After katrina: Comparisons of post-disaster public procurement approaches and outcomes in the new orleans area

Abstract

Hurricane Katrina remains the “most destructive disaster in U.S. history” (Farber & Chen, 2006). The purpose of this article is to examine the public procurement practices followed by local government officials in and around New Orleans within the context of Hurricane Katrina, and define impacts of disaster on procurement processes. Original and primary data drawn from interviews with officials working in and with public procurement are used to examine the role of institutional culture and practices which encourage or constrain active, responsible behavior. We find that this behavior influences the quality, including the transparency and fairness, of purchasing responses.

Supply Chain Manipulation, Misrepresentation, and Magical Thinking During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Even where the effort to solicit bids and make awards considers notions of fairness and accountability, operational constraints often reduce the vendor pool. At the very least, the lack of consistent enforcement and controls during a disaster response may favor opportunities for corruption that decrease public welfare (Atkinson & Sapat, 2012;Nikolova & Marinov, 2017).…”

“…Public-sector procurement as a business process is an important point of government response in crisis situations, and this often requires governments to gather needed materials to adequately respond to the immediate crisis and create short-term supply chains to begin recovery (Atkinson, 2014). How a government responds to a disaster says “a great deal about the accountability and transparency of the government institution, and whether the institution itself constrains or encourages official behavior in a way that is favorable or hostile to community interests” (Atkinson & Sapat, 2012, p. 378). It has been suggested that the capacity to address needs in a disaster scenario is related to preparedness, and in some cases, use of ad hoc committees and delay tactics can influence contract awards for single sources (Buor, 2019); this leaves certain subpopulations more vulnerable.…”

Structural development of the tender based land allocation process enables an improved public building development activity

“…It requires skills related to, e.g. economic growth, environmental sustainability and market focus (Van Valkenburg and Nagelkerke 2006;McCrudden 2007;Arrowsmith 2010;Atkinson and Sapat 2012). Careful design and evaluation of the relevant aspects of procurement are crucial for its success.…”

“…Only in rare situations is the actual requirement from the population captured, i.e. suitable cost levels, quality, size, or material choice, which can limit the development of strategies as discussed by Atkinson and Sapat (2012).…”

“…A municipality respondent said, "This is something that is useful and further provides an opportunity to push the development in a specific direction", whereas a developer has an approach where "The municipalities can pose whatever requirements they want if these are the conditions for us to buy land and develop our solution". Further, Van Valkenburg and Nagelkerke (2006) and Atkinson and Sapat (2012) discuss that a broader scope including, e.g. environmental impact assessments to create a comprehensive strategy are supported by the possibility to pose specific requests, as with the land allocation process, as beneficial for development.…”