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description=Public contracts are a trillion-dollar marketplace run on public money. Yet, with vital details redacted in public contracts, information of what happens with that money is scarce and access is restricted to an exclusive club.;

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Text of the page (random words):
afety anonymizing or aggregating certain personal data to make it non identifiable can minimize harm non sensitive information can be disclosed unredacted redactions should be minimal privacy should operate in an inverse relationship to power it should be clear what personal data is collected and how it is used shared and secured myth 5 there is personal data in contracting documents so they can t be disclosed busted disclosing contracting information does not encourage nor sustain collusion companies know who their competitors are they do not depend on publicly disclosed contracting information for that knowledge the winning bidder s name which is usually disclosed anyway is enough for cartel members to begin to check whether a cartel agreement was honored disclosed contracting information has been used to detect collusion and to bust cartels research shows that disclosing contracting information decreases cartel duration a supplier s best strategy to win a contract is to tender at their best price regardless of the estimated contract value myth 6 disclosing contracting information encourages and sustains collusion busted disclosing contracting information does not decrease competition default publication of contracting information and contracts in some countries or its widespread availability via fois in others has not deterred companies from bidding for government contracts evidence shows disclosing contracting information leads to an increase in the average number of bidders per tender and or a reduction in single bid contracts publishing contracting information leads to a decrease in bid prices not an increase myth 7 disclosing contracting information decreases competition busted reactive disclosure is more expensive than systematic proactive disclosure with the right infrastructure managing records and disclosing information can be an automated low cost process disclosing contracting information leads to substantial public savings and other benefits government spending on resources to engage with the public is an investment not a pure cost bidders can factor the costs of redacting and uploading information into their bids disclosing contracting information does not lead to more appeals the frequency of appeals does not depend on the disclosure level of contracting information e procurement systems can make appealing and resolving award decisions easier and faster myth 8 disclosing contracting information costs too much money and leads to costly appeals and renegotiations busted disclosing contracting information can expose and reduce corruption there is strong empirical and academic evidence that the chances of exposing and lowering corruption are highest when contracting information on all stages of the procurement process is disclosed myth 9 disclosing contracting information does not expose or lower corruption busted there is abundant evidence of public engagement with contracting information it increases as data improves plenty of stakeholders including the public media civil society companies and other parts of government already regularly access contracting information education on government projects and easily accessible data increase stakeholder involvement and data use in public contracting as well as contribute to public trust government can easily mitigate the risk of misunderstandings by explaining information and its context better potential criticism is no reason to keep information confidential contracting information should not be kept confidential simply because it could be misunderstood or lead to embarrassment and criticism to reduce misunderstandings and add context governments should explain the information and educate civil society the media and citizens myth 10 no one actually reads contracting information if they do they either misunderstand it or use it to embarrass officials 3 what information to publish when do you know what to publish and when we ve examined together 34 of the most common data in public contracting play our game to see what information can be sensitive and what should be open sensitive or not numerical figures concerning negotiated terms not sensitive sensitive sensitive these may include escalation rates underperformance rates insurance and indemnification amounts etc the key is that the rates need to have been negotiated disclosing such rates can give away sensitive information about the risk both the government authority and the contractor are willing to take and it can prejudice future negotiations of both parties false correct next question details of financial models not sensitive sensitive sensitive this is mainly relevant to large infrastructure projects and ppps such financial models are required for the purpose of evaluation and due diligence and typically include sophisticated pricing breakdowns giving insight into the way in which revenue is generated and how the project is financed the actual model or parts of it including formulas and inputs is typically considered commercially sensitive false true next question outcomes of financial models not sensitive sensitive not sensitive the results or outcomes of financial models should be disclosed so that the public knows how much the government is paying and how much it will receive in relation to a project false true next question outcomes of non negotiated indemnification amounts not sensitive sensitive not sensitive in some projects indemnification amounts are standardized terms based on the size of the project typically pre qualification or evaluation criteria include a pass fail at required minimum levels of indemnification amounts false true next question indemnification contract clauses not sensitive sensitive not sensitive indemnification clauses in the contract are not commercially sensitive false true next question records of negotiations not sensitive sensitive sensitive records of contract negotiations between the contracting authority and the contractor are typically commercially sensitive false true next question records of negotiations with third parties not sensitive sensitive sensitive records of negotiations between the contractor and third parties such as subcontractors are typically commercially sensitive false true next question non negotiated insurance types and thresholds not sensitive sensitive not sensitive in some projects required insurance amounts are standardized terms based on the size of the project typically pre qualification or evaluation criteria include a pass fail at required types and minimum levels of insurance correct false next question detailed costing pricing structure not sensitive sensitive sensitive this does not refer to the market price which is typically public knowledge and therefore not commercially sensitive but it refers to a breakdown of what it costs for the contractor to make a product or supply a service it includes profit margins detailed line item pricing and overhead rates false true next question profit margins not sensitive sensitive sensitive profit margins is one of the elements of a cost breakdown of the product or service where a service or product price is made up of a combination of different elements then the individual elements are typically commercially sensitive information false true next question overhead rates not sensitive sensitive sensitive overhead rates are one element of a cost breakdown of the product or service where a service or product price is made up of a combination of different elements then the individual elements are typically commercially sensitive information false true next question pricing in the supply chain not sensitive sensitive sensitive information on how much a contractor pays to obtain the goods or services they sell or how they decide what price s to bid is typically considered commercially sensitive information false true next question information about ongoing litigation that is not in the public domain not sensitive sensitive sensitive pre qualification or evaluation criteria may require the bidder to indicate whether they are currently involved in court cases or litigation in relation to nonperformance or other contract related issues the bidder is required to provide details about the circumstances of such cases information concerning ongoing litigation not in the public domain is confidential and sensitive disclosing such details may prejudice ongoing investigations false true next question planned mergers and or acquisitions that are not yet in the public domain not sensitive sensitive sensitive bidders are sometimes required to indicate whether there are plans for mergers and acquisitions that might affect them or a planned merger or acquisition might be an essential part of the solution the bidder is proposing for delivery of the project in any case plans for mergers and acquisitions that are not in the public domain are commercially sensitive information false true next question trade secrets not sensitive sensitive sensitive trade secrets are commercially sensitive information false true next question business and investment plans not sensitive sensitive sensitive these plans typically detail how the contractor expects to generate a financial return from the project such details can be considered commercially sensitive information false true next question unit prices not sensitive sensitive not sensitive where a contract is made up of a combination of different goods or services the price of each of the goods or services is typically not considered commercially sensitive true false next question total price cost of contract not sensitive sensitive not sensitive the total price cost of a contract is not commercially sensitive true false next question methodology and approach not sensitive sensitive not sensitive these may include a detailed description of product or service innovation or a detailed description as to how the company will meet tender requirements in complex it or infrastructure projects for example contracting authorities need to know in detail how the contractor is proposing to efficiently and cost effectively deliver the project this may include information about how certain software is used how the company is going to apply lessons learned from past and similar projects etc typically some but not all of this information is commercially sensitive for example some information about the method or approach of delivery can be commercially sensitive information as it may compromise the contractor s future tender negotiations but not all of this information typically is some information about past projects is typically commercially sensitive information depending on the project details but not all true false next question subcontracting arrangements and subcontractor names not sensitive sensitive not sensitive contractors are typically required to indicate which companies they are going to be subcontracting in order to deliver the project this is important for the contracting authority to know in particular where significant contract value rests with subcontractors contracting authorities may clarify subcontracting arrangements and supply chain management capabilities of the contractor to ensure the project will be delivered on time and within budget only in exceptional circumstances are subcontracting arrangements considered commercially sensitive information note that recent supply chain disclosure initiatives and legislation aimed at tackling modern slavery in california france and the uk for example have made subcontracting arrangements publicly available information some companies in the garment sector including nike timberland and puma have voluntarily disclosed their supply chain without any commercial harm while previously these companies argued that their supply chain was commercially sensitive information in australia under the commonwealth procurement rules 2014 contractors are required to disclose the names of subcontractors true false next question past court cases in the public domain not sensitive sensitive not sensitive pre qualification or evaluation criteria may require the bidder to indicate whether they have been in the past involved in court cases or litigation in relation to non performance or other contract related issues the bidder is required to provide details about the circumstances and outcomes of such cases details of past court cases and litigation are public knowledge and provide useful information to the government and the taxpayer therefore past court cases that are in the public domain are not commercially sensitive information true false next question any information that is in the public domain not sensitive sensitive not sensitive information in the public domain is never commercially sensitive information true false next question performance information under current contract not sensitive sensitive not sensitive performance information is not commercially sensitive information true false next question past performance information not sensitive sensitive not sensitive past performance information is not commercially sensitive information true false next question winning bidder s proposal not sensitive sensitive not sensitive except for the commercially sensitive parts in proposals the winning bidder s proposal is not commercially sensitive information once the tender period has closed most contracts include the winning bidder s proposal as an annex to the contract true false next question unsuccessful bidder s proposal not sensitive sensitive not sensitive except for the commercially sensitive parts in proposals unsuccessful proposals are not commercially sensitive information once the tender period has closed correct false next question performance and financial guarantees not sensitive sensitive not sensitive performance and financial guarantees are not commercially sensitive information correct false next question key performance indicators performance metrics not sensitive sensitive not sensitive key performance indicators and performance metrics for measuring project performance are not commercially sensitive information true false next question clauses that describe how intellectual property rights are to be dealt with not sensitive sensitive not sensitive clauses that describe how intellectual property rights are to be dealt with are not commercially sensitive information true false next question payment arrangements not sensitive sensitive not sensitive payment arrangements under the contract are not commercially sensitive information true false next question liquidated damages not sensitive sensitive not sensitive contracts generally include a provision for the contractor to pay liquidated damages to the contracting authority in the event that the contract is breached for example when the contractor fails to complete the works by the date set out in the contract liquidated damages are not penalties they are predetermined damages set w...