Investigating public contracts:
Uncovering the hidden networks of power
Illustration: reAcción
Governments spent 1 in 3 dollars on public contracts to build public infrastructure and provide public services. It is also the single greatest corruption risk in the public sector.
We can help you with practical tips & tricks to investigate the full public procurement process, from planning to tendering and delivery, and show you how to get data on the three core elements of a public procurement process: buyers, companies, and projects.
We’re supporting journalists & citizen investigators on many levels – often as part of collaborations and partnerships with national, regional and global organizations that support journalists. We provide training on open data and procurement, support investigations by regional and national journalism networks, support innovative reporting approaches, and develop tools designed to meet the needs of investigative journalists. We also signpost to potential stories and help journalists and citizen investigators work with data to shape their stories.
Here are some resources on how to spot red flags in public contracts and the best datasets and tools to help investigating and writing your stories.
- Tipsheet: Using data to uncover corruption in public procurement
- Sign up for our newsletter: Contracts, Data and Investigations
- OCP’s red flags in public procurement guide to using data to detect and mitigate risks
- OCP’s Data Registry helps you find and download public procurement datasets that are available in the OCDS format. Currently, you can access data from over 50 publishers from around the world.
- The Idiot’s Guide to Looting Public Procurement to Get Rich Quickly that looks at red flags in the procurement process
- OCP’s Mythbusting Commercial Confidentiality in Public Procurement report provides an overview on which information is generally considered sensitive and which is not, as well as research why data should be open.
- A slide-deck that you can go through at your own pace
- Masterclass Investigating Procurement at CIJ 2020 Logan Symposium, Georg Neumann
We can help you with:
We help journalists and citizen investigators follow the money at every stage of a public procurement process, from planning through tendering and delivery.
More resources by OCP and our partners
Our red flags guide provides a methodology to calculate a list of risk indicators that identify corruption risks throughout the procurement process from planning to implementation, mapped to the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS).
Cardinal, makes it easier to calculate common risk indicators of corruption and collusion in procurement.
This guide by Guatemala’s Ojo por mi Pisto provides a step by step guide to monitor public infrastructure projects at the local level.
This case study provides insights and tips into the work of the Latin American investigative journalism network Red Palta
