In important policy areas, the ministries normally appoint official commissions (sometimes also referred to as public inquiry commissions) to evaluate existing laws and regulations, consider the need for and, if needed, prepare and propose new or amended laws and regulations. Public inquiry commissions are a core element of policy-making in Norway as in the other Nordic countries. The ministries annually establish dozens of large and small commissions to study a case in any policy area. Many of the inquiry commissions lead to reports in the publication series, Official Norwegian Reports (NOU). The NOU reports are published on the Government�s web pages. Two central reports from some year back are �Structures for Equality� NOU 2011:18 and �Policies for equality� NOU 2012:15. A more recent report is NOU 2020: 17 on gender based violence.