As "a tool for preventing corruption in public contracting", an integrity pact is a multi-party agreement entered into by a public body seeking to procure goods and services of significant value, the companies interested in bidding to supply the goods and services, and a third party organisation such as a civil society organisation who will have a role in monitoring compliance with the pact.
Integrity pacts are promoted and supported by the German-based anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International and by the European Union. Transparency International highlights Mexico and Pakistan as countries which make effective use of integrity pacts.
In January 2014, the Government of India cancelled a US$630 million deal with AgustaWestland for purchasing 12 AW 101 helicopters citing "breach of the Pre-contract Integrity Pact and the agreement by AWIL (AgustaWestland International Ltd)".
According to the European Commission, "Integrity Pacts have been around since the 1990s, and have been applied in more than 15 countries and 300 separate situations". As part of a pilot project entitled Integrity Pacts - Civil Control Mechanism for Safeguarding EU Funds, an international conference was organised by the Transparency International supported by the European Commission and held on 5 May 2015 in Brussels.