Open Contracting: Moving from Transparency to Transformation

It’s rough out there for open government advocates these days. We have democratic decline. We have inflation and economic instability. We have inequality and the continuing impacts of the pandemic. We are all worried about climate change. And we are all appalled by the brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine. This state of “permacrisis” drains public trust and puts many of us on the defensive to protect the open government progress that we’ve made.

But it is exactly times like these when transformative ideas can meet the moment. We know the progress of the open contractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... movement can show a way forward for the broader open government movement to do exactly that, and we’re excited to share that energyEnsuring universal access to sustainable, dependable, and affordable energy is critical to every aspect of prosperity. Increasing public oversight and transparency in the energy sector can help to ens... and inspiration with our global community in Tallinn. 

Here are some of the big observations we’ve made that can help propel the open government and the open contracting movement forward:

1) Be bold about our intentions. We are not just after a few tweaks around the margins of how governments interact with people. We’re after a fundamental transformation in the relationship between governments and the governed that is based on trust, participation, openness, and impact. 

2) Recognize that not all transformations are automatically positive. It takes intentional, deliberate steering towards better outcomes, not just more openness, digitization, or data on its own. 

If we want positive, sustainable democratic transformation, we need to move from ‘open’ to ‘better’. And we need to be clear about what ‘better’ means. At the Open Contracting Partnership, better means accountable, sustainable, and equitable for people, planet, and prosperity.

Procurement isn’t just an engine for transparent and accountable public spending, but better public spending aligned to citizens’ needs and the values of open societies. 

3) Show real world results to sustain buy-in. We work on procurement because it’s one of the main ways people experience their government’s ability to deliver every day, from the schools their children attend to the roads they drive on to the healthcare services they rely on. The value of public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... globally is more than US $13 trillion in public spending annually. How we use that enormous economic power sends a message about what we value as open societies and how serious governments are about delivering on the promises they make.

If we transform the way governments buy things in a more accountable, sustainable, and equitable way, we can respond to the impacts of the permacrisis more adeptly. It’s an unmissable opportunity to strengthen public trust at a time when those opportunities can feel thin on the ground.

We are seeing the green shoots of this collaborative effort. Lithuania has committed to opening up procurement data that includes sustainability indicators. Palmira, Colombia has increased its engagement with small businesses, particularly women-owned businesses. The Dominican Republic is creating a fast and transparent system to simplify buying goods below threshold, while increasing accountability. And finally, Ukraine’s open government reforms continue to inspire us, addressing critical challenges based on participation, transparency and efficiency – even during a war. The DREAM platform will include direct community participation in developing reconstruction projects and monitoring for red flags and create a level playing field for business opportunities. 

Our international institutions and forums, such as the Open Government Partnership (OGP), are critical engines for this transformation. Imagine if every OGP member committed to advancing open contracting even further and leveraged the technical assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country programs on procurement of the World Bank and regional MDBs, and the governance criteria of the International Monetary Fund integrating open contracting into the full suite of stronger public financial management? Suddenly, our largest global institutional actors are all pulling in one direction and innovating and iterating together for more effective public spending, maximizing the power of one in every three dollars spent by governments worldwide.

This December will be the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention Against Corruption. Corruption is one of the biggest systemic threats driving the state of permacrisis, so it’s more important than ever that global actors work together to make the most of this opportunity to push comprehensive open government reforms that combat it. We welcome the Government of France’s announcement to table a dedicated procurement resolution at the Conference of State Parties in Atlanta, United States, to consolidate and advance good practices globally, and bring their experience through open contracting and their OGP reforms to this important global stage. 

We invite you to join the discussions on open contracting and our workshop at the OGP Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, on Thursday, September 7. Let’s collaborate on making the most of this opportunity and be part of the open contracting engine that’s driving impact and showing what’s possible when we use open as the gateway to better for people, planet and prosperity.