The UK government is supporting CoST, as part of its wider vision to promote openness and accountability. This commitment appears in the UK Open Government Partnership National Action Plan 2013 – 2015:
“The UK government will promote the principles of transparency and accountability in all government-funded construction projects in the domestic and international arenas, including, in the period up until 2015:
- working with others in government and civil society to identify suitable projects for the application of the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) in the UK; and
- using its bilateral and multilateral relationships to encourage the establishment of at least four new national CoST programmes in countries where DFID is working”.
Infrastructure UK will lead the efforts in the domestic arena whilst the Department for International Development (DFID) will continue its work in the global arena. As well as funding the three year pilot in seven countries, DFID has continued to provide direct financial support to three CoST countries; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Vietnam.
In response, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Integrity Action and Engineers Against Poverty, together with the CoST UK Multi-Stakeholder Group, stated:“We are delighted that the UK government has taken the crucial decision to support CoST, as part of its wider vision to promote openness. The commitment to support CoST on a domestic level, in addition to promoting the initiative on an international basis, will enable us to improve governance whilst improving management and efficiency in the delivery of public sector construction projects and programmes.”
Leading by example, the UK follows Guatemala in including CoST as a public commitment under OGP. It represents a call to action for more countries to include CoST in their National Action Plans.