It is far from the reality, usually they pick the highest dealer and 99% of the time, the mission is to go to an african country, mess a little, take some photo of some poor little childrens and collect the money.
@nelkins
The UN selecting its contractors on the basis of price (or competence) is not scary, it's unprecedented. The jobs go to those with the right connections, who well know that they can charge pretty much what they like.