# Market dialogue

Contact between a contracting authority and suppliers before the competition. It is allowed, but must not distort competition or breach equal treatment.

Canonical URL: https://tendline.no/en/glossary/market-dialogue

In Norwegian: [Markedsdialog](https://tendline.no/ordliste/markedsdialog.md)

## Definition

Market dialogue (markedsdialog) is the contact between a contracting authority and the suppliers in the market before a competition is advertised. The purpose is to find out what the market can deliver, so that the need, the requirements and the contract terms become realistic. The word is not used in the Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven) or the Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften), and in practice words such as supplier dialogue (leverandørdialog) and dialogue conference (dialogkonferanse) are also used. The Regulations call it preparatory investigations and dialogue with suppliers before the competition; Directive 2014/24/EU calls it preliminary market consultations (Article 40). The § references on this page are to the Regulations unless another law is named. The rules are in § 8-1 and § 8-2 for competitions under Part II and in § 12-1 and § 12-2 for competitions under Part III, and they are the same. Market dialogue is not the same as competitive dialogue, which is a procedure for the competition itself under Part III.

The contracting authority may carry out market research to prepare the procurement and inform suppliers of its plans and needs. It may also seek or accept advice from, among others, suppliers, and use that advice when the procurement is planned and conducted. The condition is that the advice does not distort competition or lead to a breach of the principle of equal treatment (§ 8-1 and § 12-1). The Regulations say «may», so the contracting authority has no duty to hold a market dialogue. DFØ (the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management) mentions, among other things, dialogue meetings and conferences, conversations with one or more suppliers, and consultation on drafts of the tender documents, the technical specifications and the contract terms. According to DFØ, in competitions under Part III the contracting authority may use a prior information notice (veiledende kunngjøring) to invite suppliers to a dialogue, and this does not commit the contracting authority to advertise a competition later.

If a supplier, or an undertaking related to the supplier, has advised the contracting authority before the competition or has otherwise been involved in planning it, the contracting authority must take appropriate measures so that the supplier does not gain an unfair competitive advantage if it submits a tender. The measures include making sure that the other suppliers receive the same relevant information that came up in the dialogue, and setting a tender deadline long enough to even out the advantage (§ 8-2 and § 12-2). The list is not exhaustive, and according to DFØ the measures must be in place before the tenders are submitted. The contracting authority must record in the procurement record (anskaffelsesprotokoll) any cases of conflict of interest (inhabilitet) or distortion of competition arising from the dialogue, and the measures taken (§ 10-5 and § 25-5).

Part II applies from NOK 1.3 million excluding VAT up to the EEA thresholds (except health and social services), and to special services (særlige tjenester) from NOK 1.3 million with no upper limit. Part III applies at or above the EEA thresholds for supply, service and works contracts, but not to special services or to health and social services. From NOK 500,000 to NOK 1.3 million excluding VAT, only Part I of the Regulations applies, and it has no specific rules on dialogue before the competition, but the fundamental principles in Public Procurement Act § 4, among them competition and equal treatment, and the impartiality rules in § 7-5 still apply. The same goes for health and social services, which follow Part I below NOK 8.7 million excluding VAT and Part IV at or above NOK 8.7 million. In Part IV, the contracting authority must nonetheless conduct the competition so that suppliers are treated equally (§ 30-1 (2)).

## Why it matters for suppliers

Market dialogue is where you can influence the requirements before they are locked. Once the competition is advertised, the contracting authority can only make changes to the tender documents that are not substantial: under Part II until the contract is signed (§ 8-4 (4)), and under Part III before the tender deadline expires (§ 14-2 (1)). Advice: take part when you are invited, and be concrete. Explain what the market can deliver, which requirements shut suppliers out or make delivery more expensive without giving the contracting authority more, whether the contract should be divided into lots, and how long a tender deadline is needed for a good tender.

Expect that what you say may be shared with the other suppliers, because one of the measures the contracting authority can use is to give everyone the same relevant information. Giving advice is allowed. In competitions under Part III, however, the contracting authority may reject a supplier that has attempted to influence the contracting authority's decisions or to obtain confidential information that may give it an undue competitive advantage, unless rejection would be disproportionate (§ 24-2 (3) letter h). Part II has no such specific ground, but the contracting authority may reject a supplier that lacks the necessary integrity as a contracting party (§ 9-5 (3) letter b), which can cover the same conduct. According to DFØ, the attempt to influence must have been made in an improper way, and this covers dishonest and wrongful conduct.

The risk for you is rejection. A supplier that has taken part in preparing the competition and has thereby gained an unfair competitive advantage that cannot be remedied by less intrusive measures must be rejected (§ 9-5 (1) letter c and § 24-2 (1) letter d). These are grounds for rejection, which Directive 2014/24/EU calls exclusion grounds. Before that happens, the contracting authority must give you the opportunity to substantiate that your participation does not distort competition. According to DFØ, having taken part is not enough: the participation must have led to a distortion of competition, the advantage must be of some size and significance, and the nature, extent and timing of the contribution matter.

If someone from your company works for the contracting authority, for example as a hired adviser in the planning, the impartiality rules in the Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven) also apply to that person (Public Administration Act § 10 and § 7-5 of the Regulations). Whether the person is disqualified (inhabil) is decided under Public Administration Act § 6. If there is a conflict of interest that the contracting authority cannot remedy by less intrusive measures, the supplier must be rejected (§ 9-5 (1) letter b and § 24-2 (1) letter c). The contracting authority must prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest, for example by keeping the person out of the procurement. According to DFØ, rejection is a last resort, and the burden of proving that rejection is unavoidable lies with the contracting authority.

## Legal basis

Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften) § 7-4, § 7-5, § 8-1, § 8-2, § 8-4, § 9-5, § 10-5, § 12-1, § 12-2, § 14-2, § 24-2, § 25-5 and § 30-1 · Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven) § 6, § 10 and § 13

## Example

A municipality is planning a new contract for operating its IT systems, with an estimated value of NOK 6 million excluding VAT. That is above NOK 2.5 million, the EEA threshold for municipalities, so Part III applies. The municipality publishes a prior information notice and invites suppliers to an open dialogue meeting. You take part and explain that the requirement for all servers to be located in the municipality's own premises makes operation more expensive without giving better security, and that four weeks is too short to prepare a good plan for the transition from the current supplier. The municipality makes the presentation, the questions and the answers from the meeting available to everyone.

The current supplier has, on commission from the municipality, prepared an overview of the systems to be operated, and will also submit a tender. The municipality attaches the overview to the tender documents and sets the tender deadline at eight weeks. Those are the two measures the Regulations give as examples. The current supplier should not be rejected just because it took part in the preparations. The question is whether the advantage has been evened out before the tenders are submitted.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is market dialogue allowed in public procurement?

Yes. The contracting authority may carry out market research and seek or accept advice from suppliers before the competition, as long as the advice does not distort competition or lead to a breach of the principle of equal treatment (Public Procurement Regulations § 8-1 and § 12-1). The rules are the same in Part II and Part III. Part I and Part IV have no specific rules on dialogue before the competition, but the fundamental principles in Public Procurement Act § 4, among them equal treatment, apply to all procurements under the Act, and Part IV repeats the duty of equal treatment (§ 30-1 (2)). The contracting authority has no duty to hold a market dialogue.

### Can I be rejected because I took part in the market dialogue?

Not just because you took part. Rejection requires that your involvement in the preparations gave you an unfair competitive advantage that cannot be remedied by less intrusive measures (§ 9-5 (1) letter c and § 24-2 (1) letter d). The contracting authority must first take appropriate measures, such as giving the others the same information and setting a tender deadline that is long enough, and before you are rejected, you must be given the opportunity to substantiate that your participation does not distort competition. According to DFØ, the Court of Appeal (lagmannsretten), in case LB-2010-201985, which concerned the 2006 Regulations, found that a consulting engineering firm that had done minor preparatory design tasks should not have been rejected, because it had not been shown that the firm had gained any particular advantage.

### What should I say in a market dialogue?

Advice: answer what the contracting authority wants to know, and be concrete. Explain what exists in the market, what the planned requirements cost to meet, and which requirements shut suppliers out without giving the contracting authority more. Point out risks in the contract terms, and say how long a tender deadline you need. Do not propose requirements that only your own solution meets. The advice can only be used when it does not distort competition (§ 8-1 and § 12-1).

### Will my competitors learn what I say in the dialogue?

They may. If you have given advice, one of the measures the contracting authority can use is to make sure the other suppliers receive the same relevant information that came up in the dialogue (§ 8-2 and § 12-2). According to DFØ, a presentation of needs and plans from a dialogue conference, for example, must be available to all interested suppliers. § 7-4 of the Public Procurement Regulations applies the duty of confidentiality in the Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven) to procurements. The duty covers operational or business matters that it is of competitive importance to keep secret (Public Administration Act § 13), and according to DFØ the contracting authority cannot publish confidential information in the dialogue phase. Advice: share only what you can live with your competitors seeing, and mark clearly what you consider a trade secret.

### Can I help the contracting authority plan the competition and still submit a tender?

Yes, but the contracting authority must then take appropriate measures to even out any advantage you may have gained, and according to DFØ the contracting authority should, especially when a supplier is used as an adviser in the planning, clarify with the supplier whether it will take part in the competition. If an unfair advantage cannot be evened out by less intrusive measures, you must be rejected, and if you work for the contracting authority, the impartiality rules in the Public Administration Act (§ 10) also apply. Advice: agree your role in writing before you start, and say early that you are considering submitting a tender.

## In Tendline

[Tendline writes questions to the contracting authority about what is unclear, and you approve each one](https://tendline.no/en#how-we-work)

## Sources

- [Lovdata: Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften), § 7-4, § 7-5, § 8-1, § 8-2, § 8-4, § 9-5, § 10-5, § 12-1, § 12-2, § 14-2, § 24-2, § 25-5 and § 30-1 (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2016-08-12-974)
- [Lovdata: Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven), § 6, § 10 and § 13 (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1967-02-10)
- [DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 15 Dialogue with the market (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/veileder-til-anskaffelsesforskriften/15-dialog-med-markedet)
- [DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 8 Common provisions (impartiality) (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/veileder-til-anskaffelsesforskriften/8-fellesbestemmelser)
- [DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 35 Rejection (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/veileder-til-anskaffelsesforskriften/35-avvisning)
- [DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 31 Notices (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/veileder-til-anskaffelsesforskriften/31-kunngjoringer)
- [EUR-Lex: Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement, Articles 24, 40, 41, 48 and 57 (English terminology)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/24/oj/eng)

Last checked against the sources: 14 October 2026

## Related terms

- [Prior information notice](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/prior-information-notice.md)
- [Tender deadline](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/tender-deadline.md)
- [Tender documents](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/tender-documents.md)
- [Rejection of tenders](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/rejection-of-tenders.md)
- [Qualification requirements](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/qualification-requirements.md)
- [Award criteria](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/award-criteria.md)
- [Procurement record](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/procurement-record.md)
- [Competitive dialogue](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/competitive-dialogue.md)
- [Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften)](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/public-procurement-regulations.md)