On your issue of transparency, there are ways to make sure that you can level the playing field in terms of the information available: contracts, all sorts of procurement documents, all of the outcomes of previous levels of work. If you set the expectation up front that it's going to be publicly available, or at least available to the qualified bidders, it does help, coupled with the fact that the business owners need to be out engaging the private sector around what they need and make themselves accessible.
People hide behind walls. It doesn't mean that it becomes a cozy relationship, but if two people can't talk about what the issue is and what they're trying to do.... Once you can do that in an open way—and there are formalities that you can do to make it all above board—trying to open the tent a bit wider and having more open discussions with people will bring everyone up to the same level of knowledge and let them compete.
You then start to avoid “only so-and-so knows”. You open it up and try to level it from a knowledge perspective. It's particularly important if you're going to be renewing contacts or rebidding work over a certain period of time.