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CGH13_ebook

Op e n c o n t r a c t i n g : A c c o u n t a b i l i t y t h r o u g h e n h a n c e d d i s c l o s u r e a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n participation and disclosure in public contracting in several ways. Transparent frameworks for public contracting have been perceived by companies as levelling the playing field and there is some evidence to suggest that they have resulted in more participation by small and medium sized enterprises in public contracting.19 Companies are also able to better tailor bids when they can access previous contracts and bid evaluations for similar goods, works and services.20 Some companies are even utilising open contracting data to create alert and market analytic services for firms wishing to create contracts with governments. How can open contracting complement global open government and transparency initiatives? The increasing recognition of the right to information and the importance of social accountability, combined with the availability of low cost technological innovations, has contributed to a broad open government and open data movement aimed at making all government-held information accessible to the public. As part of this movement, open contracting complements and reinforces existing open government and sector specific efforts by building upon established standards for access to information21 and participatory decision making.22 The growing support for open contracting There is growing uptake and enthusiasm for open contracting. During the last G8 summit in June 2013, the G8 leaders directly highlighted the importance of disclosing contract information to enhance accountability.23 Open contracting is also gaining momentum with multilateral agencies. For example, World Bank Managing Director Caroline Anstey recently announced the World Bank’s commitment to open contracting.24 In addition, the draft 2013 (OGP) action plan of the UK states that ‘the UK Government should endorse and implement a system of “open contracting”, which would ensure public disclosure and monitoring of contracting, from procurement to the close of projects’. The Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) has also been launched to promote increased disclosure and participation in public contracting in order to achieve better value for money, enhanced contract performance and superior development outcomes. The OCP is working at the global level to promote principles and standards of open contracting and is providing support to practitioners at the country level.25 The OCP has recently prepared a set of Open Contracting Global Principles and an illustrative chapter on public contracting for the Transparency and Accountability Initiativesponsored Guide to Opening Government. The OCP is also Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 79 Partnerships Many transparency initiatives exist to make governments more open and accountable, for example: • The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative that secures commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and strengthen governance • The Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) is a multi-stakeholder network working to advance and institutionalise global norm improvements on fiscal transparency, participation and accountability • The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative in which member countries disclose certain information regarding licenses in the extractive industries, most particularly payments made to governments. The EITI standard recommends disclosure of contracts and beneficial ownership of companies • The Construction Sector Transparency initiative (CoST) is a multi-stakeholder initiative dedicated to the improved monitoring of construction projects. CoST is a member of the OCP steering group • The Natural Resource Charter is a global initiative working to assist governments with governance of natural resources. Precepts 2, 3, 4 and 12 outline the importance of: transparency in decision making and contracting; open and fair competition in the process of awarding contracts; disclosure prior to award as well as post award; an informed public; and disclosed beneficial ownership of license • The International Budget Partnership (IBP) is a global research and advocacy programme for the promotion of public access to budget information and the adoption of accountable budget systems • The Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) consists of representatives of the government, private sector and civil society working in each of the seven MeTA countries to improve the medicine supply chain, from manufacturer to patient However, these entities do not, either individually or collectively, cover the full disclosure of contracting information or citizen participation in public contracting. Therefore, open contracting can be integrated into these other initiatives. For example, governments could commit to further open contracting in the context of their OGP action plans, which allow governments to make open contracting commitments and non-governmental actors to advocate for and monitor the implementation of those commitments.


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