working in conflict and post-conflict environments, we lay the utmost importance in conducting our work to the highest ethical standards. If you wish to raise a concern, please see our whistleblowing form.

Ethics, Transparency and Accountability

NIS implements a large range of projects together with donors and key national stakeholders to assist countries and communities to successfully emerge from conflict. In order to succeed with our activities and goals in these complex and volatile environments and contribute to stability, security and social cohesion, we need to work along high ethical standards and keep the processes as transparent as possible. We are accountable to our donors, partners, and our colleagues, but most of all we need to stay accountable to the institutions, communities and people we look to support and interact with.

Learn more about our Transparency process.

Where We Operate

Somalia

Following the fall of Siad Barre’s regime in 1991, Somalia descended into a state of continuous violent conflict, which has lasted for nearly 30 years. Initially, the fighting was between Clan-based militias and warlords, but these were swept aside by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in 2006. For most of 2006 the majority of south-central Somalia was controlled by the ICU, until they were removed by Ethiopian troops supporting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia by year’s end. In early 2007 the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeeping force was deployed to support the TFG and fight against the more radical wing of the ICU, al-Shabaab, which then evolved into the largest anti-government fighting force in the country over subsequent years. In August 2012, the first non-transitional government since 1991 was formed, The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), following a long selection process involving Somalia’s different clans and the formation of a new Federal Parliament.

NIS established its presence in the capital Mogadishu in early 2012, during the final months of the TFG. Following a series of successful offensives by AMISOM against al-Shabaab in south-central Somalia, NIS worked closely with local communities and government institutions to quickly expand into the newly liberated areas to deliver tangible improvements in service delivery to conflict-affected communities. As one of few organisations with a Memorandum of Understanding with AMISOM, NIS works with the authorities and community leaders to deliver rapid and relevant projects to the communities previously living under al-Shabaab.

NIS’ first project in Somalia was the installation of solar-street lights along a key business road in the capital, Mogadishu. The immediate impact of the project on local residents and businesses was quickly recognised as evidence that non-emergency focussed stabilisation-style projects were possible in the country. This success saw NIS requested to install more streetlights in Mogadishu, but also to take on light infrastructure projects outside the capital in even higher-risk areas. Since 2012, NIS’ portfolio in Somalia has grown to over 80 projects, ranging from infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, markets, stadiums, government buildings, solar electrification of hospitals and administration buildings and flood-defence, to managing the secondment of experts providing technical assistance to ministries, vocational training and sports programmes for youth and the design and implementation of a special financing facility to support the federal budget.

All these projects have brought significant and concrete changes to the daily lives of many conflict-affected communities in Somalia. Combined, these different projects are helping to build the momentum necessary for Somalia to successfully transition out of conflict and towards social and political stability. Building momentum through a broad spectrum of interventions aimed at helping communities and state institutions recover from conflict helps keep up people’s hopes for change and discourages people from supporting anti-government forces.

A key aspect of NIS’ work is the creation of platforms where the government can engage with the communities it serves to help restore the linkages and trust between government authorities, community leaders, and local populations. NIS has been able to document the positive effects these projects and community engagement activities have on peoples’ perception of government and the prospects for escaping conflict.

NIS’ donor partners in Somalia have included the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UK Stabilisation Unit, the UK Rapid Delivery Fund, the EU, the Somalia Stability Fund, the Conflict Security Stability Fund, the World Bank, FAO, GIZ, IOM and the multi-donor Energising Development partnership (EnDev).

Mali

In 2012, the occupation of northern Mali by Tuareg separatists and militant Islamists, compounded by a military coup, plunged the country into a state of unprecedented political, social and economic turmoil. The crisis revealed the fragility of Mali’s institutions. In 2013, NIS established itself in Mali with the overall objective of working with the Malian authorities and local communities in newly liberated areas of the country, helping to to respond to the needs and expectations of conflict-affected populations. The rapid delivery of tangible results helps facilitate communities’ transition away from conflict in the short term, buying time for the longer-term implementation of the government’s Poverty Reduction and Recovery strategy.

Following consultations with local authorities and community representatives, NIS implemented its first project in Gao in northern Mali in 2014. The first project included 200 solar streetlights which illuminate public spaces, including schools, community centres, commercial districts, and water collection points, improving night-time security and enabling community-based activities to continue after sunset. This helps reduce crime and create a greater sense of social cohesion. Following this successful first project, NIS has continued with similar stabilisation efforts in northern and central Mali, installing a total of 554 solar streetlights in Gao, 144 in Bamba, Bourem, Tenenkou and Youwarou. NIS is currently working closely with the multi-donor initiative, Energising Development (EnDev) and national authorities on expanding its programme to include more poles, individual solar systems and help building agriculture infrastructures based on solar irrigation systems.

“Gao sera la ville lumière du Nord”
— Conseiller Communal

Donor partners in Mali include the Norwegian MFA, MINUSMA and EnDev. NIS’ partners have access to further facts and figures about our completed and ongoing projects on our Interface.

Myanmar

Myanmar has seen one of the world’s longest-lasting civil wars. The causes of conflict are numerous and intertwined. In 2011, the newly elected President Thein Sein, supported by chief peace envoy Minister U Aung Min, initiated a process of change towards peace. NIS has since the beginning of 2012 been involved with a number of key projects to support the peace process, which in turn will help stabilise the country.

Prior to the military take-over in February 2021, NIS was working to support social cohesion and the peace process at local, regional and national level. 

As a result of political developments since February 2021, NIS programming inside the country has been paused and is currently under review.

Norway

In 2022, NIS started implementing its first project in Norway: Hva nå? Endringslaben. Hva nå? is a learning platform for children and youth, which aims to support and strengthen the work being carried out by Norwegian schools and teachers within the fields of sustainability and environmental education. The project is grounded in the Norwegian national curriculum (Kunnskapsløftet 2020), where sustainable development is identified as one of three cross-cutting topics. Hva nå? consists of a travelling exhibition which school classes are invited to visit, as well as in-class learning activities for use before and after the exhibition. Combined, they offer meaningful, inspiring opportunities for children and youth to learn more about environmental and social challenges being faced around the world today, and how they can be part of the solutions to overcoming these challenges. The exhibition is set up in local libraries across the country, and is also open to the general public. To date, NIS has implemented the project in six different municipalities, reaching more than 3,300 students and 150 teachers.

More information about the project is available here.

Who We Are

NIS is a non-profit foundation headquartered in Oslo, Norway. NIS is registered in Norway with the Brønnøysund Register Centre and approved by the Norwegian Control Committee for Fundraising.

NIS Senior Management

NIS was started by individuals with experience working on the Horn of Africa in response to what was seen as a lack of politically attuned donor policies, specifically in Somalia, with too heavy a focus on humanitarian relief where little or no support was given to help rebuild government institutions and services.

Eric Sevrin has almost 20 years’ experience working on humanitarian, political and human rights issues. Eric held different advisor and manager positions in the Norwegian Refugee Council for close to ten years, and was involved in the start-up of several country programmes. He has done extensive programmatic work on humanitarian crises and conflict countries, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Uganda, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Colombia.

Christopher Eads has close to 20 years’ experience working on political and economic development issues, mainly in East Africa and the Horn of Africa regions. Christopher was a senior country analyst in the Africa Department at the Economist Intelligence Unit for over ten years, as well as the deputy editor for the EIU’s World Commodity Forecasts. He has done extensive analysis work on conflict and post-conflict countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Somalia and South Sudan.

Please see the contact section for the contact details for our management team in Somalia and Mali.

Contact

Headquarters

Oslo, Norway

Visiting address

Brenneriveien 5 (2nd floor), 0182 Oslo

Postal address

PO Box 9025 Grønland, 0133 Oslo

Telephone

+47 21 39 60 37

Twitter

NIS_F

Christopher Eads

Senior Partner

Eric Sevrin

Senior Partner

Programmes
Kassim Gabowduale

Country Representative, Somalia

Nouhoum Ganaba

Country Representative, Mali

Camry Haskins

Programme Coordinator

Tuva Neraal Volden

Project Hva Nå? Endringslaben (Norway)

If you wish to raise a concern, please see our whistleblowing form.

If you have a safeguarding concern or question, please contact the NIS Oslo Safeguarding Focal Point through: safeguarding@nis-foundation.org. All messages will be treated with confidentiality.

HQ Interface Login

Vacancies

Vacant positions at the NIS headquarters in Oslo, Norway, are announced on this page, as well as in other relevant networks and career services. Vacant positions at NIS in other countries where NIS operates are usually announced publicly in national and/or international newspapers.

Procurements

Selected advertisements are posted on this page.

Open tender for supply and delivery of good quality farming seeds and Equipment, Beledweyne, Somalia

Re-advertisement for supply and delivery of medical equipment to Lasanod general hospital, Somalia