Anti-corruption across the public procurement cycle

Query

Accounting for roughly one third of government spending on average (OECD, 2015), public procurement represents a strategic government function, involving the buying of public goods, works and services. At the same time, with significant funds involved, complex procedures, numerous stakeholders, and room for discretionary decisions, public procurement is susceptible to high levels of corruption, affecting the value for money of public spending (UNODC, 2013).

Public procurement reforms are crucial to strengthen anti-corruption safeguards throughout the entire procurement cycle. These reforms play a key role in ensuring good governance and transparency in government operations. In the past decade, many countries and international bodies have sought to reform public procurement towards more openness and integrity. Learning from these examples, this Helpdesk Answer presents a selection of good practices for corruption prevention across the three main phases of the public procurement cycle: preparation, purchasing and performance.

Contents

1. Background
   1. Public procurement within the wider PFM cycle
   2. Overview of the public procurement cycle
   3. Cross-cutting anti-corruption approaches
2. Good governance and anti-corruption measures across the public procurement cycle
   1. Anti-corruption measures in the preparation phase
   2. Anti-corruption measures in the purchasing phase
   3. Anti-corruption measures in the performance phase
3. References

Authors

Isabelle Adam, [email protected]

Reviewers

Matthew Jenkins, Antonio Greco and Aram Khaghaghordyan

Date

03/04/2024

Tags