The Bangladesh government allocates a significant portion of its annual budget to public procurement. This huge investment, if not managed efficiently, can result in substandard output, cost overrun and project implementation delays. The Public Procurement Reform Project II, funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) with assistance from the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), sought to increase the transparency of the public procurement process and make the relevant actors adhere to higher standards of accountability. Citizen engagement has been introduced into the monitoring of public procurement as a way to ensure greater accountability and transparency and subsequently increase the quality and deliverance of public goods and services. The outstanding challenge is to devise a citizen engagement strategy that offers sustainability, in terms of cost-efficiency and potential replicability of the strategy in wider societal contexts. Through citizen engagement, the government seeks to promote greater inclusion of its citizens in the governance and development process.
Authors: Zillur, Kaneta; Haque, Mahan Ul
Type: Case Study
Year: 2017
