Procurement is a core function for public financial management and service delivery. Good public procurement systems are central to the effectiveness of development expenditure from both national and donor sources. However, procurement systems in many developing countries remain weak and past attempts to strengthen them have been hesitant at best.

In early 2003, a joint OECD-DAC/World Bank Roundtable Initiative on Strengthening Procurement Capacities in Developing Countries was established to create better tools and techniques to strengthen procurement in developing countries.

The work of the DAC Joint Venture for Procurement will build on the work that was undertaken by this Initiative. The workplan of the Joint Venture includes the following 4 activities:

1) Strengthen and facilitate the use of the common benchmarking tool.
2) Catalyse country level activities to improve procurement systems.
3) Contribute to the work of the Joint Venture on Monitoring the Paris Declaration.
4) Develop a framework for performance management measurement.

STRENGTHEN AND FACILITATE THE USE OF THE COMMON BENCHMARKING TOOL
The focus will be on clarifying and improving the use of the benchmarking tool to ensure a transparent, evidence-based and credible methodology for scoring and establishing a baseline and for measuring progress.

CATALYSE COUNTRY LEVEL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS
The JV partner countries are expected to develop and implement comprehensive, results-oriented programs aimed at making measurable progress in improving the quality and the performance of national procurement systems and thus mitigating procurement risk.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF THE JOINT VENTURE ON MONITORING THE PARIS DECLARATION (JV MPD)
Using the revised baseline methodology established as a basis, this JV will contribute to the work of the JV MPD to ensure the collection of data on a sound basis, particularly for indicator of progress 2b.

DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK FOR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MEASUREMENT
The objective is to share good practice in performance management of procurement systems and, as appropriate, develop a framework to support partner countries in putting performance management systems in place.