It is possible to combat and prevent corruption in public contracting. Growing numbers of business people; government officials and leaders; and civil society organizations around the world are aiming to tackle the problem.

For many years, it has been perceived that the only way to counteract corrupt activities in public contracting is through law enforcement and control. While this approach is clearly necessary, it sometimes takes place too late, after the damage has been caused. It is important to think of ways of preventing corrupt behaviour by giving actors the opportunity and the sense of urgency to avoid it.

Transparency is one of the most effective preventive mechanisms. It promotes accountability, facilitates oversight and citizen participation, and brings legitimacy to governmental decisions. Rules that follow these principles also provide a good basis for preventing corruption. Nevertheless, sometimes good rules are also not enough and law enforcement mechanisms are weak. Other tools involving different stakeholders can be implemented.

Corruption risks in contracting appear very early in the process, as early as when the decision to contract is taken or when budgets are put together. They also remain long after the contracting process has ended, during contract execution. Effective preventive actions need to be aware of this and the process needs to be transparent including those stages.

Below you will find examples of prevention tools and information on selected TI activities. You can also find descriptions of other tools by consulting TI's Tool Kit.

The Integrity Pact (IP) is a tool aimed at preventing corruption in public contracting. It is an agreement between a government institutione and all bidders for a public contract.
For more information, please see here.

Transparency International’s Minimum Standards for Public Contracting provide a framework for preventing and reducing corruption based on clear rules, transparency, and effective control and auditing procedures throughout the contracting process. These are a helpful tool for governments, businesses, civil society, monitors and journalists to measure if a contracting system provides minimum transparency assurances.