Measuring the impact of beneficial ownership transparency in public procurement: Starter guide

Introduction

This guide provides practical approaches for understanding the real-world impact of using beneficial ownership (BO) information in public procurement. Public spending is a significant part of all economies, but it is also highly vulnerable to corruption and fraud. [1] The rationale for BO transparency in public procurement is increasingly clear: by revealing who truly owns and controls companies and other legal vehicles, BO transparency reforms can help understand and mitigate risks, deter bad actors, improve market access, enhance trust, and promote accountability.

However, there remains a gap in evidence demonstrating the impact of these reforms, and this guide seeks to address this gap. It is primarily targeted at government actors who use or plan to use BO data from a government register in procurement processes and want to assess evidence of its impact. It can also be used by researchers working in academia, civil society, or other sectors.

This starter guide first outlines the case for using BO information in public procurement. Second, it places the evaluation of BO transparency reforms in a broader policy context. Third, it offers a flexible, three-track evaluation framework that is designed to be adaptable, based on a jurisdiction’s current level of data availability and institutional capacity. Fourth, it identifies eleven measurable benefits of BO transparency that address common integrity risks in public procurement. Finally, it provides recommendations for putting these methods into practice.

This guide does not provide one single comprehensive and replicable methodological approach. Rather, it signposts options that are available, with the intention to support agencies in incorporating impact measurement into BO transparency reform design. This is a first draft, and it is likely to evolve over time. Based on our experiences as well as those of our partners and other interested parties, we will consider building out this framework by adding further information and recommendations. We welcome any feedback as part of this process.

Please share feedback on this guide with Open Ownership by writing to [email protected].

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