The first integrity pact (IP) in Portugal was implemented between 2016 and 2021 in the context of the EU-wide programme “Integrity Pacts EU: Civil Control Mechanisms to Safeguard EU Funds”.

The objective of the contracting project, worth approximately €1,1 million and managed by Portugal’s Directorate General of Cultural Heritage, was to carry out conservation and renovation works at the Alcobaça Monastery, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage site. The contracting authority signed an integrity pact with Transparency International Portugal in 2018, after a period in which the two parties collaborated on selecting the project for application of the IP.

The IP featured integrity commitments from all signatories and granted TI Portugal access to all information, documentation, meetings and communication related to the project. It also included provisions for confidentiality, duties and deliverables by the monitor. The signature of the IP was mandatory for all bidders, who had to file a statement committing to comply with the agreement as part of the submitted tender documentation.

TI Portugal’s monitoring team, composed of in-house staff as well as external experts in architecture, law, finance, engineering, and open data, provided recommendations during all procurement phases. In the pre-tendering phase, that meant an adjustment of the price, cost, and award criteria based on the review of similar contracts in the previous three years. In addition, TI Portugal facilitated the involvement of the local community by setting up a website allowing for virtual monitoring of the work progress and organising on-site visits and public events to keep people updated.

The monitoring work ended in 2021, and the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage remains the only public institution in Portugal to have implemented an IP. However, this is likely to change soon, as the Portuguese government committed to implementing further IPs in projects funded with EU Recovery Funds as part of Portugal’s second Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. The government has also recommended the IP as a valuable tool to prevent fraud and misuse of public funds in its current National Anti-Corruption Strategy.