This is an archived project from the Open Knowledge Foundation and it is no longer active. For any questions please contact admin at okfn.org.

Our Goal is to:

  • Open public contracts around the world by filing freedom of information requests for access to specific contracts. In addition to forcing reactive disclosure, we will advocate for proactive disclosure of all public contracts.
  • Establish a new global norm for contract disclosure by petitioning governments to endorse the Open Contracting Global Principles and ensuring that they are effectively implemented and enforced.
  • Expand the open contracting community by connecting campaigners and practitioners, facilitating the sharing of experience and best practice and amplifying our message.

Why:

Secret contracting keeps the public in the dark, reduces efficiency and favours a culture of corruption and impunity. This has to stop.

  • Citizens have a right to know how public money is spent. In order to correct for information asymmetries and improve trust in government, citizens must have access to relevant information about awarding, execution and performance of contracts.
  • Open contracting improves the performance of contracts by allowing citizens to monitor their execution to ensure that private corporations deliver projects on time, on budget and to a high quality standard.
  • Open contracting allows citizens to participate and engage in decision making around public procurement and investment priorities to ensure that public contracting serves the public rather than special interests.

Read more about the problem with secret contracts