Open Contracting Explorer
Government spending typically accounts for 10-20% of a country’s GDP – so citizens and governments share an interest in ensuring that these funds are used efficiently and effectively.
Open contracting aims to publish procurement information in ways that are transparent and accessible. DG’s Open Contracting Explorer is our customizable, streamlined way to do just that – it’s an open source tool for storing, disclosing, and analyzing procurement data.
Opening Up Procurement Data
Drawing on our experience collaborating with country governments over 20 years, DG employs a practical, learning-based approach to helping governments open their procurement data. At the core of our Open Contracting and Procurement vision lies the OC Explorer (OCE) – it’s the foundation on which our OC tools are built.
The OC Explorer also often works hand-in-hand with the DG Toolkit, our flexible, customizable, and ready-to-launch set of code modules used as a ‘base’ from which we build new systems.
The OC Explorer and the DG Toolkit
Using OCE, we take data directly from government sources and convert and publish the data in the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS), allowing it to be viewed through a suite of interactive tools for data visualization and in-depth analytics. OCE contains a library of about 20 usable, useful visualizations built on OCDS-compliant data. The Open Contracting Explorer contains three open-source tools:
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Dashboard
The M&E Dashboard aims to help procurement officials and citizens to gain insight on the efficiency, competitiveness, and fairness of procurement practices using interactive charts, graphs, and web GIS. This flexible tool also helps users to understand where procurement creates value for money.
The M&E Dashboard is an analytics tool that supports users’ understanding of procurement competitiveness, value for money, and efficiency. All indicators can be filtered, so that users can select their desired procuring entities, suppliers, procurement methods, tender or award amount, and other criteria. Additional analytics and filters can be developed to meet user needs.
Corruption Risk Dashboard
Built together with the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP), the Corruption Risk Dashboard (CRD) is an open-source tool that aims to help users understand the potential presence of corruption in public contracting.
Through identifying “red flags” that may indicate corruption, we can identify the potential presence of fraud, collusion, and process rigging.
Contract Explorer
To help citizens “follow the money,” the Contract Explorer enables users to view each contracting process from program planning, through tendering, award, contract, and implementation stages. The search engine and repository ensures that citizens can access or download procurement data in an easily digestible format.
