Five Key Findings

The report maps the current status, challenges, and opportunities related to transparency in Norwegian public administration. The work is based on stakeholder interviews, documentation from relevant actors, and co-creative workshops used to validate findings and test hypotheses.

Analysis of insights from interviews with national and international stakeholders across public administration, civil society, and academia reveals five key findings:

• Transparency is often deprioritised due to time constraints and weak incentives

• Transparency is vital for democracy, but is challenged by competing societal considerations

• Key framework conditions surrounding public administration may hinder the desired level of openness

• Dedicated arenas for advancing transparency are needed to drive real change

• Norway performs well on transparency but has significant lessons to learn from other countries

Proposed Measures

The report outlines a set of measures to strengthen transparency efforts. The recommendations are divided into two categories:

• General recommendations for increasing transparency in public administration

• Specific, actionable measures to improve transparency in practice
  
  

A Report that Sets Direction

The report was presented and discussed by State Secretary Annette Kristine Davidsen from the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance and Paul Chaffey from Halogen during an open event at DOGA on 2 September 2025.

“We regard the report as a valuable contribution to our work on strengthening transparency in public administration. The revision of the national action plan on transparency will begin in 2026, and this report will serve as an important foundation for that work.”
- Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, Karianne Tung

The report can be read and downloaded here.