Overview

The Procurement Integrity program covers the institutional, legal, and procedural issues involved in the procurement of goods and services by public entities and discusses reform programs to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability. The program incorporates the strategies and approaches within the United States and globally to create an organizational culture committed to high ethical standards and integrity. Participants will learn best practices on ensuring organizational procurement is performed fairly, impartially, honestly, legally, and free from fraud and abuse.

Format

The seminars are currently offered both in-person and online simultaneously, at the choice of the participant. This choice must be indicated at the time of registration. A small number of courses are scheduled to be delivered exclusively in person or online, and are indicated as such in the 2024 schedule. In-Person Only seminars usually start at 9:30 am Washington D.C. time. Daily sessions usually end at 4:00 pm. Breaks (including the lunch break) are allocated as appropriate. Online Only seminars will be delivered through five (for 1-week course) or ten (for 2-weeks course) live online sessions via videoconferencing platform. Each session will last approximately 3.5 hours and will be scheduled to start within a time window of 7:00 am – 8:30 am Washington D.C. time. Hybrid In-Person/Online seminars will start at a time most convenient to both in-person and online participants, and will generally follow the In-Person seminar format. We expect the classes to be highly interactive and can include presentations, case studies and exercises.

Course Outline

Public Procurement Reforms

• Reform programs and approaches to enhance transparency, efficiency, integrity and accountability

U.S. Anti-Corruption

• U.S. Anti-Corruption Agencies
• Inspector General Community
• Oversight

Risk Framework Models

• Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commissions (COSO)
• Government Accountability Office (GAO)
• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)

Got Ethics

• Ethics & Compliance Programs
• Whistle-Blower Protections

Procurement Fraud

• Make-up and Schemes
• Vulnerabilities
• Criminal, Civil and/or Administrative

The Fraudster

• Mind-set & Motivation
• Elusiveness

Procurement Integrity Control System®

• Elements
• Criteria

Investigations

• Fraud Risk Theories
• Proactive Approaches
• Case Preparation

Case Study

• Ethical Reform Movement
• Road Blocks
• Victories and Set-Backs

Course Advisor

Sabine Engelhard is a lawyer specialized in procurement whose career focus has been in international development, capacity building and governance-related issues. She held various senior positions at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). She also worked at the World Bank, with a prominent international law firm, and headed the Washington office of an international consulting firm. Sabine has been involved in high-profile initiatives with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to strengthen country procurement governance. Today Ms. Engelhard consults for different international organizations. She is an independent expert with the United Nations (UN) Award-Review Board, advising on procurement challenges resolution. She is a course advisor and a lecturer at the International Law Institute (ILI) in Washington DC, and lectures in the Procurement Master’s Program of the International Training Center of the International Labour Organization (ITC/ILO) in Turin, Italy. She holds master-level and post-graduate degrees in Law, International Relations, and European Studies.

Veljko Sikirica has over forty-five years’ experience in Procurement, Engineering, Project Design, Management, Implementation, Sustainable Development and Capacity Building. He has extensive experience as staff of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (10 years), the Inter-American Development Bank (25 years), and in the last two years, as consultant on UN Development Program Projects. He has vast experience in planning, organization and implementation of Procurement under Emergency Situations, such as Major Natural Disaster Management (hurricanes, earthquakes and floods), as well as, human made disasters, such as procurement for nuclear safety recovery projects including Chernobyl. Sectors covered include: energy, infrastructure, water & sanitation, health and environment. He has been, in the last eight years, part of the permanent faculty Teaching Staff and continues to teach at the International Master in Public Procurement Management (IMPPM), University of Rome. He is also a permanent faculty, member of the teaching staff and Executive Committee at the Belgrade University Master Programme in Procurement. At International Law Institute in Georgetown, USA he is the leader of the Project Management seminar. Mr. Sikirica holds a Graduate degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from “Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico” and a Master degree in Finance from University of Maryland, USA. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Serbian.