The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

Norad’s functions are laid down in the agency’s terms of reference and annual letters of allocation issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The majority of Norwegian development assistance is administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian foreign missions. In the case of aid funds that are not administered by Norad, the agency provides advice on what is required to achieve results, communicates results and contributes to debate on the effects of development assistance.