Madrid, 15 January 2020- Leading transparency and anti-corruption organisations from across Europe have today released the Public Procurement Glossary, a guide on the terminology used in public procurement processes, with the goal of making it easier for civil society and journalists to monitor for corruption and wrongdoing in local procurement processes.
The Public Procurement Glossary has been produced by Access Info Europe, Civio, ePaństwo Foundation, Funky Citizens and K-Monitor, as part of the Tenders Guru project, which aims to increase the transparency of procurement and help local watchdogs spot problems.
“This Public Procurement Glossary defines and explains the key terms used within public procurement. Its aims to break down the terminology, thereby making the topic easier to understand and making the vocabulary more user-friendly,” explained Rachel Hanna, Legal Researcher at Access Info Europe.
“The glossary will be a useful tool not only for investigative journalists and civil society who are monitoring public procurement, but also for citizens who are interested in understanding how public procurement works,” added Rachel Hanna.
Corruption in public procurement is a widespread problem across Europe, with more than four in ten European citizens thinking that corruption is widespread among officials awarding public tenders, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey [1]. This perception is especially significant in a context in which over 250 000 public authorities spend around 14% of GDP per year on the purchase of services, works and supplies.
The same survey found a significant correlation between vibrant civil society and integrity: “control of corruption is significantly better in countries with a larger number of CSOs… as long as the capacity for association and collective action exists, a society is able to keep a check on public corruption”.
The Public Procurement Glossary will be used by the partners in the Tenders Guru project in training and empowering civil society so that they can act as watchdogs and hold governments to account.
Public Procurement Glossary 
This project is funded by the European Union’s Internal Security Fund- Police.
[1] Special Eurobarometer 470. Corruption. Report. (2017) Survey requested by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs and co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Communication.
