Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2021-12-27
Buyer: INNLANDET FYLKESKOMMUNE
Country: NO
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 72000000
Estimated value: 5000000 NOK

Technical requirements: Υπηρεσίες τεχνολογίας των πληροφοριών: παροχή συμβουλών, ανάπτυξη λογισμικού, Διαδίκτυο και υποστήριξη
The procurement concerns purchase of services for implementation of digital referendum in connection with division of compulsory-merged counties, without a prior contest.
The procurement concerns purchase of services for implementation of digital referendum in connection with division of compulsory-merged counties. The government is open to compulsory-merged counties being able to seek division. Applications for division must be sent to Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation by 1 March 2022.
Innlandet County Council decided on 8 December 2021 that preparations would be made to apply for division, and that a digital referendum would be implemented. The digital referendum must be carried out in time to make the application deadline, 1 March 2022. This means that the procurement must take place in a very short time frame, so that the referendum can be held and the result be processed politically before the aforementioned deadline.
Innlandet County believes the terms to carry out the procurement without a contest are met, cf. the public procurement regulations §13-4 letter a) and §13-4  letter b) no. 2, and no. 3.
Based on Innlandet County’s market surveys, the supplier New Voting Technology Consulting AS is the only supplier in the EU/EEA area that has experience with delivering a comprehensive service for digital referendum in Norway, consisting of access to internet-based voting for the public and all services connected to implementation of the election. The service is a cloud-based solution integrated with the ID port and secure authentication. It has been developed to meet the requirements concerning information security, personal information protection and universal design. As of now, the service is unique in fulfilment of security requirements and integrations for digital referendum in Norway, cf. the Public Procurement Regulation § 13-4 letter b) no. 3.
In consideration of the short time-frame set by the ministry, Innlandet County believes that competition will be impossible due to technical reasons, cf. the Public Procurement Regulation § 13-4 letter b) no. 2. According to the county’s assessment, it is not possible for other suppliers in the EU/EEA area to develop a service for digital referendum as described within the extremely short time-frame required. The county must comply with the deadline set by the ministry, as well as the applicable Corona virus situation. There are no other reasonable alternatives that can cover the county’s needs.
The short deadline and the conditions described above also means that it will be impossible to hold a contest with negotiation without a prior notice in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulation § 13-3 letter e). The brief time limit given by the ministry therefore makes it necessary to carry out the procurement without a contest. The terms to implement the procurement without a contest in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulation §13-4 letter a) are met.


Winner: New Voting Technology Consulting AS
Award value: 5000000