Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR)

A Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR) is a structured diagnostic that evaluates a developing member country's entire public procurement system, measuring it against internationally recognised benchmarks and identifying specific gaps in law, institutions, capacity, and practice that need reform to support effective use of ADB and other development-finance resources.

What is a Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR)?

The CPAR examines four dimensions of a country's procurement environment: the legal and regulatory framework governing public procurement; the institutional and management capacity of procuring entities; the purchasing operations and market practices that shape how contracts are managed in practice; and the integrity and transparency mechanisms that control for corruption. ADB uses the CPAR findings to calibrate how much oversight, support, and prior-review is appropriate for ADB-financed projects in that country. A country with a strong, assessed procurement system may qualify for less intensive ADB supervision, while a country with identified weaknesses receives more hands-on support and closer monitoring.

The CPAR also provides a baseline for strategic-procurement-planning at the country level: it tells ADB and the dmc government where systemic reforms are needed and what technical assistance to prioritise. CPARs are typically prepared jointly by ADB and government counterparts, which gives the findings domestic ownership and increases the likelihood of follow-through on recommended reforms.

Why CPAR matters for bidders

CPAR findings shape the procurement environment in which suppliers compete. A country with a CPAR that documents weak evaluation practices, opaque award processes, or systemic integrity risks is one where ADB will apply closer supervision, meaning more prior-review requirements and more ADB staff involvement in individual procurement actions. This can slow timelines but also provides suppliers with stronger guardrails against unfair treatment. Suppliers entering a new DMC should look for the most recent CPAR on adb.org to understand what procurement-system weaknesses and reforms are on the agenda, which helps calibrate expectations about process speed, documentation burden, and the role ADB staff will play in oversight.

FAQ

Are CPAR reports publicly available?

Most CPAR reports are published on adb.org under the relevant country's page, though some may be available only in summary form depending on the government's disclosure preferences.

How often is a CPAR updated?

CPARs are not updated on a fixed cycle. A new assessment is typically triggered by a significant reform in the country's procurement law or by ADB's need to recalibrate its oversight approach after a period of implementation experience.

Does every DMC have a CPAR?

Not all DMCs have a current CPAR. The assessment is prioritised for countries where ADB has a substantial lending programme or where systemic procurement risks have been identified through project implementation experience.