Publications & Documents

This profile provides a concise and policy-relevant overview of health and the health system in Norway as part of the broader series of the State of Health in the EU country profiles. It provides a short synthesis of: the health status in the country; the determinants of health, focussing on behavioural risk factors; the organisation of the health system; and the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of the health system. This profile is the joint work of the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in co-operation with the European Commission.

This edition of the Reader’s Companion accompanies Skills Matter: Additional Results from the Survey of Adult Skills that reports the results from the 39 countries and regions that participated in the 3 rounds of data collection in the first cycle of PIAAC, with a particular focus on the 6 countries that participated in the third round of the study (Ecuador, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Peru and the United States). It describes the design and methodology of the survey and its relationship to other international assessments of young students and adults. The Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), was designed to provide insights into the availability of some key skills in society and how they are used at work and at home. The first survey of its kind, it directly measures proficiency in several information-processing skills – namely literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments.

The OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts periodic reviews of the individual development co-operation efforts of DAC members. The policies and programmes of each DAC member are critically examined approximately once every five years. DAC peer reviews assess the performance of a given member, not just that of its development co-operation agency, and examine both policy and implementation. They take an integrated, system-wide perspective on the development co-operation and humanitarian assistance activities of the member under review. Norway’s commitment to spend 1% of gross national income on official development assistance is supported across the political spectrum. It increasingly uses multilateral channels to promote global public goods and address global challenges. This review looks at the changes to systems, structures and capabilities that would help Norway deliver on its shifting approach to development co-operation. These include strategic oversight to align programming with Norway's overall vision and policies for sustainable development; strengthened approaches to results, knowledge and risk management; and taking a bolder approach to cross-cutting issues such as human rights, gender, climate and environment, and anti-corruption.

Norway is committed to a high quality and equitable education system, as demonstrated by its high level of public expenditure on education and the dynamic policy activity targeting education quality. Despite progress made in enhancing average student performance in recent years, there still are significant differences between schools in municipalities and between municipalities and regions. In response, Norway has started to implement the new competence development model that sets out to develop teacher professionalism with in-service professional development. With this new policy, the Government of Norway aims to provide municipalities and schools with greater freedom of action and empower them to carry out systematic school improvements at the local level. This decentralised approach would respond to local context and the diversity of needs between Norwegian schools. This report aims to support Norway in this effort, analysing the features of the new model, the engagement of the different stakeholders and the policy context for its introduction. Building on the OECD implementation framework, the report proposes concrete actions to adapt the implementation strategy for impact. The report will be valuable not only for Norway, but also to the many countries that are looking to promote school-based professional development and bridge the gap between policy design and effective implementation.

The higher education system in Norway generally produces graduates with good skills and labour market outcomes. This success can be largely attributed to Norway’s robust and inclusive labour market and recent higher education reforms to improve quality. However, some Norwegian students have poor labour market outcomes and past success is no guarantee of future success, especially as the Norwegian economy upskills and diversifies. This report provides advice and recommendations to improve the labour market relevance and the outcomes of higher education in Norway. The analysis finds that there is an opportunity to expand work-based learning opportunities, improve career guidance, and do a better job of using innovative learning and teaching practices to improve labour market relevance across the system. The report concludes that Norwegian policy makers have a larger role to play in steering the system. Policy makers can set the conditions for greater labour market relevance by strengthening the mechanism for collaboration between higher education institutions and employers, ensuring better coordination and use of labour market information, and redoubling efforts to support quality learning and teaching. This report was developed as part of the OECD Enhancing Higher Education System Performance project.