Building transparent public procurement: the role of public-private partnerships

Worldwide, public procurement accounts for approximately 13% of global GDP. Accounting for such a large proportion of government expenditure, public procurement helps to drive economic development and support broader government policies, such as inclusion and sustainability.

However, public procurement processes can be marred by inefficiencies, a lack of transparency, and in some cases, corruption. These issues not only hinder economic growth but also undermine public trust in government institutions.

Earlier this month, Mastercard for Government 's Vice President of Government Engagement Olga LaBelle gathered public procurement officials, policy experts and private sector innovators from around the world to address how public-private partnerships can promote greater transparency in public procurement in our virtual webinar held during Open Government Week, “Building transparent public procurement: the role of public-private partnerships.”

In the diverse perspectives sourced from governments and projects across the world emerged a common theme: transparent public procurement driven by technology offers numerous benefits. It fosters a more competitive and inclusive business environment, enabling a wider range of suppliers to participate and deliver value while boosting citizen and wider public trust. ?

Highlighting the transformative power of technology and data in public procurement, our expert line-up shared insights and cases of transparent public procurement worldwide. ?

In the United States, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s Iulia Manolache shared how the White House’s 5th Open Government National Action Plan is providing greater access to federal procurement data while improving the delivery of government procurement services. “As the largest consumer of goods and services with more than $650 billion each year, the purchasing power of the federal government means that federal procurement is that critical tool to support an open and accountable government”, Manolache said.

Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, the Director General of the General Directorate of the Federal Procurement Agency Carlos Pimentel stressed that public-private sector collaboration was enabling greater availability of data, information, and consequently, transparency. Ultimately, these developments are contributing to fostering greater trust among citizens in the country, and more effective public service delivery. ?

Inter-American Development Bank Division Chief Roberto de Michele echoed Carlos’ remarks, sharing the experience of the IDB’s partnership with governments across Latin America in developing platforms to enable citizens and the private sector to understand exactly how federal funds are being spent. “All of this is possible by the matching of technology with systems of information,” he said.

IDB partner 微软 Advanced Cloud Transparency Services, represented by Norm Hodne , explained how technology can also reduce risk. He explained how the mashing of the public-private sector can combine expertise: “We’re not the subject matter experts, but the technology experts, and we can combine the expertise these organizations have into effective technology solutions.”

Similarly, the Open Contracting Partnership ’s Lindsey Marchessault explained how the organization works with public procurement agencies, civil society organizations, and business associations to help governments achieve their procurement goals by harnessing data insights. Whether it be greater inclusion, reduced carbon emissions, or improved service delivery and infrastructure, she explained the OCP’s partnership strategies in enhancing government procurement, “Once we know what we want to achieve, then we can identify the key data that we need to measure.”

At Mastercard, we partner with governments around the world to foster innovation, sustainability, inclusivity and transparency in their procurement strategies by digitizing existing processes and payment mechanisms. As evidenced by the remarks of our distinguished panelists, non-digital procurement platforms hamper payment visibility, while making it harder to manage onboarding, contracts and payments in an accurate and timely fashion. Digital platforms and tools can streamline processes, automate workflows, and improve the transparency and efficiency of procurement systems.

By embracing technology, governments can simplify procurement procedures, reduce costs, improve traceability, pay suppliers faster and enhance decision-making. Through collaborative public-private sector partnership, we believe we can support governments to become more accountable to citizens and less susceptible to fraud, all while driving, inclusive, efficient and sustainable growth.

You can watch the full webinar “Building transparent public procurement: the role of public-private partnerships” here.

Learn more about our public procurement partnerships with governments worldwide at mastercard.com/government.?