This is an exciting week for CoST as we kick off a programme that aims to Galvanize the Private Sector (GPS) as Partners in Combating Corruption. It will start in Thailand with a forum where government officials enter into dialogue with the private sector. Immediately after the dialogue and with the support of our partners at Accountability Lab, we will convene a Boot Camp in which stakeholders will jointly develop a tech-based solution to identify integrity risks.
We then move to Panama, where CoST will host a regional workshop with private sector participants from 8 Latin American countries. They will work together to analyse publicly available data from infrastructure investments, helping them to better understand and mitigate corruption risks, assess market competition and improve sector performance.
In this blog, we provide further details about the week and explain why CoST is deepening its engagement the private sector.
Why the GPS?
Earlier this year, we announced that CoST had joined the GPS, an initiative convened by the US State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). Other partners in this initiative include UNODC, the Center for International Private Sector and OECD.
CoST was keen to be part of the initiative as it provided an opportunity to build on the tremendous international and regional support we receive from the private sector. However, at a national and sub-national level it is a little more nuanced, with engagement largely limited to the participation of business associations representing the construction industry on Multistakeholder Groups (MSGs). And whilst CoST members have published data on over 80,000 investments, there are few examples of the private sector actively using the data to analyse market competition, performance issues and the risks of corruption.
A notable exception is Uganda, where its business integrity programme used publicly available data to initiate a dialogue between domestic business and the government. This proved effective in building trust and significantly increased market competition.
A catalyst for addressing this problem
CoST’s participation in the GPS has been a catalyst for addressing this problem, starting with today’s private sector forum in Thailand. The forum will enable around 40 stakeholders, principally from the private sector, to better understand the integrity risks and performance issues that they face, based on survey data from local firms.
The dialogue will be hosted by the Controller General Department (CGD), Ministry of Finance with support from the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand (ACT). CGD will also demonstrate its open data platform, that publishes data on government infrastructure investments and explain how it has led to savings of around 5% of contract value. The dialogue will explore if and how the businesses have reacted to improvements in transparency including changes of behaviour.
Later this week, CoST will be hosting a regional workshop in Panama City with support from the UK Embassy in Panama City and INL. The workshop aims to build the capacity of business representatives from Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Ecuador to use and analyse publicly available data from infrastructure investments, helping them to better understand and mitigate corruption risks, assess market competition and improve sector performance. The workshop will also consider findings from an analysis of procurement data from the 8 participating countries to understand if adoption of the OC4IDS has led to greater international market competition with firms from a broader number of countries bidding for public works contracts.
Over the next 12 months, we will provide support to 5 additional CoST Member partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America that will help to further address this deficiency and to work with their private sector partners to develop locally led solutions. We will also hold a workshop with private sector partners based in Africa, to draw out the key issues for contractors and engineering firms face in the region.
Developing tech-based solutions with Accountability Lab
Immediately following the Thai private sector forum, a Bootcamp will be held on 13-15 November hosted by CGD and ACT and facilitated by Accountability Lab. Participants will come from government, civil society and the private sector, to jointly develop a tech solution to turn publicly available bulk data into compelling information about the performance and integrity of the infrastructure sector. Drawing on the expertise of Accountability Lab and its partner Development Gateway,is critical to helping CoST members maximise the value and impact of the data that is disclosed.
Developing the Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Toolbox (IACT)
CoST will also take an active role in the development of IACT, a web-based platform that will curate the most useful and relevant existing tools and resources and assist users to reduce corruption and integrity risks. It will also commission new tools and resources to meet needs identified by the private sector, that are currently unmet. Consulting with key industry associations such as the Federation of International Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) a global organisation representing 40,000 firms, and the Confederation of International Contracting Associations (CICA), representing contractors with 120m employees worldwide, will be critical to this process.
We believe that the private sector is an under-leveraged and under-served potential partner in combating corruption. The activities taking place this week will help us bring in the private sector as critical actors in the fight against corruption and level the playing field for businesses operating with integrity.