The iMonitor project empowers citizens to actively engage in monitoring public contracts, contributing to transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption efforts locally. We introduce an innovative public contract monitoring model, combining data-driven risk assessment with on-the-ground monitoring by trained civic monitors. The goal is to provide actionable information to authorities to address corruption and fraud in public procurement, fostering strong civil society networks for sustained anti-corruption efforts. We implement our approach in 4 European countries/regions: Catalonia (Spain), Italy, Lithuania and Romania.

Public contracts are crucial for delivering goods, services, and infrastructure that directly affect citizens’ lives. But they are also vulnerable to corruption, leading to inefficiencies and potential loss of public resources. Monitoring public contracts is necessary to ensure that public funds are used efficiently and that government services and projects are delivered as promised.

Civic monitors serve as watchdogs, preventing mismanagement and corruption. They can help promote transparency, act as community advocates, report issues, and mobilise public awareness around public contract monitoring. iMonitor supports citizens in monitoring projects that impact their communities, enabling them to actively participate in ensuring the efficient use of public funds.

Data-driven risk assessment of contracts: We use opentender.eu (maintained by the Government Transparency Institute) to assess the integrity of millions of contracts and select those that are more prone to corruption and irregularities. This helps to direct the focus of our civic monitoring to contracts where the potential preventive impact is higher.

Network building: iMonitor seeks to establish enduring monitoring networks within the civic community. We also promote collaboration between civil society and public actors to enhance monitoring effectiveness. From the start, we have in each country a public partner collaborating with the project.

Skill development: Our training programme provides civic monitors with basic knowledge of public procurement, how it can be affected by corruption, and how to monitor contracts in their communities. The programme will be offered in four sessions combining webinars and a hands-on in-person event with a real monitoring exercise.

Reporting template: iMonitor offers an easy-to-use online reporting template (monithon.eu), where monitors report their findings in a structured questionnaire with detailed guidance. Finished reports are made public on the platform and can be disseminated to other stakeholders. Those reports with relevant findings on potential irregularities are also forwarded to competent authorities for further investigation.

To date, iMonitor has produced a common monitoring reporting template in Spain, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania, and a methodology to engage civic communities in this delicate activity. The new template has been integrated into Monithon’s civic monitoring platform and is now usable.

In three of the four countries, training activities have been completed, with dozens of participants from civil society organizations, students, and individual citizens.

Field monitoring activities started in July 2024 and will continue until the end of the year. Stay tuned!