On behalf of CoST Uganda, the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), in partnership with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), will conduct a two-day user-centered capacity training for Procurement and Disposal Entities (PDEs) and following upgrade of the Government Procurement Portal (GPP).
The training is scheduled for April 8th and 9th April 2026 at the PPDA Regional Offices and forms part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Transparency and Accountability in Uganda’s infrastructure sector. It’s organized under the Data Publication Project, with support from CoST-The Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. CoST operates globally as a multi-stakeholder initiative that promotes transparency and accountability in public infrastructure through improved disclosure and use of infrastructure project data. In Uganda, this initiative is championed by the Ministry of Works and Transport and implemented by AFIC.
Background of the project
The Data Publication Project aims to improve transparency in infrastructure development by scaling up the publication of infrastructure project information on the Government Procurement Portal (GPP) and aligning the portal with international open data standards (OC4IDS).
Since July 2025, we have been working on this project with PPDA to support enhanced publication for infrastructure projects on the GPP. Our recent upgrade of Government procurement portal, (GPP) integrates the Infrastructure Data Standard (IDS) together with the Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard(OC4IDS) sustainability modules to improve the quality, completeness, and usability of infrastructure information published on the portal. This shall enable sustainable procurement as prioritized by both the Government of Uganda and it East Africa Community Partner states.
Integrating Sustainability Data into the GPP
As part of the project activities, we conducted a mapping exercise led by the GPP Upgrade consultant whom identified that of 148 data elements assessed (70 core disclosure points and 78 sustainability indicators), only 26 (17.6%) were currently published by September 2025 and Only 4.2% of OC4IDS project paths were mapped, limiting lifecycle tracking capabilities. The mapping report hence recommended,
- Implement 23 structured fields for Environmental, Social and Health Safeguards to support the PPDA 2023 Regulations requiring ESHS disclosure for public infrastructure
- Deploy project identifiers to link contracts across lifecycle stages, enabling verification that planning commitments are implemented
- Phase in 78 sustainability elements, prioritizing the 15 fields that unlock climate finance eligibility and beneficial ownership disclosure required
The mapping report identified that GPP upgrade enhancement would:
- Provide more support on compliance with PPDA 2023 ESHS requirements,
- Unlock access an estimate of $2.5 billion in regional climate finance upon standardized disclosure for data points on infrastructure projects.
- Demonstrate value for money through lifecycle analysis as per PPDA Act
- Contribute to the 16th East African Public Procurement Forum (Sept 2024) which adopted two resolutions developing a harmonized action plan for Sustainable Public Procurement with standards and strengthening implementation, M&E for Beneficial ownership. These were directly relevant to GPP development.
A stakeholder use-case workshop followed to identify priority sustainability data points from the mapping exercise using CoST Standard relevant to Uganda’s infrastructure sector. Stakeholders from government (high spend infrastructure projects), civil society, and the private sector participated in selecting data points from the optional sustainability modules. Of the 78 data point indicators for sustainability, 36 were prioritized for upgrade onto GPP. Indicators cover Institutional, social, environmental, economic and climate finance sustainability.
The prioritized data points by entities have now been integrated into the upgraded Government Procurement Portal, alongside additional missing IDS data points. The system upgrade has also introduced an analytical dashboard interface designed to improve data navigation, reporting, and real-time analysis, assisted by a consultant.
In addition, the upgrade has included two additional stages of the infrastructure procurement lifecycle; that is -operation and maintenance, and decommissioning that will allow for more comprehensive disclosure of infrastructure information beyond the procurement phase. These designs also incorporate lessons from our 2025 pilot project “Responsible infrastructure investment project” under KCCA that assessed transparency in the appraisal and selection of public infrastructure projects while testing 32 data poinCoST Uganda to Train Procurement Entities on the Upgraded GPP
On behalf of CoST Uganda, the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), in partnership with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), will conduct a two-day user-centered capacity training for Procurement and Disposal Entities (PDEs) and following upgrade of the Government Procurement Portal (GPP).
The training is scheduled for April 8th and 9th April 2026 at the PPDA Regional Offices and forms part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Transparency and Accountability in Uganda’s infrastructure sector. It’s organized under the Data Publication Project, with support from CoST-The Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. CoST operates globally as a multi-stakeholder initiative that promotes transparency and accountability in public infrastructure through improved disclosure and use of infrastructure project data. In Uganda, the CoST initiative is championed by the Ministry of Works and Transport and implemented by AFIC.
Background of the project
The Data Publication Project aims to improve transparency in infrastructure development by scaling up the publication of infrastructure project information on the Government Procurement Portal (GPP) and aligning the portal with international open data standards (OC4IDS).
Since July 2025, we have been working on this project with PPDA to support enhanced publication for infrastructure projects on the GPP. Our recent upgrade of Government procurement portal, (GPP) integrates the Infrastructure Data Standard (IDS) together with the Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard(OC4IDS) sustainability modules to improve the quality, completeness, and usability of infrastructure information published on the portal. This shall enable sustainable procurement as prioritized by both the Government of Uganda and it East Africa Community Partner states.
Integrating Sustainability Data into the GPP
As part of the project activities, we conducted a mapping exercise led by the GPP Upgrade consultant whom identified that of 148 data elements assessed (70 core disclosure points and 78 sustainability indicators), only 26 (17.6%) were currently published by September 2025 and Only 4.2% of OC4IDS project paths were mapped, limiting lifecycle tracking capabilities. The mapping report hence recommended,
- Implementation of 23 structured fields for Environmental, Social and Health Safeguards to support the PPDA 2023 Regulations requiring ESHS disclosure for public infrastructure
- Deployment of project identifiers to link contracts across lifecycle stages, enabling verification that planning commitments are implemented
- Phasing in 78 sustainability elements, prioritizing the 15 fields that unlock climate finance eligibility and beneficial ownership disclosure required
The mapping report identified that GPP upgrade enhancement would:
- Provide more support on compliance with PPDA 2023 ESHS requirements,
- Unlock access an estimate of $2.5 billion in regional climate finance upon standardized disclosure for data points on infrastructure projects.
- Demonstrate value for money through lifecycle analysis as per PPDA Act
- Contribute to the 16th East African Public Procurement Forum (Sept 2024) which adopted two resolutions developing a harmonized action plan for Sustainable Public Procurement with standards and strengthening implementation, M&E for Beneficial ownership. These were directly relevant to GPP development.
A stakeholder use-case workshop followed to identify priority sustainability data points from the mapping exercise using CoST Standard relevant to Uganda’s infrastructure sector. Stakeholders from government (high spend infrastructure projects), civil society, and the private sector participated in selecting data points from the optional sustainability modules. Of the 78 data point indicators for sustainability, 36 were prioritized for upgrade onto GPP. Indicators cover Institutional, social, environmental, economic and climate finance sustainability.
The prioritized data points by entities have now been integrated into the upgraded Government Procurement Portal, alongside additional missing IDS data points. The system upgrade has also introduced an analytical dashboard interface designed to improve data navigation, reporting, and real-time analysis, assisted by a consultant.
In addition, the upgrade has included two additional stages of the infrastructure procurement lifecycle; that is -operation and maintenance, and decommissioning that will allow for more comprehensive disclosure of infrastructure information beyond the procurement phase. These designs also incorporate lessons from our 2025 pilot project “Responsible infrastructure investment project” under KCCA that assessed transparency in the appraisal and selection of public infrastructure projects while testing 32 data points of sustainability (climate finance, social) providing insights to strengthening data publication.
To ensure that procurement entities can effectively use the upgraded system, the upcoming training will therefore focus on building the technical capacity of PDEs responsible for entering, managing, and using infrastructure project data to report quality infrastructure project data using the CoST new sustainability modules of open contracting. In the long run, this training shall yield,
- High quality, access and use of infrastructure project data to support planning and decision-making.
- Increased awareness of the CoST standard and usage for the upgraded GPP
- Improved knowledge, compliance and use of the upgraded GPP to publish infrastructure data.
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