Public Oversight of Ukraine’s Reconstruction: How Open Data Helps Expose Corruption Risks in Procurement

Together with our partners, we have created the Public Reconstruction Oversight Module, which uses open data to expose corruption in public procurement related to reconstruction.

Every day, Ukraine suffers losses due to the war. According to a KSE study, Ukraine’s losses currently amount to approximately $543–600 billion. Post-war reconstruction and recovery will be entrusted to many companies. These contractors are selected through tenders.

Public procurement for recovery is a truly effective way to find contractors, but it has certain “weak links”. In particular, these include possible corruption abuses during procurement, as well as cooperation with representatives of sanctioned companies or parties connected to such companies. To prevent such risky cases, the transparency of procurement and of the use of public funds must be ensured.

Open data is a key tool and the foundation for a transparent recovery, an ethical business environment and anti-corruption initiatives in Ukraine.

It is on the basis of open data that the Public Reconstruction Oversight Module was created. It makes it possible to vet participants in public procurement and significantly reduce corruption risks in procurement, particularly in the context of reconstruction.

Features of the Public Reconstruction Oversight Module

The Public Reconstruction Oversight Module was created by the Open Data Association as part of the project “Building Open Data Tools for Public Oversight of Ukraine’s Reconstruction”. It allows public procurement participants to be checked against more than 40 criteria that may indicate corruption, financial, reputational or even criminal risks. Under martial law, factors related to the ties of companies taking part in procurement with Russia, Belarus, Iran and other states that sponsor war and terrorism, as well as with sanctioned individuals and companies, are of particular importance. This significantly expands the ability of the civil sector and the media to quickly expose violations in procurement and report on them based on verified data.

The module makes it possible to:

• Vet procurement participants more comprehensively than the law requires.
• Quickly detect procurement lacking integrity
• Rely on official registry data when preparing anti-corruption investigations.
• Help procurement officers choose honest, reliable contractors that meet legal requirements and have a proven reputation.

Using the tender participant vetting module, journalists and the public can identify potential corruption risks in public procurement in a timely manner and use this data to prepare their investigations and analytical materials. This will enable better coverage of corruption in reconstruction projects and, through public attention, promote more responsible allocation of budget and donor funds. Faster checks increase the chances of urging the authorities not to sign contracts with dubious contractors in the time between the announcement of the winner and the signing of the agreement.

Regular users interested in vetting public procurement also include procurement specialists, auditors and investigators at various levels. Among government institutions, they include the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, regional military administrations and local self-government bodies, the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation, the National Police of Ukraine and others.

At the same time, participants in public procurement procedures can also see who has applied and, if they notice violations, demand that such a participant be disqualified.

Or they can check themselves to understand how the contracting authority might assess them.

All these features help avoid corruption risks by enabling more thorough checks in procurement, including in reconstruction, thereby increasing the transparency of the recovery process.

The Public Reconstruction Oversight Module applies 40 verification factors. The user only needs a few clicks, providing a link to the tender in the Prozorro system or its ID. The system will show the participants and highlight the risk factors triggered during the check.

Free access to the Public Reconstruction Oversight Module for media and anti-corruption activists

[note] Journalists and representatives of anti-corruption civil society organizations can use the full functionality of the reconstruction oversight module free of charge. To do so, they only need to fill out a short application for such access, explaining how they plan to use these features. After successful verification, the user will be granted the appropriate access.

Free access to the full functionality of the Public Reconstruction Oversight Module is also available to representatives of state authorities and local self-government bodies for whom it is important to analyze potential corruption risks. To obtain it, public sector representatives also need to undergo verification. This can be done by writing to the Open Data Association or by filling out the relevant form. After verification, the user will receive access to the Module.