Here's an interesting paper about how public investment management works in Norway.
There are two aspects that tie in with topics that have come up before in the PIM subject area on the PFM Board.
1) Norway has a preliminary screening step, before appraisal (full feasibility studies, cost-benefit analysis, etc.), where project concepts are examined for their strategic fit and overall logic. The issues examined are:
* Needs assessment
* Overall requirements specification
* Overall strategy document
* Alternatives analysis
2) Independent firms are contracted to quality assure project proposals both at the preliminary screening step (QA1) and at the appraisal step (QA2). This is the independent project review discussed in another post.
Consultants and donors are often criticised for trying to impose best practice models on less advanced countries, but technically speaking I do not think these two elements are too demanding (international firms could carry out the quality assurance if national capacities are weak - these would be different from the firms funded by donors to undertake feasibility studies).
Whether these steps are workable in the political-economic context of certain countries is another question: they threaten vested interests and the status quo - and are intended to. In a number of countries I have, for example, encountered a great deal of resistance to preliminary project screening because of its potential to reveal poor project ideas early on (before the ball gets rolling). The usual arguments are that: 'we do this anyway - it's just not formalised'; 'it's too simplistic'; 'our investment needs are obvious and preliminary screening is redundant'; 'how can one examine the case for a project without detailed design and costing'; 'minister X has identified the need for this project'.
More useful information on Norway can be located here:
http://www.concept.ntnu.no/english
