A recognized example of public procurement standards is the UNCITRAL Model Law on Public Procurement prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and approved in 2011. It replaced the 1994 UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services.

Based on the 2011 UNCITRAL Model Law, public procurement legislation has been developed and improved in 26 States. In addition, prior to the adoption of the 2011 UNCITRAL Model Law, 30 countries used the 1994 Model Law as a basis for public procurement reforms. The provisions of the Law are also applied by a number of international organizations in the preparation of the legislation reform in public procurement in their countries of operation (Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).

The UNCITRAL Model Law provides procedures to enable implementation of the following:

• standard procurement;
• urgent and emergency procurement;
• simple and low-value procurement;
• procurement for large and complex projects (where the government can engage with a wide range of potential bidders and contractors to find the best solution to meet its needs).

A key feature of the UNCITRAL Model Law is the focus on transparency to promote competition and impartiality in the selection of suppliers. The Law provides for the possibility for potential suppliers to challenge decisions and measures taken by contracting entities in the course of procurement. While the procuring state actor has discretion in deciding what to buy and how to conduct the procurement, that discretion is subject to special provisions consistent with other international standards, especially those set out in the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

Additional Documents:

In addition to the text of the Model Law, UNCITRAL has also developed:

• Guide to Enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Public Procurement (2012). The purpose of the Guide is to promote the effective use of the Model Law as a tool for modernization and reform of procurement systems, particularly where the types of procurement procedures described in the Model Law are not well known. The Guide is a compilation of reference materials explaining both the objectives of the UNCITRAL Model Law and how to achieve them using the provisions of the law.
• Guidance on procurement regulations to be promulgated in accordance with Article 4 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Public Procurement (2013). The purpose of the Guidance is to assist in the preparation and adoption by States of a complete set of rules and procedures necessary for the application of the Model Law.
• Glossary of procurement-related terms used in the UNCITRAL Model Law on Public Procurement. The Glossary includes a list of key terms and concepts used in the Model Law, their definitions, and other terms used in the same or similar sense in other international instruments regulating procurement.

In 2016, the new World Bank Procurement Framework was adopted. It is a set of rules and procedures that must be followed when awarding contracts under investment projects financed in whole or in part with funds (grants and/or loans) of the World Bank.

From the World Bank's perspective, the new procurement framework is intended to promote a strategic approach to public procurement by addressing the following objectives:

1. assisting states in investing in key development challenges, including education, health and infrastructure;
2. modernizing the public procurement systems of World Bank-assisted countries and adapting best procurement practices to national and other contexts;
3. providing possibility of using national procurement systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
4. improving transparency and accountability of public procurement and public expenditure in general, using new tools (specifically, procurement through digital platforms);
5. improving the efficiency of utilization of World Bank funds as a leading international development bank.

In practice, the following tools are used to accomplish the mentioned objectives:

1. reducing the processing time of applications for project financing by the World Bank by streamlining the required documentation through the use of templates;
2. using an expanded set of procurement tools;
3. assisting countries in developing public procurement capacity;
4. using alternative procurement tools, including co-financing and project financing;
5. assisting control and supervision authorities in monitoring and auditing public procurement;
6. supporting national producers through access to financing from the World Bank and other development banks.

The most important feature of the World Bank Procurement Framework is the availability of a significant amount of material to assist countries with the paperwork required to obtain support for investment projects:

• Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. The Regulations cover all stages of public procurement under projects financed in whole or in part by the World Bank. Key topics include procurement process management, preparation of a procurement plan, terms and conditions of procurement and tenders, and Bank-approved methods of selecting winning tenderers.
• User Support Material. Support Material includes a set of handbooks and practical guides on various aspects of the procurement process, as well as templates of documents for recipients of Bank funds.
• Project Procurement Mobile App. The App aims to assist procurement operators using World Bank funds. It allows to track data on current and past contracts in real time, as well as view incoming bids in open tenders.

The OECD's approach to public procurement regulation and reform is based on the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Public Procurement, adopted in 2015. The Recommendation is a set of basic principles for organizing procurement activities, both in OECD member countries and in other countries.

The OECD Recommendation of the Council covers the entire public procurement cycle and is seen as guidelines (along with the UNCITRAL Model Law, WTO Agreement on Public Procurement) for modernizing public procurement systems. Another important feature of the Recommendation is the division of public policy objectives in procurement into main and additional ones. The main objectives include the provision of goods, works and services that are necessary for the fulfillment of the main tasks of public authorities in a timely, cost-effective and efficient manner. At the same time, additional OECD objectives include the use of public procurement to promote sustainable development, the development of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, as well as the development of specific sectors of the national economy, and responsible business standards.

The OECD Recommendation of the Council on Public Procurement includes a list of core principles on which public procurement systems for goods, works and services should be based, as well as their explanations. The Recommendation includes 12 core principles:

• transparency in public procurement (Transparency);
• integrity frameworks and codes of conduct in public procurement (Integrity);
• promoting access to procurement and supplier competition (Integrity);
• balancing secondary policy objectives against the primary procurement objective (Balance);
• taking into account the opinions of all stakeholders, including associations of suppliers, as well as potential end consumers of goods, works and services (Participation);
• improving the efficiency of public procurement throughout the entire procurement cycle (Efficiency);
• using digital technologies, including the development of electronic procurement (E-procurement);
• developing the capacity of the procurement workforce (Capacity);
• regular analysis and monitoring of the effectiveness of public procurement (Evaluation);
• integrating risk management strategies and addressing main risks throughout the public procurement cycle (Risk);
• introducing oversight and accountability mechanisms throughout the procurement cycle (Accountability);
• integration of public procurement into budgeting (Integration).

In addition to the public procurement principles listed in the OECD Recommendation of the Council, the organization has also developed a set of tools and supplementary materials compiled in the OECD Public Procurement Toolbox. The Toolbox provides the following materials:

• Principles and Tools. This is an interactive set of OECD public procurement principles, where each principle is accompanied by explanations, reference and methodological materials on their implementation, as well as country cases;
• Country Cases. The section presents contributions from OECD member countries as well as other states applying the OECD Recommendation of the Council or parts thereof. Materials include voluntary reviews and reports, best practices, etc.;
• Assessment Tools and Indicators. This includes inputs from evaluations of public procurement systems conducted in accordance with various methodologies and key efficiency indicators.