[open-government] Sunlight Transparency Case Study: Public Procurement in Slovakia

[Zander Furnas]

***apologies for cross posting***
*
*
Case Study: Public Procurement in the Slovak
Republic<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/12/case-study-public-procurement-in-the-slovak-republic/>

At the Sunlight Foundation we have been working on a set of Transparency
Case Studies <http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/casestudies>, looking at
the impact of technology enabled transparency policy around the world.

We have decided to address this in issue-area specific waves of cases. Our
first cases are focusing on disclosure in public procurement. I wanted to
share with you the first case study, just published today, in this
project: Public
Procurement in the
<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/12/case-study-public-procurement-in-the-slovak-republic/>Slovak
Republic<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/12/case-study-public-procurement-in-the-slovak-republic/>
. The introduction is reprinted below:
Introduction

Transparency and open data policies and initiatives have reached a state of
maturity where it is crucial for us to evaluate them to learn what works,
what doesn’t and why. Transparency is not likely to be a cure-all, but we
think it is a cure-some; so, we need to figure out where and how it should
be best applied. As part of that process, we have been conducting a series
of in-depth case studies <http://sunlightfoundation.com/casestudies/> on
the impact of technology enabled transparency policies around the world.
Our initial case studies look at transparency in public procurement and we
have chosen four countries to study. This analysis discusses our findings
about public procurement disclosure by the Slovakian government.

For the Slovakian case study, we conducted interviews or sent
questionnaires and surveys to members of the following groups: members of
transparency NGOs, journalists who have covered procurement, academic
researchers, the Slovakian Government Office of Public Procurement and the
Slovakian Business Alliance. The experiences of these diverse respondents
have allowed us to develop an equally diverse and comprehensive picture of
the impact of the public procurement reforms enacted in Slovakia over
recent years.

Several significant findings have become clear:

   - Open publication of data online can have a profound impact on the NGO
   and media oversight community. In Slovakia, the availability of this data
   has led to meaningful growth in the activities and range of organizations
   like Transparency International (TI) Slovakia and Fair Play Alliance as
   well as journalists on the corruption beat. This data has increased
   organizational capacity and, in turn, the scope of oversight by the civil
   sector.
   - Lowering barriers to entry for oversight has downstream effects that
   stretch beyond the role of intermediaries like NGOs or the media, allowing
   members of the public to be more proactively engaged. Prior to reforms,
   watchdogs and journalists received tips primarily from insiders who were
   party to corrupt practices. Now they often receive tips from outside the
   establishment including concerned citizens who are aware of the local
   contexts of municipal or regional procurements.
   - There are still gains to be made by lowering barriers further, by
   ensuring that data is made available in more suitable and machine-readable
   formats. Civil sector organizations in Slovakia devote considerable time
   and resources to make the data that is available more useful. They could
   reallocate those resources towards further analysis, investigation and
   advocacy, if this data were released in better shape originally.
   - In cases where disclosure following recent reforms has led to real,
   demonstrable accountability, public pressure and media attention have
   played a determinative role. Without public pressure, frequently stoked by
   the investigation and reporting of civil sector and media outlets,
   disclosure has not been a sufficient check on corruption, even when it has
   revealed suspect or corrupt practices. Effective transparency requires
   enforcement and the real threat of sanctions.

We find that in Slovakia increased access to public data has led to
increased oversight and engagement by the civil sector and the public.
However, because of a lack of enforcement, corruption in public procurement
remains a significant problem.

Check out the rest of the case, and listen to all of the interviews and
other supporting material in the full piece, here:
http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/12/case-study-public-procurement-in-the-slovak-republic/

Stay tuned for our forthcoming procurement cases as well, which focus
on Philippine
Public Procurement; Tamil Nadu, India Public Procurement; Sydney, Australia
Public Procurement.

Best,
Alexander Furnas

-- 
Alexander Furnas
Research Fellow | Sunlight Foundation <http://sunlightfoundation.com>
@AlexanderFurnas
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