New interactive guide for direct contract awards

“We want to help more people proceed correctly from the start. That is why we have produced this new guide on direct contract awards. Direct awards, and in particular the special exceptions, are among our most frequently asked questions when it comes to public procurements,” say Dan Sjöblom and Ann-Christin Nykvist, director generals of the Swedish Competition Authority and the National Agency for Public Procurement respectively.

All procurements made by municipalities, county councils and government agencies must follow the public procurement rules. Each year municipalities, county councils and the government procure goods and services totalling more than SEK 600 billion, which is almost 20 percent of the country’s GDP.

Larger purchases should always be opened to competition via an open contract notice. Smaller purchases can in some cases be awarded directly to a sole supplier. That also applies to the special exceptions to the rules , such as certain technical requirements or extreme urgency. The Swedish Competition Authority and the National Agency for Public Procurement have produced a new interactive guide to support and assist all those who handle public procurements.

“Procuring agencies should have both the knowledge and the resolution to use the opportunities that exist within the law. This guide is a readily-accessible tool to use for questions regarding direct contract awards,” says the National Agency for Public Procurement’s Director General Ann-Christin Nykvist.

“The interactive guide is a supplement to the other information we provide about direct contract awards. As we get asked a lot of questions about them, it is important that we inform the public about our approach to these regulations,” says the Swedish Competition Authority’s Director General Dan Sjöblom.

The guide, entitled ”Får jag direktupphandla?” (“Can I award a contract directly”) is a collaboration between the Swedish Competition Authority and the National Agency for Public Procurement, and can be found on both agencies’ websites. It is designed for those who handle procurements on a daily basis and for executives in the public sector.

See the interactive guide "Får jag direktupphandla?" (in Swedish)