EVALUATING TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTRONIC PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: A FRAMEWORK-BASED ASSESSMENT OF INDONESIA'S SPSE

Abstract

Transparency is a fundamental principle of good governance and an essential mechanism for strengthening accountability in public procurement. While Indonesia's Electronic Procurement System (SPSE) has accelerated the digitalization of procurement processes, a comprehensive evaluation of transparency across the procurement cycle remains limited. This study evaluates the transparency of SPSE using the proposed Transparency Evaluation Framework (TEF), which synthesizes international transparency principles with Indonesia's public procurement regulations. A qualitative descriptive evaluative approach was employed through systematic content analysis and system feature observation. Five transparency dimensions comprising sixteen indicators were assessed using an ordinal three-point scale (1–3), with a maximum score of 48. The findings indicate that SPSE achieved 36 points (75%), indicating a moderate level of transparency. The strongest performance was observed in the pre-tender and tender stages, whereas post-tender transparency and oversight mechanisms remained comparatively weaker, particularly regarding contract disclosure, audit publication, and public access to monitoring information. The findings suggest that digital procurement has strengthened procedural transparency but has not yet ensured comprehensive transparency throughout the procurement lifecycle. This study contributes a proposed TEF for structured descriptive evaluation of transparency in electronic procurement and provides practical recommendations for strengthening post-contract disclosure, open contracting data, and integrated oversight.