A duration analysis of public procurement processes

One of the measures of public procurement efficiency is the duration of the contracting process and its substages. While shorter times mean faster deliveries, lower uncertainty and higher trust in contracting authorities, longer times may deter bidders from participating. Identifying optimal times can be a challenge due to the multiple factors involved.

This paper analyses the duration times of stages and substages of the contracting process, to identify which variables can affect duration times, and approach the use of duration times as red flags. It used data published in the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) from Chile and Portugal. This methodology can be adapted to other countries where contracting data is published in open formats such as OCDS.