Beneficiaries
Countries that are reforming procurement systems are the main beneficiaries of the goPRS project. Those countries can be divided into four general categories characterized by their stage of economic development and the issues driving the reform efforts.
The First Group
The first group consists of those countries whose economies are in transition from planned/socialist economies to market-based systems. These countries have no recent history of competitive public procurement as government essentially supplied to itself through barter or other trading mechanisms between public entities. They therefore have had to design and implement new procurement systems to provide mechanisms for the government to buy from the private sector on a transparent, competitive basis.
The Second Group
The second group of countries could be described as the "middle income" countries. Many of these countries have had market-based procurement systems in place but are in the process of modernizing such systems. The push towards modernizing their procurement systems is motivated by several factors, most of which can be traced to the need to satisfy the demands of a more enlightened citizenry for more efficient and transparent systems of service delivery by government and for greater accountability in the management of public expenditures.
The Third Group
The third group of countries could be described as developing countries. In many of these countries, the procurement systems differ very little from those that were put in place during the colonial era. Acceptance of the importance of proper management of public expenditures, including the fight against corruption have motivated such countries to modernize their procurement systems. Influence from the donor community has also been a factor in urging and providing resources to support the reforms.
The Fourth Group
The fourth group are the Industrialized Economies, in which the reform of public procurement systems is also taking place. The motivation to reform in these countries is largely driven by the fact that governments are significantly changing the profiles of what and how they are buying (e.g., moving away from goods and works into buying services, and using private financing for delivery of public services including infrastructure). The need to use new information and communication technologies throughout the procurement process and the introduction of new concepts of public sector management which establish "value for money" as a goal of the procurement process, leaving agencies with a fair amount of discretion on how to achieve this goal.