OCDS

OCDS, the Open Contracting Data Standard, is a data standard designed to improve transparency and interoperability of public procurement information. It is developed and maintained by the Open Contracting Partnership with input from governments, civil society, and developers. The standard provides a common, machine-readable model for publishing procurement data so that it can be compared, analyzed, and reused across different jurisdictions and systems.

The standard covers the procurement lifecycle from planning through procurement, contracting, and contract implementation. Data are published as releases and release packages to enable incremental disclosure and updates over time. A key feature is the use of a persistent identifier, the OCID (Open Contracting ID), to uniquely identify procurements. Core elements commonly represented include planning, tendering and bidding, awards, contracts, contract amendments, items and values, contracting parties (buyers and suppliers), documents, and milestones or progress updates.

OCDS is designed to be platform- and language-agnostic, with data typically expressed in JSON and validated against JSON schemas. It emphasizes openness, machine readability, and interoperability, and includes guidance on conformance and localization. The standard supports localization through language fields and translations, while also accommodating country-specific extensions as needed.

Adoption of OCDS is widespread among national and subnational governments, international organizations, and development partners. It aims to enable accountability, foster data-driven policy analysis, and facilitate research by providing a consistent, reusable dataset of procurement information. The Open Contracting Partnership coordinates ongoing development and governance through a global community that revises and extends the standard to meet evolving transparency and data-sharing needs.