Gutemberg Lopes Jr., a MID 2008 student from Brazil, whose business plan entitled “Wiki Technology Applied in Anti-Corruption: Fighting Fraud in Government Construction Contracts” has been selected as one of the winners of World Bank's 2009 Anti-corruption collective action competition (Students and Young Professionals category). The World Bank has published the winning business plan on its website.
Article Direct Link: http://info.worldbank.org/etools/antic/docs/Case%20Studies/Anti-Corruption%20Winners/Students/Business%20Plan%20by%20Gutemberg%20Lopes.pdf
WIKI TECHNOLOGY APPLIED IN ANTI-CORRUPTION: FIGHTING FRAUD IN GOVERNMENT CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (ABSTRACT)
Imagine if it was very easy for anyone to find out how much their government paid to construct the local hospitals or schools and compare this information with all the other governments on the planet. This kind of information is usually already available to the public – it is just not so easy to obtain or compare it with other administrations.
It is known that one of the most effective ways to fight corruption is publicity. Whenever acts of corruption are exposed, there is pressure for them to end. This business plan proposes building a website that uses data collected by volunteers from around the planet regarding construction contracts. In addition, governments themselves may choose to take part in the project and provide the necessary data. Either way, as long as the information is made available on the website, the result will be prevention of corruption, compliance with the law and improved efficiency of government spending.
This daunting task would have been impossible in the past, but with the Internet it can be done. Online collaboration and interaction is a reality. The success of websites such as Youtube, Facebook, My Space, Twitter and Wikipedia leaves no doubt about that.
The same wiki technology made famous by Wikipedia can be applied to develop the proposed website. If there is a big difference between how much cities not far from each other paid, for instance, to build similar bridges, something is most certainly wrong. It might be corruption or bad management. By making the public aware of that price difference, an investigation will follow and the truth will be discovered.
Even though the website will start only with construction contracts, it has the potential to be used in many other business sectors that require taxpayers’ money.
