This guide by Transparency International provides government officials, businesses and civil society with a practical introduction to the risks of corruption in public procurement. It outlines key principles and minimum standards which, when respected, can protect public contracting from corruption.

This article sets out the experience of Transparency International (TI) in fighting corruption worldwide in the water sector. It focuses on identifying the sources of corruption in the sector and the available toolkits (best practice) for combating it.

Case studies from Cambodia, Japan, Colombia and Pakistan are used to illustrate some of the major points.

A presentation on Integrity Pacts by Transparency International – Czech Republic.

This note examines the Integrity Pact (IP) methodology proposed by Transparency International to confront the problem of corruption in public procurement.

This 2016 OECD study covers:

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: A HIGH-RISK AREA FOR CORRUPTION  

• Public procurement: A EUR 4.2 trillion business
• Corruption, the bane of public procurement
• The high cost of corruption in public procurement
• A myriad of integrity risks along the public procurement cycle    

HOW TO ENHANCE INTEGRITY AND CURB CORRUPTION IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT        

A PhD thesis by Mike Balthazar Beke looking at understanding the effect of the Integrity Pact as an anticorruption collective action tool for public procurement through the EU funds and the role of civil society organisations, businesses and contracting authorities in preventing corruption through collective action. 

Notes for rapporteurs from a workshop on Thursday 16 November 2006 at the 12th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC).

Public procurement is one of the highest risk areas for corruption. A public project contaminated with corruption is a recipe for disaster: ordinary citizens suffer from substandard facilities and services; competitive companies lose out when the bidding is rigged; and government money vanishes without making a difference. To rein in procurement corruption in, improving transparency and civic monitoring is vital.

Corruption in government procurement is a massive problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. In an ideal world, measures to combat procurement corruption would include structural changes that would open up monopolies, break cartels, and enact rational, uniform, and effective procurement laws. Sadly, the potential effectiveness of these measures is matched only by the near impossibility of their implementation any time soon. We should continue to push for comprehensive structural solutions to the procurement mess, of course.

Quality infrastructure supports sustainable growth, improves well-being and generates jobs. Recognising this, quality infrastructure is both an explicit goal and enabler of the 2030 sustainable development agenda.