An overview of corruption & AC assessment tools Photos by Adam Rogers/UNCDF.

An overview of corruption & AC assessment tools

Photos by Adam Rogers/UNCDF

Country-level corruption and anti-corruption assessment tools

Corruption Transparency/Accountability/Integrity

Diagnostic Assessments

Institutions

Processes

Sectors

Local level

Compliance monitoring

Perception

Experience/ victimisationPublic

opinion

Experts

Public sector

General population / vulnerable groups

Public sector

Private sector

Mapped by Transparency International

• Start with a clear objective

• Map out relevant tools, and select a methodology that is suited to your purpose and focus

• Don’t just replicate a generic tool developed by an international organization, or a tool used in another country: adapt it to your setting (country-specific indicators)

• Make sure to use indicators that are complementary (input vs. outcome; de jure vs. de facto)

• Invest in proper design, testing and initial consultation of stakeholders before rolling-out

Selecting an appropriate assessment tool

WB governance & AC diagnostic surveys

Tools for measuring corruption

• Collect experiential rather than perception data

• Standard questionnaire adapted to the reality of each country

• Conducted by local independent survey firm or local NGOs

• All info gathered strictly confidential

• 3 different polls carried out simultaneously:

1) Public officials survey: to understand the specific determinants of corruption, extent of discretionality / informality

2) Private sector survey: to understand effects of public sector governance & corruption on private sector development

3) Household survey: To study citizens’ experience with and perception of corruption in public & private sector

Country-level corruption and Anti-corruption assessment tools



Institutions

Processes

Sectors

Local level


Perception


opinion

Experts

Public sector


Public sector

Private sector


GAC diagnostic survey – Household


• Nature of the problem

• Probability of situational scenarios

• Characteristics of using public services (responsiveness, costs & bribes)

• Judicial system (Professionalism, cost accessibility)

• Education system (Obstacles to education)

• Analyzing the corruption problem (reporting corruption & resolution mechanisms)

• Additional info on the respondents (personal info related to quality of life, social welfare)

Existing data source: TI Global corruption barometer

• Assesses the general public’s perceptions and experiences of corruption & bribery in different public institutions

• Macedonia, Kosovo & Turkey (since 2004)

• Carried out by Gallup International or reputable local polling organization

• Can access dataset (XLS files): Possibility to disaggregate by demographic variables (household income, age, education, employment)

• To what extent (1-5) do you perceive these institutions to be affected by corruption? Political parties, parliament, private sector, media, civil servants, judiciary

• Which of these institutions/sectors do you consider to be the most affected by corruption?

• In the past 12 months, have you or anyone living in your household paid a bribe in any form?

• How would you assess your current government’s actions in the fight against corruption? (ineffective, neither, effective)

Existing data source: TI Global corruption barometer




Institutions

Processes

Sectors

Local level


Perception


opinion

Experts

Public sector


Public sector

Private sector



GAC diagnostic survey – Public official

• Management of personnel (e.g. payment of wages)

• Budget administration

• Performance / provision of services (e.g. discretion used in decision-making process)

• Information management

• Governance system (corrupt practices, mechanisms for reporting corruption, awarding public contracts, etc.)

• National situation (effects on personal living conditions)

• Respondent’s own suggestion for fighting corruption




Institutions

Processes

Sectors

Local level


Perception


opinion

Experts

Public sector


Public sector

Private sector


Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) – WB &

EBRD

• Compiles the experiences of 200-600 firms in each country, in 26 transition countries (in Central and Eastern Europe and CIS) plus Turkey in four rounds: 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008 (results not out yet)

• Survey examines the quality of the ‘business environment’: unofficial payments & corruption, crime, regulations and red tape, customs and taxes, labor issues, firm financing, legal and judicial issues, infrastructure

• Corruption is an important topic: roughly 25% of 400 variables in the BEEPS dataset pertain to corruption, unofficial payments, or tax evasion.

• No pure perception questions; asking instead about specific aspects of the business environment as they affect their firm

Another existing source: Ease of Doing Business Index (WB)

• ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index generated by asking lawyers, accountants, etc. in each country about the details of the laws, rules, and procedures that govern various aspects of doing business De jure!

• All four countries are covered

• 10 topics are assessed

Ranking – Ease of Doing Business Index

Under category Eastern Europe & Central Asia (out of a total of 27 countries):

1)Macedonia (rank no. 5)

2)Montenegro (rank no.15)

3)Turkey (rank no.17)

4)Kosovo (rank no.22)

…But what does the Macedonian BEEPS report say, on the overall ‘corruption as a problem in doing business’ indicator?

BEEPS – Macedonian report

The BEEPS indicators measure what firms are saying about the ways that government policies, rules, and procedures are implemented in practice.




Institutions

Processes

Sectors

Local level


Perception


opinion

Experts

Public sector


Public sector

Private sector


CRINIS (Political Party Finance)

Tools for measuring integrity

• TI-led initiative

•Assessment of a country’s legal framework and practice in the area of political party financing – focus on transparency

• Data collection: administrative data, interviews with insiders, survey of key actors, field tests

• A research team (local specialists) feeds data into a series of 11 online questionnaires on the legal framework and compliance with laws

http://www.crinisproject.org/

CRINIS (Political Party Finance)

Tools for measuring integrity

10 “dimensions” of political party transparency:

1. Internal book keeping2. Reporting to the electoral management body3. Disclosure of information to the public4. Comprehensiveness of reporting5. Depth of reporting6. Reliability of reporting7. Prevention8. Sanctions9. State control10.Public oversight




Institutions

Processes

Sectors

Local level


Perception


opinion

Experts

Public sector


Public sector

Private sector


Rapid Assessment for Justice Systems

• A method developed by an NGO, Due Process of Law, originally for Latin America, but adaptable to any context

• To explore the specific phenomenon of judicial corruption, and ask why, under what conditions, and in what form it occurs

• Focuses on control mechanisms (organs with disciplinary control capacity or other functions related to improper conduct by judges & judicial employees):

• Their capacity & resources

• Their performance – in practice, what type of ‘control’?

Rapid Assessment for Justice Systems

• Triangulation of information sources: laws, press reports, files, statistics, reports, academic papers

• Questions found in the last column (‘source comparison and data interpretation’) are designed to facilitate data consolidation and comparison

• Primary data: interviews with judges, judicial officials, prosecutors, Public Ministry officials, litigators, NGO leaders, specialized journalists, academics

• Final output – a report that can serve as a basis for indicator development




Institutions

Processes

Sectors

Local level


Perception


opinion

Experts

Public sector


Public sector

Private sector


Open Budget Index

• To provide citizens, legislators and civil society advocates with the information needed to gauge a government’s commitment to budget transparency and accountability

• A questionnaire to be completed by independent non-governmental experts, reviewed by OBI staff and reviewed by anonymous peer reviewers

• Criteria based on generally accepted good practices in public financial management

• Objective data only (evidence provided for each question)

• Indicators & country reports available for Macedonia & Turkey

Open Budget Index (122 questions)


1. Availability of budget documents

• Budget year of documents used in completing questionnaire, internet links, distribution of budget proposals & of enacted budget, etc.

2. Executive’s budget proposal

• Estimates for budget year and beyond (comprehensiveness), narrative and performance monitoring

3. Budget process

• Exec’s formulation of the budget, legislative approval, executive implementation and year-end report, supreme audit institution

Open Budget Index - examples


3. Budget process

Executive’s formulation of the budget

Does the executive release to the public its timetable for its budget preparation process?

Legislative approval of the budget

Does the executive present more details or provide a better explanation of any budget proposal, if members of the legislature (including from minority parties) request such information?

An overview of corruption & AC assessment tools Photos by Adam Rogers/UNCDF.

Documents

perception of corruption

corruption nature

public private sector

countrylevel corruption

private sector survey

private sector development

public officials survey

ti global corruption