The public sector relies on competitive tender processes to buy what it needs. When bidders prepare their offers independently and in competition with each other, the tender outcomes ensure value for money. When companies conspire to raise prices or lower the quality of their offers (bid rigging), they affect the quality of public services, waste public money and diminish trust in the public sector.
The OECD has adopted a Recommendation on Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement [OECD-LEGAL-0396] to promote competition in public procurement, reduce the risk of bid rigging and support the enforcement of competition law. The Recommendation is accompanied by guidelines that support procurement and competition authorities to prevent and detect bid rigging. The guidelines contain general, non-exhaustive principles that may be adapted to each procurement process. They include two checklists:
a Tender Design List, with proposed measures that can help limit bid-rigging risks
a Bid-Rigging Detection List, which mentions red flags to help identify bid-rigging schemes.
The OECD has been working with governments and public bodies to encourage and facilitate the detection, investigation and prosecution of bid-rigging practices for a long time. In 2024, six European Union (EU) Member States started a project with the OECD to improve bid-rigging prevention and detection. The project, funded through the EU Technical Support Instrument, is carried out by the OECD in consultation with the Reform and Investment Taskforce (SG REFORM) and the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) at the European Commission. It includes workshops, training materials and analysis provided in this report. The report aims to prove useful beyond both the duration of the project and the audiences already trained.
Implementation of the good practices in this report and increased awareness of the risks, costs and punishment of bid rigging, together with enforcement of the competition law by national competition authorities and DG COMP, supports a comprehensive strategy to limit bid rigging in public procurement. By promoting more competitive tendering, the project contributes to the efficient use of public resources, the objectives of national recovery and resilience plans, and broader EU priorities.