Good public procurement systems are central to the effectiveness of development expenditure. A transparent and effective public procurement system is important to combat bribery and corruption.  Clear rules and practices need to be established and communicated to all stakeholders. These rules then need to be enforced. A brief introduction in the modules provides discusses the concept & definitions of procurement.

In many countries mismanagement of funds is rampant in public procurement processes. Bribery in public procurement may be hard to detect due to the size, number and complexity of transactions. The impact of corruption on procurement is varied and to curtail manifestations of corruption in procurement effective and transparent system, special tools and mechanisms need to be established to fight corrupt behaviour in public procurement.
 
Procurement is a core function of public financial management and service delivery. The potential efficiency gains from better procurement can make a significant additional contribution to financing achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Procurement mainstreaming, capacity development and benchmarking / monitoring / evaluation are the key themes that reflect an awareness that sustainable improvements in procurement outcomes are derived from efforts that appreciate the role of procurement in the broader context of public financial management and delivery of government services, and are designed to develop the skills and processes needed to respond to a country’s specific needs. Hence application of good principles of public procurement to all decision making on public investments and purchases will minimize corruption.

It is now widely recognised that civil society can have a crucial role in contributing to the transparency and integrity of public procurement processes. There are a number of roles Civil Society can play in bringing transparency to procurement processes. Civil Society can play a key role in monitoring procurement processes, in being a source of expertise and an independent voice to raise issues and difficult questions, to manage conflict and balance powers and bring together groups of people. Some of the good practices in public procurement monitoring include Policy Response, Sound Legal and Institutional Framework, Control systems, Complaints and appeal mechanisms, Warning systems and effective sanctioning systems, e-Procurement and Professionalism & Training.

There are a number of tools and methods that are widely used for monitoring public procurement.  Some of the tools discussed in the module include:

1. Integrity Pact and integrity clause: Contains a set of obligations and rights that refrain governments and bidders from practicing any corrupt practices
2. Public Hearing: Analyzing the procurement procedures and quality of materials procured and disclosed for public scrutiny
3. External Monitoring: Monitoring of procurement by civil society organisations that are external to the process, and
4. Price Comparisons: Collection and publication of price information

The link between public procurement and corruption has already been extensively researched by international, regional and non-governmental organisations. The OECD publication Enhancing Integrety in Public Procurement (2008) and Transparency International’s publication “Handbook for Curbing Corruption in Public Procurement”, primarily on which this module was developed, gives great insight to readers on public procurement.  

Campos J. Edgardo and Sanjay Pradhan, The Many Faces of Corruption: Tracking Vulnerabilities at the Sector Level, a World Bank publication provides sector wise examples and case studies on public procurement monitoring.