International Democracy Watch

World Bank-financed contract details will be published online as part of a global initiative to advance transparency. The Open Contracting Initiative ( http://www.open-contracting.org/) is a campaign aimed at increasing disclosure and participation in public contracting at a global level. According to some studies, governments around the world spend $9.5tn a year contracting private companies, but often these deals are not public.In some developing countries, procurement can account for up to 70% of public spending. Under this initiative, details of contracts funded by public money will be online in an attempt to reduce corruption. This effort, backed by the World Bank Institute, is part of a broader WB's anti-corruption work. Currently, the bank finances public contracts up to 13$bn a year. Even though some information on contracts are already available, further details will be released online. One of the biggest challenges for this initiative is the resistance of private companies that claim such move will violate commercial confidentiality. However, as the founder of Transparency International Peter Eigen points out, "different rules apply" when a government is involved in a contract. In the long term, an increase in transparency could make it easier for small and medium enterprises to compete against large multinationals in public tenders. Francesca Ghersenti, International Democracy Watch, 29 October 2012