Welcome to the OECD dataset on strategic public procurement, which contains the results of the 2020 OECD Survey on Leveraging Responsible Business Conduct through Public Procurement. The database provides practitioners, policy makers, academics and civil society with an initial overview of the existing national regulatory and strategic frameworks on incorporating Responsible Buisness Conduct (RBC)1 into public prourement, and their application in practice. The Survey focused on collecting data from Policy makers and Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs), to better understand the incorporation of RBC objectives into public procurement procedures.
The database is made available free of charge. However, data is protected by copyright and we kindly request that you cite the OECD as the source when using this information (OECD Survey on on Leveraging Responsible Business Conduct through Public Procurement, 2020). To help us track use of this database, we would appreciate receiving electronic copies of papers citing the database at: Lauren.THWAITES@oecd.org.
The content of the database was collected using two questionnaires collecting data from Policy makers and CPBs respectively. Respondents were country delegates responsible for procurement policies at the central government level, which is the part of the survey included in this database, and senior officials in CPBs.
The OECD Survey was conducted by the Infrastructure and Public Procurement Division of the OECD Directorate for Public Governance between November 2019 and February 2020. It aimed to build an understanding of how RBC standards are incorporated into public procurement in OECD member and non-member countries.
The Survey covered the following RBC objectives: Environment; Human rights; Labour rights; Minority considerations; People with disabilities; Long-term unemployed people; Gender considerations; Integrity.
The Survey was sent to the adherent countries to the OECD Multinational Enterprises (MNE) guidelines, to public procurement policy makers as well as CPBs. A total of 28 survey responses were received from public procurement policy makers – 26 from OECD countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland), as well as the OECD Key Partner of Costa Rica2 and the non OECD country of Ukraine (replies from this non OECD country are not included in the database).
The data refers mostly to central/federal governments excluding the subnational level. The content of the database draws heavily upon self-reporting from governments representing the country’s own assessment of current practices and procedures. The OECD has conducted extensive quality control of the responses to ensure consistency and reliability. During this process, the OECD followed up with each country for additional information, clarifications and examples.
The findings of the OECD Survey on Leveraging Responsible Business Conduct through Public Procurement provided the evidence base for the report: OECD Report on Integrating Responsible Business Conduct in Public Procurement (2020).
***Disclaimer: The current database only comprises a selection of questions from the 2020 OECD Survey on Leveraging Responsible Business Conduct through Public Procurement. The selection contains only those questions published in the OECD Government at a Glance 2021 edition.***
• OECD (2020) Survey on Leveraging Responsible Business Conduct through Public Procurement – Policy makers
• OECD (2020) Report on Integrating Responsible Business Conduct in Public Procurement
• OECD (2015) Recommendation of the Council on Public Procurement
• OECD (2011) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNE Guidelines)