Tender CVs for consultants: how a CV scores in Norwegian public tenders

In short

Competence can be both a qualification requirement and an award criterion, but it is the experience of the people you offer that is assessed.
DFØ’s template gives each person 0 to 6 points on education, certifications, relevant experience and an explanation or interview.
Write the consultant’s own tasks and months per project, not what the project as a whole delivered.
Use the buyer’s CV template if there is one, and keep to the page limit.
The consultants you offer are usually bound to the contract. A change needs the customer’s approval.

How the buyer evaluates the CVs

Competence can be used both as a qualification requirement (can the supplier deliver?) and as an award criterion (how well?). The Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ) says this is allowed, but the two must be kept apart. If experience is an award criterion, it must be the experience of the people you offer, not the company's general experience (KOFA 2016/17).

DFØ's template for evaluating consultants gives each person 0 to 6 points in four areas:

formal education
certifications and courses
relevant experience, with 3 points for over one year, 4 for over three years, 5 for over five years and 6 for eight to ten years
an explanation or an interview

The years are a guide. The evaluator uses judgement, includes what the references say, and may give half points.

How much the CVs weigh varies a lot. Follo's purchasing cooperation gave the staff 20 per cent in 2023, understanding of the assignment 40 and price 40. In KOFA 2017/101 competence weighed 50 per cent. That case also found that a buyer may not average the CV scores without saying so in advance.

What the CV must contain

DFØ's CV template is not anonymised. It asks for name, title and date of birth, key competence with years, education, and courses and certifications. For each project it asks for the client, period, size in NOK or hours, role, description, result and a reference.

DFØ's evaluation template asks for two to five assignments from the last three to five years, with start and end dates. Each needs a reference the buyer may contact without asking you first. So ask your references for permission before you submit.

Some buyers have their own rules. The Norwegian Armed Forces required dates as "from date to date (number of months)" and accepted the client written as "public buyer". Many require the whole tender in Norwegian.

A template for each project

Use the same layout for every project and tailor the content to the competition:

Project and client: what the project was, and for whom.
Period: mm.yyyy to mm.yyyy, and the number of months.
Size: hours or NOK.
Role: the consultant's own role, not the team's.
Own tasks: three to five lines on what the consultant did, in the words of the buyer's requirements.
Technology and method: only what was used in this project.
Result: what was delivered, measurable if possible.
Reference: name, role, phone and e-mail, with consent.

The mistakes that cost points

The project's scope instead of the consultant's. The Armed Forces gave points only for experience shown on the CV, and wanted the consultant's own tasks and months per task.
Old or irrelevant assignments. DFØ's scale gives 1 of 6 points when relevant experience is missing, and asks for assignments from the last three to five years.
One CV for every assignment. Use the customer's own words, and show the goal, role, technology and result for each project.
Too much text. Keep to the page limit and cut what does not answer a requirement.
Lists without context and dates that do not add up. A long list of technologies says little about what the consultant can do, and dates that do not fit together weaken trust.

The consultants you offer are bound

Under SSA-B 2026 clause 5.2 the customer must approve a change of key personnel, but may not refuse without good reason. If the supplier causes the change, the supplier pays for the transfer of knowledge. DFØ's template says that using other people than those offered is a breach of contract.

A reservation to withdraw a consultant who is sold to another assignment in the meantime is normally unlawful and leads to rejection.
In KOFA 2025/0516 a procurement had to be cancelled because the suppliers were not bound to offer the same consultants in the mini-competitions.
In KOFA 2021/1936 it was unlawful to evaluate a larger team than the key people whose CVs had been requested.
The buyer may interview the consultants you offer.

Tools for tender CVs

Many consultancies keep CVs and references in a dedicated system, such as Flowcase (formerly CV Partner) or Cinode, and make a tailored version for each tender. The Norwegian state also has a machine-readable format for CVs and requests for competence, EHF CV.

What a competition requires of the consultants is in its qualification requirements and award criteria. See the guide to qualification requirements.

Questions

Can experience from an earlier employer count?

Yes. In KOFA 2023/1152 employees’ experience from similar deliveries at earlier employers was accepted.

How many projects should a tender CV have?

Follow the tender documents. DFØ’s evaluation template asks for two to five assignments from the last three to five years, with start and end dates and a reference for each.

Can we reserve the right to withdraw a consultant sold to another assignment in the meantime?

Normally not. Such a reservation is as a rule unlawful and leads to the tender being rejected.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain words. It is not legal advice: the tender documents and the regulations decide.

Tender CVs for consultants: how a CV scores in public tenders