Our summary
MAPS is an international method for assessing public procurement systems. The World Bank and the OECD Development Assistance Committee first created it in 2003, and it was revised between 2015 and 2018. Its current materials are dated 2025. The MAPS Secretariat, hosted by the OECD in Paris, looks after it. MAPS has a main methodology and four extra modules: sustainable public procurement, professionalisation, e-procurement, and public-private partnerships and concessions. All parts are free for anyone to use.
The main methodology is built on four pillars: (1) the legal, regulatory and policy framework; (2) the institutional framework and management capacity; (3) public procurement operations and market practices; and (4) accountability, integrity and transparency. Each pillar has indicators and sub-indicators, with clear criteria and some numerical measures. Governments use it, alone or with development partners, at national, local, sector or entity level, including state-owned enterprises. Assessments are written by certified independent assessors, and the Secretariat can give a Seal of Approval to reports that meet its quality standards. The methodology itself says a MAPS assessment is not an audit, but it shows strengths and gaps and leads to a reform action plan.
How auditors use it: Internal auditors, supreme audit institutions and fraud examiners can use the MAPS criteria as a ready benchmark for good procurement practice. The integrity criteria are especially useful: excluding firms convicted of fraud or corruption, keeping records long enough for fraud cases and audits, managing conflicts of interest and separating duties, and checking procurement data through audit. Auditors can also read the published country assessments to understand procurement risks in a country before they plan an audit.