The sub-grant: “Open Contracts, Honest Communities: Tracking Local Procurement for Integrity” was part of the project “Integrity Watch in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Civil Society Organizations in the Fight Against Corruption Using Political Integrity Data”, implemented by Transparency International-Macedonia and supported by the European Union. This sub-grant was implemented by Finance Think – Economic Research & Policy Institute. The aim of the project was to enhance transparency and political integrity in public procurement at the municipal level in North Macedonia.
In order to assess the integrity in the public procurement system in Nort Macedonia, Finance Think conducted research and debates with relevant stakeholders and based on the findings an advocacy campaign was carried out.
The project was opened with a training organized in Prilep, where representatives of local public institutions, media and CSOs participated, increasing their skills on issues related to the access to public procurement data and their usage, basics of public procurement and key stages in the procedure and critical points and challenges in public procurement.
The organization conducted analysis on 10 procurements of the municipalities of Prilep and Krushevo (5 procurements each) and a Procurement Scorecard with the findings and recommendations has been produced. At the very beggining, a methodology for creating scorecard has been developed. Then, 10 procurements has been randomly selected from the web site of the Public Procurement Bureau, and analyzed according the methodology. The scorecard is available on the following link: https://www.financethink.mk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Scorecards-1.pdf
A concise policy brief has been prepared, using comparative methods for both municipalities, as well as specific recommendations for advancing the local procurement process toward more transparent, competitive and valuable for the local citizens. The brief is available on the following link: https://www.financethink.mk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/%D0%91%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%84-%D0%B1%D1%80.79.pdf The findings from the brief have been disseminated to the local officials and stakeholders during the final event, the panel debate organized in Prilep, where 40+ local stakeholders participated and discussed the importance of integrity in the public procurement system.
The public awareness campaign, “My Tender, My Money,” simplified complex procurement issues and made them accessible to the wider public. Through eight infographics and social media content, the campaign highlighted key findings from the scorecard and brief, promote the importance of transparent procurement, and increase public pressure for accountability.
