Competition Advocacy Contest 2026 (World Bank)

As defined by the ICN, competition advocacy refers to activities that promote a competitive environment through non-enforcement mechanisms, such as building relationships with government entities, increasing public awareness of competition’s benefits and identifying and removing anticompetitive policies and regulations

We are looking for success stories from competition agencies, other public bodies or civil society that demonstrate the tangible results of competition advocacy under four themes:

Theme 1 – Advancing competition advocacy in times of rapid changes in the global landscape

Governments are increasingly turning to industrial policies, subsidies and state support to strengthen strategic sectors and supply chains. These measures can promote growth and resilience, but risk distorting markets if not designed with competition in mind. For example, evidence suggests that subsidies raise market share but not productivity: in an OECD working paper, subsidies to large manufacturing firms increased their global market shares but had no or negative impacts on investment and productivity. Competition advocacy is essential to ensure that measures targeting resilience and self-sufficiency promote efficiency and investment rather than distortions or market concentration.

Initiatives under this theme show how agencies have supported policymakers to distinguish between interventions that genuinely address market failures, and those that primarily shield incumbents from competition.

Theme 2 – Promoting a culture of compliance through innovative advocacy and digital tools

Building a culture of compliance is one of the cornerstones of effective competition policy. From AI-powered market screening to online training platforms, TV shows to summer schools, and interactive compliance programs for businesses, innovation can transform the way competition authorities engage with stakeholders. Digital tools offer new possibilities to detect, prevent, and communicate about anticompetitive behavior. The rise of accessible technology and social media platforms also enables agencies to reach broader audiences and measure the effectiveness of their advocacy campaigns more precisely.

Examples in this theme include innovative advocacy or digital solutions to promote compliance and build awareness, whether through partnerships with industry, public outreach or creative use of technology to encourage responsible business practices.

Theme 3 – Embedding competition principles in the green and digital transitions

The green and digital transitions are reshaping economies and creating new markets, which can reinforce each other: digital technologies could cut global greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 20 percent by 2050 in the energy, materials, and mobility sectors (World Bank, 2023). However, these transformations also bring new risks of concentration and conducts. To ensure the transitions remain open and contestable, competition authorities are taking action on several fronts through scalable solutions. In digital markets, sector reviews expose competition risks in platforms, cloud, adtech and AI. Market studies and regulation together promote interoperability, data portability and fair access to essential inputs. In the green sphere, authorities are issuing guidelines that tie environmental subsidies to proportionality and competition safeguards, and publishing guidance that clarifies when firms can cooperate on sustainability goals. Through advocacy and monitoring, authorities also tackle practical barriers, such as grid access or regulatory bottlenecks, to enable entry and investment in emerging green sectors and critical minerals.

This theme focuses on efforts to integrate competition principles into policies supporting digital or green transitions, including market studies, guidelines, regulation and collaboration with policy-makers.

Theme 4 – Global convergence vs. country specificity: contextualizing competition law and policy

While competition law is grounded in common economic principles, its application must often reflect local realities. The ongoing debate between global convergence and national specificity raises important questions about how competition regimes can be adapted to diverse economic structures, levels of development and institutional capacities without compromising on their core goals. Many jurisdictions adapt global best practices to local and regional contexts shaped by informality, inequality, and structural market constraints. Advocating for policies that reflect these contexts, while maintaining clear consumer welfare and efficiency objectives, can enhance the legitimacy and effectiveness of competition systems.

This theme explores how agencies have tailored competition advocacy and policy design, adapting to local policy needs without diluting the fundamental aims of competition law.

Please contact Alex Ciborowska with any questions at aciborowska@worldbank.org.

The deadline for submissions is January 24, 2026.