Transparency, accountability, and integrity of public procurement systems

This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from one of Transparency International’s national chapters. The Anti-Corruption Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International and funded by the European Union.

Query

Public procurement is a critical function of government, involving the acquisition of goods, services, and works needed to support public administration and the delivery of public services. At the same time, public procurement is subject to high corruption risks with about 10-25% of this spending estimated to be lost to corruption (UNODC, 2013a). Risk factors include the large amounts of funds at stake, complexity of processes, multitude of stakeholders involved, and space for discretionary decisions (OECD, 2016). As such, corruption has a significant impact on the quality, cost, and timeframe of public procurement. At the same time, it is difficult to tackle because of the inherent complexity of public procurement, the hidden nature of corruption, and the difficulty of challenging corrupt practices where perpetrators may belong to political or economic elites and procurement corruption has become an institutionalised and systematic technique of personal enrichment.

Measures to enhance integrity in public procurement reforms can thus improve the both the governance and transparency of the process, as well as strengthen outcomes in terms of value-for-money and the productivity of government investment. This Helpdesk Answer describes legislative and policy reforms promoting transparency, integrity, and accountability in public procurement systems. The paper first presents the foundations and different elements of public procurement systems and how these relate to anti-corruption efforts. Second, it presents a series of legislative and policy practices to strengthen transparency, integrity, and accountability of public procurement systems.

Contents

1. Public procurement systems and anti-corruption
   1. Public procurement as a strategic government functions
   2. Anti-corruption principles in international texts and agreements
   3. Core pillars of public procurement systems
   4. The political economy of public procurement reforms
2. Good legislative and policy practices to strengthen integrity in public procurement
   1. Access to information through ICTs
   2. Oversight mechanisms
   3. Governance of procurement systems
   4. Professionalisation of procurement officials and organisational policies
3. References

Authors

Isabelle Adam, [email protected]

Reviewers

Matthew Jenkins, Antonio Greco and Aram Khaghaghordyan

Date

03/04/2024

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