Page 22 - BHP | BHP Foundation Booklet 2019

Translating Resource Revenues into
Effective Services & Infrastructure
Adopting open contracting is helping ensure governments of resource-rich
countries spend the benefits of natural resource wealth in a fair, efficient and
corruption-free way to deliver quality services and infrastructure to citizens.
“ From roads to hospitals to
medicines to school meals,
government spending
on public services and
infrastructure is vital to
citizens. There is huge
potential for the wealth
from natural resources to
translate into real benefits
to citizens, rather than
ending up siphoned off.
Open contracting is at the
core of ensuring money
is well spent. Even small
improvements done
systematically can have
a huge multiplier effect
for better services, goods,
and infrastructure.”
Gavin Hayman,
Executive Director,
Open Contracting Partnership
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Leveraging Transparency
to Reduce Corruption
A research program on transparency, accountability and
participation initiatives in the natural resources sector is improving
understanding about what’s successful in combating corruption.
Open contracting is a G20-backed Progress and achievements Leveraging Transparency to Progress and achievements
mechanism for governments to open • Through implementing Open “ Corruption remains stubbornly Reduce Corruption (LTRC) project The project commenced in September
up their public procurement systems Contracting in Bogota, Colombia, entrenched globally, but we will study, adapt and pilot a range 2017. During the initial literature
and data to reduce corruption, a corrupt US$22 million price-fixing are at an inflection point in the of transparency, accountability review and stakeholder mapping
increase market opportunity for scheme in the provision of school battle to tackle it and advance and participation (TAP) initiatives process, the project recognized
businesses, improve value for money meals was exposed. Children were sustainable development. based on the evidence generated untapped opportunities to amplify
and efficiency for the government, receiving poor quality meals at Our project aims to around them over the last 20 years. and complement the work being
and provide everyone, everywhere inflated prices, but now with the understand when, how Through this analysis, the project done in prospective focus countries.
with the public goods, services Education Department implementing and why transparency, will improve understanding of how As a result, time has been invested
and works they need. Open Contracting, they have accountability and and why these initiatives have the in exploratory engagement in
This project is working to help prevent quadrupled the number of suppliers participation initiatives can capacity to improve people’s quality communities around the world.
the resource curse by ensuring money and delivered vastly superior quality combat corruption in one of of life in resource-rich countries. This investment will enable the
flowing from natural resources is food at better prices for 700,000 the most challenging contexts Sharing these learnings with development of a sustainable program
more effectively converted into public children every day. of all: the natural resource the domestic and international that is highly responsive to the needs
benefit and better outcomes for space. Our goal is to build organizations working and priorities in each country where
citizens of resource-rich countries. • The project is seeing progress the evidence base on this on these issues will enhance the LTRC works. Progress includes:
Working across sectors and the full in Chile, where civil society and issue to help provide public, impact of their work around the
range of government contracting, government are collaborating private and civil society actors world, ensuring the findings can • publishing an online resource in
the project will use the power of in tracking red flags in public with information they need be used to build the capacity of October 2018 regarding TAP efforts
open data to improve public integrity, procurement through a data tool to improve people’s lives.” civic and public institutions to design in the natural resources sector;
developed on the basis of open
including in resource-rich countries. contracting data. and implement good governance • hosting the inaugural meeting
of the LTRC advisory board in
• Lessons learned since the practices in different contexts. February 2019; and
commencement of the project have • conducting scoping work for the
fed directly into the engagement forthcoming LTRC small-scale studies
and support model to better seize in Peru and Nigeria, while initiating
opportunities that maximize impact pre-scoping for research on using
overall. These include a focus on ETI data to better fight corruption.
digitally re-engineering the system Norman Eisen
to make it more efficient, transparent Senior Fellow,
and agile, and improved support Brookings Institution
and training to build the capacity
of field partners.
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