As part of an ongoing policy review, the World Bank’s procurement team is discussing adjustments to the thresholds at which the bank conducts a prior review of contracts.
The move is intended to better use the Washington, D.C.-based institution’s resources by focusing on higher-risk, higher-value contracts, according to Christopher Browne, the bank’s chief procurement officer.
During a panel discussion on the sidelines of the World Bank’s spring meetings on Thursday, Browne presented the evidence driving the discussions: Data collected by the internal audit division shows that 50 percent of the prior reviews conducted each year amount to only 1 percent of the total value of bank contracts. Half of those contracts are for less than $100,000, and a quarter are for individual consultants.
About the author
Paul Stephens
Paul Stephens is a former Devex staff writer based in Washington, D.C. As a multimedia journalist, editor and producer, Paul has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, Washington Monthly, CBS Evening News, GlobalPost, and the United Nations magazine, among other outlets. He's won a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting for a 5-month, in-depth reporting project in Yemen after two stints in Georgia: one as a Peace Corps volunteer and another as a communications coordinator for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
