I’ve recently had some recent discussions regarding the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative. The purpose of which is to promote increased transparency and accountability in publicly financed construction projects around the world. It does this through the public disclosure of information – such as publishing government contracts online.

I profess no experience in the degree of corruption in construction (or any really) contracts in developing nations. But if someone is advocating for the process stewards, is anyone worrying about the business outcome?

This trade-off is inherent in every public procurement process everywhere. Officials become obsessed with a sound process. Is running a fair, open and transparent process to pick a vendor that under-delivers, resulting in wasted time and money fair? Wouldn’t this scenario qualify as a misuse of public funds as well?

In Canada I believe we have a 3^rd way. It’s called Fairness Advisory. This is a specialized service with growing application in the Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta.

Fairness Advisors are engaged at the beginning of a project. In this way they ensure that the fair, open and transparent process actually achieves the desired business outcome.

This is in stark contrast to process auditors or the publishing of contracts, which are backwards-looking solutions.

Here’s how I think it should work: the sponsors require that procurements are certified by a Fairness Advisor. The sponsors then develop a short-list of qualified Fairness Advisors from which buyers may choose from.  If the government does not abide by the recommendations of the Fairness Advisor during the procurement, they risk it being documented in the Fairness Report. The Fairness Report documents the entire process from start to finish.

Under this scenario, everyone wins. The public gets appropriate stewardship of their monies, while gaining some assurance of sound business decision-making. Politicians, although still accountable, get a form of insurance on the process and the business outcome by way of the Fairness Advisor’s report. Lastly, bidders can be assured that the procurement process is free from bias, and that the best bidder under the given rules will win.