Procuring Infrastructure for International Sporting Events : Mapping the Field for IPACS and Beyond

This paper presents the results of a study of infrastructure procurement for international sporting events, mapping both the institutional frameworks and the procedures and governance mechanisms. The aim was to provide information relevant to studying the implementation of procurement objectives and the risks to attaining those objectives and to lay the foundations for further work. The study originated in work by the authors in collaboration with the OECD to assist the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) in managing integrity risks, but also provides a map that can facilitate future study of other issues, such as sustainability. The study sought to map procurement for key sport-specific infrastructure (such as stadiums and swimming pools) and a sample of other infrastructure (sport-specific, sport-related – such as athlete accommodation – and/or other infrastructure procured for the event (such as transport facilities) for 14 international events. Study data from the first ten projects was used as the basis for the IPACS Task Force 1 Report, Mapping of procurement standards and risk management activities in the construction of infrastructure for sporting events (2019). That report analysed the aggregate data to identify and analyse integrity risks and make concrete proposals for mitigating them. This paper supplements the IPACS report by giving more information on the methodology; providing data from four additional projects, which offer further evidence and insights; and presenting the key information through a project-based, as well as aggregate, approach, to place it in context