- Public procurement is especially vulnerable to corruption in emergency situations such as natural disasters and health pandemics. Governments face challenges of delivering goods and services in huge quantities rapidly, often in difficult conditions, while ensuring that procurement processes are conducted in a transparent and accountable manner. Yet many of the safeguards of corruption control require time, and multiple checks.
- This Policy Brief analyses the heightened risk for corruption in public procurement in emergency situations and how to promote a balance between efficiency and accountability; examines legal and institutional frameworks that enable transparent and efficient procurement during crises; and explores the role of behavioural insights in strengthening procurement systems, as well as highlights innovative digital and e-procurement approaches.