Deputy & Program DirectorOpen Contracting Partnership
Kathrin’s journey as a social entrepreneur started in an unlikely place – the World Bank. Surrounded by experts in technical assistance who structured loans for governments, she was part of a small team at the World Bank Institute, an incubation lab and ‘internal agitator’ testing out how the Bank could have more impact on good governance and public accountability. Kathrin worked in diverse countries, including Nigeria, Uganda and Mongolia using her skills in collaborative design and facilitation to bring representatives from government, business and civil society together to solve complex governance issues in high impact but challenging areas such as mining, construction and service delivery.
Public contracting was the key issue that kept arising across countries and industries yet it received very little attention. Once she realized the huge potential impact that more accountable procurement processes could have, there was no turning back. Kathrin corralled her team to begin a consultative process for a global organization to open up government contracting that would be better equipped than the World Bank to work internationally across stakeholder groups. She led the spin-off process, from securing buy-in and funding to setting up the infrastructure for what became the OCP. Kathrin now co-manages the Partnership with Gavin and is still thrilled by the daily opportunity to change how contracting can deliver value for everyone.