Open Contracting (UK0053)

‘Open contracting’ refers to practices for increased disclosure and citizen participation in public contracting. It covers the entire process, including formation, award, execution, performance
and completion of public contracts. Domestically, our vision is to provide accountability to the taxpayer for how government funds are spent, to drive better value for money and increased competition, and to improve the quality of the services and products government buys. We will achieve this by delivering greater transparency of the procurement and contracting process.
The UK is sharing its expertise in open contracting through an international group of organisations led by the World Bank. The Open Contracting Partnership introduced a set of Open Contracting Global Principles to a public audience for consultation on its blog and website in August 2013. This was after developing them over a period of 18 months with over 200 representatives from governments, the private sector and civil society. The UK broadly welcomes these principles and will look to assist developing nations to improve the transparency of their government contracting. The Open Contracting Partnership is also working to develop a set of open data standards that should also deliver greater harmonisation of the data that is published.
Timescales: Over the next 12 to 24 months the UK government will:
- endorse, implement and champion internationally the Open Contracting Principles at the end of October 2013 and continue to assist in the development of a set of open contracting data standards
- subject to technical capability, enhance the scope, breadth and usability of published contractual data on the Contracts Finder system to include:
o providing greater transparency of contracts awarded overseas, beginning October 2013
o delivering a new procurement pipeline in November 2013
o investigating the feasibility of providing greater transparency of design competitions run by the Technology Strategy Board
o engaging with prime contractors to encourage them to provide improved visibility of
supply chain opportunities, and explore a means of standardising the publication of
sub-contractor details through Contracts Finder to make this data more accessible
o investigating the use of open corporate identifiers to allow the data to be more easily
compared and linked to other data held about contracting authorities and suppliers;
o working with a user group to look at ways of improving site usability to make it easier
to publish data and to find opportunities and other data of interest
- look to introduce standard transparency clauses into central government contracts in
consultation with civil society organisations and the business community
- build on the findings from a pilot programme by launching the new Solutions Exchange
website during Winter 2013 for small and medium-sized enterprises to pitch innovative
solutions to government outside of the formal procurement process, and for government to conduct informal pre-market engagement by providing greater transparency of the
challenges and themes to which solutions are needed
- take steps to ensure transparency about outsourced services is provided in response to freedom of information requests, by encouraging the use and enforcement of contractual
provisions to maintain the levels of transparency provided by the Freedom of Information Act 2000; revised guidance will be provided in 2014
- publish contracts using the local language where contracts are drawn up with overseas
suppliers; we will consider what further steps can be taken to provide greater transparency of contracts to affected communities where additional language barriers occur