Good public procurement practices are amajor determinant of the effectiveness of publicexpenditure. On behalf of their citizens, governmentstypically spend as much as 5-20 percent of their grossdomestic product on procurement of goods and services, andeffective procurement policies enable better use ofgovernment budgets. Good national procurement practices aretherefore an essential element of the poverty reductionfocus of the Bank. Good procurement in Bank projects is alsoassociated with better development outcomes. Equally, soundpublic procurement in client countries is a prerequisite forthe success of the Bank's newly introduced program forresults lending instrument. The Bank seeks to ensure thatits funds are used for the purpose intended and that theysupport development effectively and efficiently. Thus, thetwin issues that underpin this Independent Evaluation Group(IEG) evaluation are first, how effectively has the WorldBank helped build well-functioning public procurementsystems in client countries and second, how well have Bankprocurement policies and procedures for its investmentlending supported the development effectiveness of Banklending? The evaluation parallels an intensive review byBank management of the institution's procurementfunction, motivated by the need to respond to a range ofinternal and external changes in the Bank's procurementenvironment. Several evaluations point to the value ofcoordination between procurement and public expenditurereforms, but also to the difficulties of realizing suchcoordination. Finally, there are queries related to theadaptability of current Bank procurement guidelines to newcontexts, such as public-private partnerships (PPPs);technology loans; and small, fragile, or conflict-affectedstates. These questions have also contributed to theevaluation's design and coverage.
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