Evaluations and project assessments of donor-funded projects on procurement reform provide valuable insights, se for example:

Sida. 2017. Greater control of procurements reduces corruption in Serbia –

‘Public procurement was previously an area of widespread corruption in Serbia. New audit institutions and a Sida-financed UN investment in education has reduced the opportunities for people to line their own pockets.’

DFID. 2016. Public procurement reform: Assessing interventions aimed at improving transparency – This Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) examined the impact of public procurement reform as reported in 48 studies. It is important to note that none of these studies claims to have hard evidence for the direct (positive) effects of different types of interventions. The REA still found positive results in procurement courses developed, improved public-private relationships, better compliance with rules and regulations, increased transparency and fairness, and reduced costs. The studies nevertheless demonstrates some barriers to effective reform: shortage of staff and lack of capability of procurement (and procurement-related) staff, resistance to change, low sense of urgency, little local support, complexity of the reform itself, the need for additional non-procurement reforms to sustain procurement interventions, and a lack of readiness of the private sector.