13 th Procurement Integrity Management and Openness Forum May 23-25, 2017 Kyiv, Ukraine Perspective on Curbing Corruption Caroline Nicholas Secretariat May 2017
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Enduring problems in public procurement [G]overnments have in the past with few exceptions notoriously failed as purchasers. [...] Dealers complain of red tape which hampers them in bidding, in delivering goods and in securing the payment of bills. Government executives themselves complain of delays between the issue of purchase acquisitions and the availability of goods for use. Citizens generally are prone to assert that graft and political favouritism taint a large part of government purchasing.
What is corruption? Perspective on Curbing Corruption The abuse of public or private office for personal gain
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Impact of corruption Corruption is one of the most toxic impediments to efficient and effective investment. - Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General, 2015 OECD Integrity Forum
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Some numbers and context WBI estimate: systemic corruption means 20-30% of public procurement wasted OECD estimate: public procurement averages 13.8% GDP EU estimate: EUR 120 bn p.a. (20-25%) losses Bandiera, Prat, and Valletti (CONSIP): Government spending in Italy - inefficiency vs. corruption Passive waste 80% Active waste 20% In OECD countries: 1% saving in public spending = 43 billion EUR per year
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Corruption prevention strategies Sound legal framework (UNCAC article 9) appropriate systems of procurement, based on transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision-making, that are effective, inter alia, in preventing corruption More detailed rules are needed to implement the UNCAC principles Model Law is fully UNCACcompliant ERBD- Initiative, among others, to advise national governments
Perspective on Curbing Corruption A sound legal framework
http://uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/procurement_infrastructure. html
Perspective on Curbing Corruption safeguards Publicity of legal texts Publicity of all the rules of the game in advance Rules on communications Award criteria and procedures Competitive, objective processes Exhaustive record keeping Notification of award Standstill notice Publicity of award Notification and publicity of all other decisions
Legal red flags Perspective on Curbing Corruption 1. Insufficient transparency Subjective criteria ( reputation ) Failure to require full disclosure of award criteria Sub-criteria and weightings Exceptions to notice requirements ( urgency, clarifications ) Many exceptions 2. Excessive transparency and collusion /bid rigging? Pre-bid conferences Results of pre-qualification Details of evaluation Two-stage tendering Framework agreements
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Exhaustive record requirements - Legal requirement for a procurement record All major decisions to be explained Procurement method Qualification, evaluation criteria Socio-economic criteria These tools allow non-compliance and corruption to be visible and investigated
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Limitations of legal framework Covered: Selection process, but Thresholds Exempted sectors (defence) Often not covered Planning, contract management, oversight Sometimes not covered Compliance programmes for suppliers (integrity pacts etc) Sanctions and debarment Interaction with other areas: e.g. culture, workload, professionalization, training, performance appraisals, incentives for identification of corruption/collusion, etc
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Using the procurement record effectively (1) Including planning and contract management Who can see the information? Confidentiality and timing concerns Facilitating challenges and oversight Impact on. Collective action Include private companies, academia Civil society Whistleblowing Excessive transparency?
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Ongoing reluctance in some countries to publish procurement contracts
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Using the procurement record effectively (2) Data How to make data accessible? Example: Open Contracting Data Standard Structured, standardized, open data & documents Searchable (cf pdfs ) Can identify questionable practices All 3 phases of procurement cycle Can identify patterns across procurements
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Examples AND Paraguay, Mexico City, Nigeria, the UK, Colombia, Mexico, Taiwan and Moldova
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Publish early, and iterate: improving disclosure step-by-step Simple and extensible JSON structure Publish data for each step of the contracting process Create summary records for an overall contracting process Re-useable objects: organisations, tender information, lineitems, amounts, milestones, documents etc. Recommended data and documents at basic, intermediate & advanced levels Common open data publication patterns Guidance on improving data collection and data quality A growing community of users and range of open source tools
Perspective on Curbing Corruption Many research and practical tools available ACRN - Anti-Corruption Research Network http://corruptionresearch network.org
Corruption in Public Procurement For more information Website: http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/uncitral_te xts/procurement_infrastructure.html Contact: caroline.nicholas@uncitral.org THANK YOU