Hlídač státu

Description

Hlídač státu is an independent watchdog organization in the Czech Republic that monitors how the state spends public money.

It collects and publishes data on public contracts, subsidies, procurement tenders and the salaries of officials and politicians, along with the links between them and companies. An AI system searches millions of contracts, tenders and subsidy records, and alerts users to new developments at public bodies it tracks. The service and its database are free for anyone to use.

Its investigations have uncovered cases such as overpriced public IT contracts, leading to real changes in how the state operates. The organization says its work has saved billions of Czech crowns, mainly by exposing and halting overpriced IT procurement. It has also pushed for laws requiring greater openness from public authorities and for digitization and anti-corruption measures.

Hlídač státu has been operating for ten years. It is funded exclusively by donors and carries no advertising and no state subsidies, which it says keeps it independent.