DG Introduces Open Contracting West Africa Assessments
How can West Africa benefit from more inclusive and sustainable growth?
To help answer this question, Development Gateway and the Open Contracting Partnership are launching a series of public procurement assessments in five West African countries: Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Senegal. With support from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UK, this initiative will aim to gauge the state of openness of public procurement processes in each country, understand the key procurement actors, and identify opportunities for procurement reform and the adoption of open contracting principles.
The advent of e-procurement and the publication of public procurement data online have increased private sector participation in contracting. But the untapped value of e-procurement is in the underlying data that these systems collect. Basic data about the timeliness and cost effectiveness of individual contracts can reveal deviations that indicate a potential risk of illicit behavior. More detailed data about contract implementation, such as payment dates and contract milestones, can expose additional risks. The effective harvesting and analysis of procurement data has potential to reshape the public procurement market — the largest market in most countries — and give citizens confidence that their governments are spending tax money wisely.
In West Africa and beyond, governments are recognizing the potential for enhancing their procurement practices through the use of procurement analytics and adoption of open contracting practices. Ghana and Nigeria are among a group of 14 countries, participating in the recent UK Anti-Corruption Summit, to endorse the principles of open contracting. At a recent OGP Africa regional meeting, many African countries expressed their sustained interest in implementing more transparent public contracting, creating an ideal opportunity for this program to provide concrete recommendations to move from commitment to implementation in each study country and throughout the region.
DG and OCP will be providing updates on the open contracting scoping studies on a frequent basis, so check back soon for more information.
Image: amanda CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Share This Post
Related from our library
Data on Youth and Tobacco in Africa Program Enters Phase II
The Data on Youth and Tobacco in Africa (DaYTA) program is launching its second phase, expanding to five additional countries. This blog highlights DaYTA’s objectives, innovative approach, and the key activities driving impact in adolescent tobacco control measures.
Launching a Partnership Matching Service for Nonprofits
While a lot of us have talked about the potential, value, and – in some cases – need for more mergers and acquisitions in the non-profit space, recent events have made it clear: now is the time. That’s why the teams at Accountability Lab, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture and Digital Public, partnered up to develop both a new toolkit, a partnership matching service, and professional support infrastructure aimed at assisting the organizations facing this challenge.
Launching the Early Grade Education Activity (ASAS) Program: A Collaborative Project from IREX and DG
IREX and Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) are pleased to announce their collaborative work on the USAID-funded Early Grades Education Activity (ASAS) program, which launched in August 2023 and will run through July 2028. This blog explores how the ASAS program will empower teachers, universities, communities, and stakeholders within Jordan’s Ministry of Education and throughout the country to deliver inclusive and holistic early-grade education for Jordanian students from kindergarten to grade three in order to strengthen numeracy and literacy skills.