Getting outside help – VG

HØYRES HUS (VG) Here the senior officials of two ministries sit together to learn how to collaborate better. It happens after several cases with what they themselves call “obvious conflicts of interest”.

They also admit that they have prejudices against each other.

In the autumn of 2021, the leaders of the Ministry of Climate Change and the Ministry of Agriculture therefore asked for help from private consultants to improve cooperation.

They were willing to pay up to NOK 400,000, according to the tender documents VG saw.

Before the deadline expired, the tender was suspended. A new government had been formed and the ministers of the Labor Party and the Center Party would not approve the use of outside consultants.

The two ministries nevertheless continued their meeting plans, but with councilors employed by the state.

The meetings are now held regularly, in the premises of Høyres Hus.

The Ministry of Climate and Environment has been given important tasks: in a few years, Norway must halve its climate emissions and adapt to the fact that the climate is getting warmer and the extreme climate more wild.

This can conflict with the goals of other ministries.

Group work and consultancy

In a room on a marble staircase in Høyres Hus, desks are lined up ready for teamwork.

It is ready for the second of five meetings, where the advisers will help the leaders of the two ministries to overcome the problems of cooperation.

– The first meeting went very straight to the point, says Ministerial Advisor Tom Rådahl of the Ministry of Climate and Environment.

They sat in their groups and talked about the prejudices they have towards each other.

– It is obvious that there is a lot of prejudice around the administration, against different things that characterize different ministries. We have to go under and see how we top managers can contribute to saying “let’s level the prejudices, let’s work”, says Rådahl.

– Do you want to tell us what prejudices have come to light?

– No, there probably isn’t much exciting in it. Consultants challenge us. We have to think, we cannot be superficial, says Anne Marie Glosli, ministerial advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

– Internally in ministries, this has commonly been called couples therapy. Is that a good description?

– I think it’s a very poor description, and I don’t think it’s the impression that has taken hold among ministry employees, says Glosli.

The idea for the project has already arrived in the first conversation between the two heads of ministry, they explain together, after hiring Glosli in 2020. The project has been postponed for a year due to the pandemic.

The leaders wanted to use state-employed advisors, but there was no capacity available. Therefore, the assignment was competed for external consultants before it was suspended by the government.

VG has had contacts with climate minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) and agriculture minister Sandra Borch (Sp), who will not comment on the matter.

The price: around NOK 80,000

The advisers who lead the ministries are now employed by the state. The meetings still have a price.

The leaders first met for lunch in Bristol in Oslo in the fall of 2021, for around NOK 14,000.

They have scheduled a total of four meetings in Høyres Hus. The first costs NOK 16,330, and if the price stays the same, the bill will eventually be close to NOK 80,000 for meeting rooms and food.

– It was difficult to find meeting rooms available and DFØ suggested Høyres Hus, among other things, says Rådahl.

– Why couldn’t you use your meeting rooms?

– Some of the points is that it shouldn’t be the case for the Ministry of Climate and Environment to come to the Ministry of Agriculture or vice versa, says the climate officer.

– Is it a neutral earth?

– No, it is not a neutral reason, but it is an advantage to meet outside the home to avoid interruptions. Managers are always excluded from meetings, says Glosli.

Obvious conflicts

There are several obvious conflict of objectives between ministries, Glosli says.

– As with predators. We need to have grazing animals and take care of predators, so by nature we have many conflicting goals in our area, says Glosli.

The Ministry of Agriculture deals with forestry from an industry perspective, says Glosli, while the Ministry of Climate and Environment is more interested in biological diversity.

In January 2020 l the Environment Directorate present possible measures that the government can introduce to reduce Norway’s greenhouse gas emissions. One of the measures was to get Norwegians to eat less red meat.

The Directorate of Agriculture did not wait to point out that this would lead to thousands of farmers wanting to depose.

– It is our responsibility to point out that this has consequences for primary production. This is our job, says Glosli, who was hired himself a few months later.

At the same time, they must find solutions together, Glosli explains, so that the government has the best possible basis for the choices it makes.

– I have been given responsibility for climate policy. His ministry also has an important responsibility in leading climate policy. This is in addition to the liability for businesses in your area. I don’t have any professionals I’m responsible for, but I have great respect for her, explains Rådahl.

However, it is a coincidence that this project is run by agriculture and not by another ministry, says Rådahl.

– There is nothing unique between climate and agriculture here. We are working to improve cooperation with many ministries, says the climate officer.