This post is written by Sophie Abache, Digital Strategist and Content Manager at Open Contracting Partnership.
The problem: Governments globally are struggling with outdated processes, poor coordination and a lack of data on procurement.
Why it matters: Well-run public services depend on an effective procurement strategy in order to create sustainable, equitable societies.
The solution: Transparency, fairness, inclusivity, and a results-driven approach are at the heart of a strong procurement process.
Our world runs on public contracts. Whether it’s about better schools, fixing roads, buying protective equipment or delivering healthcare services, we need to make public spending count to create sustainable and equitable societies. But governments have struggled with antiquated procurement processes, poor coordination, and a lack of up-to-date and easy-to-access data on their procurement.
So how do you put in place a transparent, fair, inclusive, and results-driven public procurement system? The new Open Contracting Quickstart Guide pulls from our experience supporting more than 50 governments – from city agencies to federal governments – in implementing effective and efficient public procurement reforms.
In this four-part blog series, we highlight some of the strategies for how reformers can get up and running with open contracting – from the big fixes to the quick fixes. From setting goals, publishing data, engaging with stakeholders, and measuring success, we will share key strategies, tools and resources, and inspiring examples of open contracting efforts from around the globe. In this first article, we will look at the first strategy: establishing goals and identifying stakeholders.
"the benefits of identifying and mapping key institutions and actors in the procurement ecosystem are huge"
Strategy 1. Set contracting reform goals and secure stakeholder buy-in
Whether it’s about improving opportunities for small businesses, lowering the price of medicines, enhancing internal coordination within government, or enhancing public service, the pillars of impactful and sustainable reforms are good planning and engaging with all stakeholders to ensure spending is focused on what communities need and business can deliver. The city of Philadelphia was exploring how to maximise the value of the $25 million it spends every year on food and food services for residents, whether through providing lunches for children at summer camps, or feeding people experiencing homelessness and living in a shelter.
‘Theory of Change’: An effective Theory of Change will help you lay out a strategic plan to achieve the goals you set and the steps you will take to navigate challenges that may arise. At its core, creating a strong Theory of Change is about taking the time to think deeply, agree with your team what kind of future you want to see, and outline the steps you need to take to bring your vision to life.
This problem-solving approach ensures that you work on what is important at each point in time, track your progress, avoid jumping too early to diagnosis or solutions, break down big problems into smaller ones that can be more easily tackled, and focus your efforts and resources on activities that deliver the highest value. These are the templates we are using to work with the teams in our impact accelerator programme, Lift.
High-level political mandate: We have seen over and over again that the most successful procurement reforms have high-level political mandates and leadership that are sustained throughout the entire reform implementation. To build a robust political mandate, it is worth working towards publicly securing commitment from one or more high-ranking public officials with the authority to make decisions and pull together dedicated resources such as an appropriate budget and capable team members. Engaging in constructive dialogue and building coalitions help to get buy-in for the reform process. Stakeholders - government, businesses, and citizens - have to talk and listen to each other. ProZorro is a great example of how hundreds of people with different backgrounds united to transform public procurement in Ukraine after the Maidan revolution. In Ecuador, the partnership between the procurement agency and civil society organisations helped to maintain a high level of support during a presidential transition.
Mapping your stakeholders: To create compelling reasoning for securing buy-in, it is important that you understand your stakeholders and their interests. These stakeholder and power-mapping exercises can help you to identify and begin thinking through their interests. Use this local stakeholder mapping template and this guide that we designed. Although it takes time, the benefits of identifying and mapping key institutions and actors in the procurement ecosystem are huge. User research can help to identify the right goal, build valuable partnerships, and develop meaningful user cases for public contracting data.
To better understand children’s needs, the requirements to deliver food safely, and what the market could offer, Philadelphia engaged with community members, frontline staff handing out meals, and the local business community. This, together with an update of its procurement policy to ‘Best Value’ procurement, has allowed the city to consider factors such as sustainability and improvements in nutrition, and also takes into account past performance and other value-based metrics.
“Bringing our kitchen staff into the conversation and switching to Best Value for food contracts is just the beginning,” said Trevor Day, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Philadelphia.
In part two of this series, we will take a look at strategies for publishing, using, and improving good quality data across the public procurement process to make data-driven decisions and provide public accountability.
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