A new research report analyses the number of bidders and the level of litigation in Swedish public procurement

In order to contribute to the work of getting more suppliers to submit tenders and reduce the number of litigations, the Swedish Competition Authority has initiated a research report that will give a greater understanding of the underlying reasons to the lack of bidders in public procurement and why the litigation level is high in Sweden. The research has been conducted on Swedish public procurement data.

The report "Competition and Litigation in Swedish Public Procurement", by researchers Janne Tukiainen and Kirsi-Maria Halonen, shows that especially small companies see public procurement as burdensome. The extensive work effort required to submit tenders means that many suppliers refrain from submitting tenders. Less burdensome procurement processes, industry-specific procurement and better communication efforts can contribute to a simpler tendering process that can increase the number of bidders, according to the researchers.

The study also shows that the level of litigation is high in Sweden creating concerns for project delays and other costs, as well as potentially leading to ineffective procurement practices due to incentives to avoid litigation. The researchers point out that one potentially important measure to reduce the number of litigations is for the contracting authority to communicate the results of the procurement with all the bidders in the procurement.

Read the report: Competition and Litigation in Swedish Public Procurement