GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Status
Accepted
Abstract
Although the World Bank overhauled its procurement framework a decade ago, its bidder complaints process – an integral part of that framework – has not been updated to meet international best practices. The current process for bidder complaints affords relatively little transparency and accountability, and has been criticized (including by the U.S. Government Accountability Office) for failing to provide disappointed bidders an effective means of challenging failures in a procurement process. Reforming the Bank’s complaints process could be done by aligning it with international best practices, using (among other things) the benchmarks suggested by the Methodology for Assessment of Procurement Sys-tems (MAPS), which was developed with the support of the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and which is regularly relied upon by the Bank. The complaints processes established by two other multilateral development banks, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), also offer important benchmarks for reform. By updating its bid complaints process to meet international best practices, the World Bank could better ensure robust competition in the procurements it funds, bring to light more procurement failures for correction, and reinforce international confidence in the Bank’s important work.
GW Paper Series
2026-62
Recommended Citation
2026 UrT 2026 49