Procurement Risk:
Low
Score:
69/100
Government Policy
Q57
100/100
Does the country have legislation covering defence and security procurement with clauses specific to corruption risks, and are any items exempt from these laws?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. Procurement in the defence sector is regulated by the Norwegian Public Procurement Act of…
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The Public Procurement Regulation (§9-5), [1] Defence and Security Procurement Regulation (§11-12), [2] and the Acquisition Regulations for the Defence Sector (§38-8) [3] all…
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A review of parliamentary documents, the Office of the Auditor General’s reports and media articles shows that there is no indication that the existing…
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Q58
92/100
Is the defence procurement cycle process, from assessment of needs, through contract implementation and sign-off, all the way to asset disposal, disclosed to the public?
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The assessment of needs and contract implementation are laid out in the PRINSIX project model, which ensures a uniform execution of material procurements [1].…
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The procurement cycle methodology and project management are disclosed on the Norwegian Defence Material Agency website, which summarises how the military conducts its investments.…
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The PRINSIX project model provides detailed procedures for each step of the procurement cycle from the assessment of needs to contract implementation [1]. The…
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Q59
92/100
Are defence procurement oversight mechanisms in place and are these oversight mechanisms active and transparent?
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In addition to internal auditing of defence procurements by the Internal Auditor Unit and the Contract Audit section [1], external auditing is conducted by…
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According to the Act on the Office of the Auditor General, the OAG can summon witnesses, request documents and demand explanations in order to…
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The OAG’s reports on defence procurement are usually made available to the public [1]. Some of the reports may however be either fully or…
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The Ministry of Defence is responsible for the long-term planning process that outlines the continuous development of the Norwegian defence sector with respect to…
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The Ministry of Defence publishes “Future Acquisitions in the Norwegian Armed Forces”, an overview of both planned and potential defence purchases for the next…
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According to the Public Procurement Regulation [1], all contracts above the EEA threshold have to be published in DOFFIN (The Norwegian national database for…
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Data on actual defence purchases is not released in an accessible format (e.g. excel file) which would allow for comparisons of tenders.
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Capability Gap and Requirements Definition
Q62
88/100
What procedures and standards are companies required to have – such as compliance programmes and business conduct programmes – in order to be able to bid for work for the Ministry of Defence or armed forces?
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Vendors wishing to sell to the Norwegian defence sector must meet certain standards. These standards apply to vendors’ corporate social responsibility, environmental responsibility and…
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The Norwegian Ministry of Defence and its subordinated agencies are obliged to implement this regulation and consider measures to prevent corruption and trading in…
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Q63
75/100
Are procurement requirements derived from a national defence and security strategy, and are procurement decisions well-audited? Are defence purchases based on clearly identified and quantified requirements?
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As a rule, all procurement requirements are derived from the long-term plan for the Norwegian Armed Forces [1]. The long-term plan provides a framework…
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Procurement decisions are audited by the Office of Auditor General (OAG). For instance, in 2018 the OAG published a report based on the investigation…
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The PRINSIX project model, which is used by the Norwegian Armed Forces, defines the methodology for the procurement cycle and for identifying the requirements…
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Tender Solicitation, Assessment and Contract Award
Q64
25/100
Is defence procurement generally conducted as open competition or is there a significant element of single-sourcing (that is, without competition)?
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In accordance with the Defence and Security Procurement Regulation (FOSA) and the Acquisition Regulations for the Defence Sector Defence (ARF), all procurement shall as…
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According to the Norwegian procurement regulations, all single-source procurements have to be justified [1, 2, 3]. However, online media research shows that unjustified single-source…
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Q65
75/100
Are tender boards subject to regulations and codes of conduct and are their decisions subject to independent audit to ensure due process and fairness?
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The Acquisition Regulations for the Defence Sector refer to the Public Administration Act, which regulates rules of impartiality for public officials [1, 2]. The…
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There is a comprehensive audit trial of which officials were involved in the tender process, including selection of suppliers, designing tender specifications and tender…
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All documents mentioned in Indicator 65A, including the Acquisition Regulations for the Defence Sector and the Employee Handbook for the Norwegian Armed Forces and…
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The Norwegian government has a mandatory system of external audit (qualification control) for all major investment within state institutions (except oil and gas). Over…
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Q66
92/100
Does the country have legislation in place to discourage and punish collusion between bidders for defence and security contracts?
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The Competition Act prohibits collusion and agreements between enterprises (foretak) [1]. The act refers to forms of collusion both between bidders and between a…
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Chapter 3 §10 of the Competition Act specifies forms of illegal collusion. These include setting bidding prices or any other substantive transaction conditions; limiting…
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The Norwegian Competition Authority is tasked with enforcing the Norwegian Competition Act through adopting decisions imposing administrative fines. The Norwegian Competition Authority’s decisions may…
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Training, comprising both e-learning and in-person seminars, is mandatory for project managers. Although it is not mandatory to take the exams that follow the…
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Contract Delivery and In-Service Support
Q67
75/100
Are there mechanisms and procedures that ensure that contractors meet their obligations on reporting and delivery?
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Monitoring and sanctioning procedures for contract delivery in the defence sector are regulated by the Acquisition Regulations for the Defence Sector [1]. The procurement…
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As a rule, all contracts are published on DOFFIN (the Norwegian national database for public procurement) [1]. However, contract modifications post award are not…
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Officials regularly monitor bigger and more important contracts. Contract monitoring and completion reports include supplier performance appraisals and sometimes also subcontractor performance appraisals. Additional…
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Actions for breach of contract are always taken, but attempts are made to solve such issues at the lowest possible level. Occasionally, breaches of…
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Q68
92/100
Are there mechanisms in place to allow companies to complain about perceived malpractice in procurement, and are companies protected from discrimination when they use these mechanisms?
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Information on available complaint procedures in public procurement is included in the Guidelines on Public Procurement Rules [1]. After a bidder has been notified…
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Submitting a complaint about illegal direct award (penalty cases) costs 1 000 NOK (as of 12 June 2020 approximately 104 US dollars). Other kinds…
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There is no explicit reference to non-discrimination against suppliers who have made complaints, but §33-1 (4) of the Acquisition Regulations for the Defence Sector…
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Norwegian legislation contains clear provisions empowering procurement officials to exclude companies convicted of corruption or other criminal charges. These provisions are included in the…
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According to Section 55 of the Criminal Procedure Act, prosecution authorities shall act objectively in all of their actions, including the investigation phase, when…
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A company found guilty of corruption can no longer bid for Government work, according to procurement regulations [1]. The Defence and Security Procurement Regulation…
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Offset Contracts
Q70
75/100
When negotiating offset contracts, does the government specifically address corruption risk by imposing anti-corruption due diligence on contractors and third parties?
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Offset contracts (industrial cooperation agreements) are permitted by Norwegian law and are regarded as a governmental tool “to secure enhanced access to foreign defence…
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The Regulations on Industrial Co-operation Related to Defence Acquisitions from Abroad stress that the defence sector and its suppliers are to operate in line…
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Formal policies and procedures on reporting and delivering obligations for offset contracts are specified in the Regulations on Industrial Co-operation Related to Defence Acquisitions…
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The Regulations on Industrial Co-operation Related to Defence Acquisition from Abroad stipulate that Industrial Cooperation Agreements are exempt from public disclosure [1]. However, the…
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The Norwegian Defence Material Agency submits annual reports on current industrial cooperation agreements, including information on completing the project, to the Ministry of Defence.…
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The consequences of failing to meet the commitment are specified in Article 3.7 “Penalty Clause” of the Regulations on Industrial Co-operation Related to Defence…
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The regulations detailing the procedure for offset procurement do not include any explicit rules on competitive processes. The Norwegian Defence Material Agency negotiates industrial…
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Agents / Brokers
Q73
0/100
How strongly does the government control the company’s use of agents and intermediaries in the procurement cycle?
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The use of agents and intermediaries in the procurement cycle is not prohibited in Norway [1]. The only limitation concerns contracts which fall under…
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There are no restrictions on the use of agents and intermediaries apart from the limitation concerning contracts which fall under EEA Article 123, where…
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Financing Package
Q74
0/100
Are the principal aspects of the financing package surrounding major arms deals, (such as payment timelines, interest rates, commercial loans or export credit agreements) made publicly available prior to the signing of contracts?
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Due to competitive, negotiating and contractual considerations, information regarding financing major arms deals is not published prior to the signing of contracts [1]. The…
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Seller Influence
Q75
NS/100
How common is it for defence acquisition decisions to be based on political influence by selling nations?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. According to the National Defence Industry Strategy, all defence acquisitions have to be based…
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The acquisition process is aligned with the white paper on the national defence industry…
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The Defence Material Agency has not registered any instances of acquisitions being granted as…
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