Anti-Corruption: Open Contracting

Open Contracting

One in every three dollars spent by governments is on contracts. People should know how well this money is being spent, which can be achieved through open contracting. Opening up the public procurement process can improve government efficiency and effectiveness, which includes combating corruption. However, governments publish open data on approximately less than three percent of the billions spent on public contracts. When paired with greater public scrutiny and accountability, open contracting principles and data practices can save money, improve public service delivery, and increase competition.

Key Terms The Evidence Reform
Guidance Active OGP
Partners Benchmarking
Data Guidance
& Standards

Open Gov Challenge: Anti-Corruption

With OGP’s 2023-2028 Strategy, OGP members are set to work toward a number of aspirational thematic reforms through the Open Gov Challenge. This section of the Open Gov Guide addresses Anti-Corruption,

Challenge prompt: Develop or strengthen a whole-of-government anti- corruption strategy or roadmap.

Where strategies or roadmaps exist, improve policy, implementation and interoperability (including through OGP) across the areas below:

Beneficial ownership
Open contracting
Political finance and asset and interest disclosure
Lobbying
Extractive industry transparency

Key Terms

Definitions for key terms such as open contracting, procurement tenders, and public procurement.

Open contracting: Open contracting is an approach to reform public procurement policies and processes (from planning to implementing public contracts) to increase transparency, participation, and inclusivity by using open, timely, and accessible data for decision-making, monitoring, and oversight.
Procurement tenders: This term refers to the solicitation of bids by the central procurement authority or a specific agency.
Public procurement: Public procurement is the purchase of goods, works, and services by or on behalf of the government.

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The Evidence

The evidence shows that publishing open data on each stage of the procurement process (planning, implementation, and monitoring) can enable the government and the public to identify and address inefficiencies and abuse.

Online procurement portals are associated with improvements to efficiency, which allows governments to save money. For example, Ukraine saved about US $6 billion through its ProZorro platform between October 2017 and 2021.
Open contracting increases competition among suppliers, which tends to benefit small businesses and businesses owned by marginalized groups, and can lead to lower contract costs for governments.
Public monitoring of contracts improves public service delivery and combats corruption. Even the potential threat of external monitoring by civil society can be an effective deterrent.

Reform Guidance

The recommendations below represent reforms that national and local governments, representatives of civil society organizations, and others can consider for their action plans and the Open Gov Challenge. The reforms are categorized according to OGP’s principal values: transparency, civic participation, and public accountability. Reforms should be adapted to fit the domestic context, and involve and coordinate with other levels and branches of government.

Reforms across policy areas are also tagged by the estimated degree of difficulty in implementation. Though progress is often not linear, the recommendations have been categorized using these labels to give the reader a sense of how different reforms can work together to raise the ambition of open government approaches.

Recommended Reforms Key

OGP Values

Transparency: Transparency empowers citizens to exercise their rights, hold the government accountable, and participate in decision-making processes. Examples of relevant activities include the proactive or reactive publication of government-held information, legal or institutional frameworks to strengthen the right to access information, and disclosing information using open data standards.

Civic Participation: When people are engaged, governments and public institutions are more responsive, innovative, and effective. Examples of relevant initiatives include new or improved processes and mechanisms for the public to contribute to decisions, participatory mechanisms to involve underrepresented groups in policy making, and a legal environment that guarantees civil and political rights.
Public Accountability: Public accountability occurs when public institutions must justify their actions, act upon requirements and criticisms, and take responsibility for failure to perform according to laws or commitments. Importantly, public accountability means that members of the public can also access and trigger accountability mechanisms. Examples of relevant activities include citizen audits of performance, new or improved mechanisms or institutions that respond to citizen-initiated appeals processes, and improved access to justice.
Inclusion: Inclusion is fundamental to achieving more equitable, representative, and accountable policies that truly serve all people. This includes increasing the voice, agency, and influence of historically discriminated or underrepresented groups. Depending on the context, traditionally underrepresented groups may experience discrimination based on gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity, age, geography, differing ability, legal, or socioeconomic status.

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Degree of Difficulty

Foundational: This tag is used for reforms that are the essential building blocks of a policy area. “Foundational” does not mean low ambition or low impact. These recommendations often establish basic legal frameworks and institutional structures.
Intermediate: This tag is used for reforms that are complex and often involve coordination and outreach between branches, institutions, and levels of government, with the public or between countries.
Advanced: This tag is used for reforms that close important loopholes to make existing work more effective and impactful. Specifically, “Advanced” reforms are particularly ambitious, innovative or close important loopholes to make existing work more effective, impactful or sustainable. They are often applied in mature environments where they seek to institutionalize a good practice that has already shown results.

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Branch of Government

Executive: The executive branch of government is responsible for designing, implementing, and enforcing laws, policies, and initiatives. It is typically led by the head of state or government, such as a president or prime minister, along with their appointed cabinet members. The executive branch’s functions also include overseeing the day-to-day operations of the government, managing foreign affairs, and directing the country’s armed forces. In democratic systems, the executive branch is accountable to the legislature and the electorate, with its powers and limitations outlined in the constitution or legal framework of the respective country.
Legislative: The legislative branch of government is responsible for making laws and regulations and overseeing the functioning of the government. It typically consists of a body of elected representatives, such as a parliament, congress, or assembly, which is tasked with proposing, debating, amending, and ultimately passing legislation. The legislative branch plays a crucial role in representing the interests of the people, as its members are elected to office by the public. In addition to law-making, this branch often holds the power to levy taxes, allocate funds, and conduct certain investigations into matters of public concern. The structure and powers of the legislative branch are usually outlined in a country’s constitution or legal framework, and it serves as a check on the executive and judicial branches to ensure a system of checks and balances within a state.

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Recommended Reforms

Policy Area	Recommendation	OGP Value	Degree of Difficulty	Government Branch
Foundations	Create a legal framework Establish or strengthen the legal environment for open procurement with an emphasis on transparency and accountability, preferably in one central piece of legislation or regulation for clarity and consistent application that responds to any confidentiality concerns. Establish or strengthen the mandate for a central standard-setting and regulations body. Establish clear authority and responsibilities for open contracting within major agencies. Policy Area Foundations OGP Value Public Accountability Transparency Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Transparency	Foundational	Legislative
Transparency	Open public procurement data Publish procurement information online, free of charge, and in a machine-readable format. Adhere to the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) so that data can be analyzed and monitored by a wide range of users and compared across time and jurisdiction. Ensure data is updated regularly and openly licensed. Mandate the publication of all stages of the procurement process, including: the contract details and amendments (such as the value of the contract, start and end dates, and a description of the goods or services procured) and data on the actual implementation of the contract (such as the actual services rendered for the money spent). Links to contract documentation should also be provided. Require company beneficial ownership information from companies that bid for all public contracts. This practice is recommended by the Financial Action Task Force and is especially important to uphold during emergencies. Use a common identifier, like an Open Contracting ID prefix, to link the various stages of a single contract. Policy Area Transparency OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Executive Legislative	Transparency	Foundational	Executive Legislative
Transparency	Collect and publish disaggregated data on underrepresented groups Collect and share data on procurement bids by small and medium enterprises, as well as by women and minority-owned businesses. This is necessary to set the baseline for inclusion policies to address under-representation in procurement—for example, Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) estimates that women-owned businesses hold just one percent of public procurement portfolios. Policy Area Transparency OGP Value Transparency Civic Participation Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Advanced Government Branch Executive	Transparency Civic Participation Inclusion	Advanced	Executive
Transparency	Make data user-friendly Create tools and visualizations to make data more accessible and user-friendly. Policy Area Transparency OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Executive	Transparency	Intermediate	Executive
Transparency	Make data interoperable Make data interoperable with other databases. Combining procurement data with beneficial ownership (such as company beneficial ownership), political finance, asset and interest disclosures, and government spending data is particularly important to deliver stronger policy impact. Use common identifiers to link public procurement data with beneficial ownership data (particularly for legal and actual persons) or corporate registry data. Require validation of common identifiers at the data entry stage. Policy Area Transparency OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Advanced Government Branch Executive	Transparency	Advanced	Executive
Civic Participation	Consult the public on legal framework Prioritize public consultation when creating or amending open contracting legislation and regulations. Policy Area Civic Participation OGP Value Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Civic Participation	Foundational	Legislative
Civic Participation	Consult the public on the usefulness of data and tools Consult the public (including the private sector, civil society, and journalists) on data quality, new tools, and processes to understand user needs and ensure inclusive processes. Policy Area Civic Participation OGP Value Civic Participation Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Executive Legislative	Civic Participation Inclusion	Intermediate	Executive Legislative
Civic Participation	Consult civil society and the private sector on improving inclusion in procurement Identify targeted policies to better connect women and minority-owned businesses to the procurement market in consultation with women’s business groups and relevant civil society organizations. Policy Area Civic Participation OGP Value Civic Participation Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Executive Legislative	Civic Participation Inclusion	Intermediate	Executive Legislative
Civic Participation	Raise awareness of procurement opportunities Share information on submitting bids and navigating the procurement process directly with women’s business groups and civil society organizations to encourage greater participation of marginalized groups. For example, in Palmira (Colombia), the municipal government worked directly with suppliers to increase the number of bids won by local businesses, including women-owned businesses. Policy Area Civic Participation OGP Value Civic Participation Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Executive	Civic Participation Inclusion	Foundational	Executive
Civic Participation	Train diverse actors on open contracting data Encourage public monitoring of public procurement by providing training that will enable a wide range of users (such as businesses, state auditing institutions, civil society, and journalists) to engage with open contracting data. This engagement includes helping identify red flags and integrity risks across the procurement cycle. For example, the public procurement agency in Indonesia and its CSO partner collaborated to train government auditors, other CSOs, and members of the public. Policy Area Civic Participation OGP Value Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Executive	Civic Participation	Intermediate	Executive
Public Accountability	Provide the mandate for an oversight authority Mandate an authority such as a supreme audit institution, an ombudsperson, or an independent inspectorate to oversee contracting data within or outside the central contracting agency. Part of the authority’s mandate should be to communicate regularly with the public and executive oversight bodies in the legislature. Policy Area Public Accountability OGP Value Public Accountability Transparency Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Transparency Civic Participation	Foundational	Legislative
Public Accountability	Create a feedback and complaints mechanism Create a feedback and complaints mechanism to address issues during the procurement process, which can be accessed by suppliers, civil society, and other stakeholders to flag potential cases of corruption or fraud, especially during the implementation phase. Empower the oversight body to acknowledge and act upon complaints and feedback, and to require regular reporting on how well the procurement platform is meeting objectives. Policy Area Public Accountability OGP Value Public Accountability Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Civic Participation	Intermediate	Legislative
Public Accountability	Conduct public auditing Expedite and publish audits of all public expenditures, including spending on emergency procurement. Policy Area Public Accountability OGP Value Public Accountability Transparency Degree of Difficulty Advanced Government Branch Executive	Public Accountability Transparency	Advanced	Executive

Examples of Reforms from OGP and Beyond

The following examples are commitments previously made within or beyond OGP that demonstrate elements of the recommendations made above. Open contracting commitments tend to be more ambitious and achieve stronger early results than the average OGP commitment.

OGP Reforms

COLOMBIA Greater Competition through a Procurement Platform: Improved competition through its procurement platform, as seen in an increase in the median number of bids per contract and an increase in unique suppliers.
ECUADOR COVID-19 Emergency Procurement Platform: Made the procurement process faster and more efficient for medical supplies during the pandemic, ultimately leading to better value for government money.
FINLAND Open Contracting Data Platform: Made available all non-sensitive government procurement data for the first time to the public on an award-winning platform.
INDONESIA Expanding Access to Open Contracting Data: Made several commitments as an OGP member to open up public procurement data, especially by collaborating with Indonesia Corruption Watch to create an online risk-monitoring tool and train journalists, auditors, and others to use the platform to detect suspicious activity.
KENYA Open Contracting Data Standard Commitment: Committed to adopting OCP’s OCDS as part of a series of ambitious commitments related to open contracting.
NEW ZEALAND Training Materials to Interpret Procurement Data: Offers documentation to help users navigate and interpret the data gathered throughout the procurement process.
PALMIRA, COLOMBIA Inclusive Public Procurement Process: Implemented policy reforms to increase the diversity of businesses bidding for contracts, which led to contracts being awarded to local producers for the first time, including women-led businesses. Part of a larger initiative to open contracting in Palmira and Colombia generally (see above).
SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL Training on Public Procurement Risk Management: Published a Procurement Transparency Protocol and trained public officials in procurement risk management. Also in the process of developing a new public procurement portal.
SIERRA LEONE Open Contracting Data Platform: Made information on contract awards and cancellations available publicly online for the first time.
UKRAINE Interoperable Procurement Database: Published public procurement data online (ProZorro), linked to beneficial ownership and the State Treasury databases. Also allows public feedback and investigation requests. (Due to martial law following the Russian invasion, the beneficial ownership database is closed.)

Beyond OGP Action Plans

ALBANIA E-Complaints System: Introduced legislation and created an electronic system to enable suppliers to submit complaints online and for the procurement agency to manage the process digitally and openly.
LITHUANIA Emergency Procurement Open Data Portal: Created an open data portal for emergency public procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed the government, journalists, and civil society to uncover suspicious contracts. Also committed to building a new e-procurement system to standardize data collected under the OCDS.
NIGERIA Civic Monitors Trained to Use Open Contracting Data: Trained civic monitors (such as journalists and CSOs) with the support of the OCP on how to use open contract data to monitor 60 public procurement projects worth US $120 million at the sub-national level, across three states.
NUEVO LEON, MEXICO Local Procurement Open Data Portal: Collaborated with civil society and the federal government to create a digital, open data public procurement platform, which has seen a high average number of bids per contract and an increase in new suppliers since its launch in 2020.

The Role of Local Governments

Subnational governments have a clear role to play in ensuring the collection and publication of high-quality, usable data (such as machine-readability, among other characteristics described in the OCDS). The evidence shows that open contracting can drive competition, increase value for money, and improve local services.

Creating a system to then review the data for red flags is critical to identify fraud, mismanagement, or discrimination in the procurement process. For example, in Ukraine, Mariupol’s centralized system for municipal procurement has made it easier for the Tenders Office to monitor key indicators related to these issues. OCP found that this centralized system, in addition to a process to investigate and refer violations to the prosecutor’s office, has played an important role in strengthening the city’s management of public procurement. For details, see OCP’s 2021 guide and impact stories on how cities have become champions of public procurement.

Who is working on this topic?

A

Albania

Argentina

Armenia

Austin, United States

Australia

B

Bosnia And Herzegovina

Bulgaria

C

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Croatia

D

Dominican Republic

E

Ecuador

Elgeyo Marakwet, Kenya

F

Finland

France

G

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

H

Honduras

I

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Italy

J

Jalisco, Mexico

Jordan

K

Kaduna State, Nigeria

Kenya

Kyrgyz Republic

L

Latvia

Liberia

Lithuania

M

Makueni, Kenya

Malawi

Mexico

Mongolia

N

Nandi, Kenya

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nigeria

North Macedonia

P

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Paris, France

Peru

Philippines

Plateau, Nigeria

Portugal

R

Republic Of Moldova

Romania

Rosario, Argentina

S

San Pedro Garza García, Mexico

Santa Catarina, Brazil

São Paulo, Brazil

Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana

Serbia

Sierra Leone

Slovak Republic

South Cotabato, Philippines

Spain

T

Tarkwa Nsuaem, Ghana

Tunisia

U

Ukraine

United Kingdom

United States

Uruguay

This list reflects members with commitments in the “Open Contracting” policy area of the Data Dashboard.

Active OGP Partners

The following organizations have recently worked on this issue in the context of OGP at the national or international level. They may have additional insights on the topic. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are interested in national-level initiatives, please contact research@opengovpartnership.org.

Benchmarking Data

The OGP 2023-2028 Strategy sets out the Open Gov Challenge and aims to provide clear benchmarks for performance through reliable data.

While benchmarks for individual countries and Open Gov Guide recommendations are not yet integrated, for this chapter, interested individuals may rely on the following data sets:

In collaboration with the OGP Support Unit, the Open Contracting Partnership, and Transparency International, the Data for Development Network’s Global Data Barometer collects information on whether public procurement data is available in open formats. Visualizations of this data are available on the OGP website.
OGP commitments on this topic can be found on the Data Dashboard.

Guidance & Standards

While the list below is not exhaustive, it aims to provide a range of recommendations, standards, and analysis to guide reform in this policy area.

The 2022 OGP Support Unit report Broken Links: Open Data to Advance Accountability and Combat Corruption includes a chapter on public procurement reform and the need for interoperability with other key political data. Similarly, the Global Report has a chapter with recommendations and case studies.
Open Contracting Partnership created the OCDS, which is an international standard for publishing open contracting data. It is a common data model that enables disclosure of data and documents throughout all stages of the contracting process. The OCDS has been implemented by over 50 governments and endorsed by major international groups such as the G20, the G7 and the OECD. OCP also has several resources to provide guidance on how to implement open contracting reforms—their Global Principles outlining the types of effective data disclosures, a “quick start” guide on practical strategies for reform, and a legislative guide on how different countries have implemented legal reforms for this topic.
- The CoST—Infrastructure Transparency Initiative collaborated with OCP to create the Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard, which establishes the best practices in open data and data disclosure in infrastructure-related public procurement.
- For sector-specific resources that can form the basis of training materials, see OCP’s resources on extractive industries, the healthcare system, infrastructure, and sustainability.
- OCP also provides several useful resources related to making public procurement more inclusive and equitable.

Open and Sustainable Public Procurement, a toolkit created by OCP, Spend Network, and PUBLIC provides planning, implementation, and evaluation standards on how to create procurement practices that take into account economic, social, and environmental factors.
Transparency International created a guide to curb corruption in public procurement (especially healthcare procurement), as well as recommendations on how to include open contracting in OGP action plans, including through gender-sensitive anti-corruption strategies.
The OECD published a toolbox for public procurement, which includes checklists (such as for post-award reporting), country cases, and good practices identified by the organization and its partners. Its Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems also has guidance for countries to evaluate public procurement systems.
The G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group published a set of principles to promote integrity in public procurement in G20 countries, with a focus on legal reforms and process improvements to prevent corruption.
The Open Data Charter, with OpenData, Africa Open Data Network, Global Integrity, and Iniciativa Latinoamericana de Datos Abiertos collaborated on a tool to create anti-corruption commitments for OGP action plans, which includes recommendations for public procurement.

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