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Seminar of the Europe 2020 Monitoring PlatformWorking Group on "Administrative capacity and good governance"

Nick THIJSSenior Lecturer - EIPA

Quality of Public Administration“A Toolbox for Practitioners”

Theme 2: Embedding ethical and anti-corruption practices

Quality of Public Administration“A Toolbox for Practitioners”

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Themes

• Introduction

• Principles & values of good governance

• Seven thematic chapters:

1. Better policy-making

2. Embedding ethical & anti-corruption practices

3. Professional and well-performing institutions

4. Improving service delivery

5. Enhancing the business environment

6. Strengthening the judicial system

7. Managing public funds effectively (including PP and ESIF, TO11)

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Outline theme 2• Introduction

• Key questions for ethical and anti-corruption practices

1. Establishing the policy framework

1. Ethical values and standards

2. Risk-based strategies

3. Laws and regulations

4. Coordinators and agencies

2. Building public trust through transparency and accountability

1. Open government

2. External scrutiny

3. Promoting integrity and reducing the scope for corruption

1. Human resources management and training

2. Disclosure by public officials

3. Simplification, controls and automation

4. Detecting and acting on corruption

1. Whistle-blowing mechanisms

2. Investigation, prosecution and sanctions

• Key messages – call for future action 4

Introduction

Opportunity(discretionary

power +public

'resources')

Constraints(legal +

normative)

Risk ofcorruption

– Context:

– Anti-corruption measures as part of economic adjustment programmes, theEuropean Semester (CSRs) and Europe 2020.

– Corruption is toxic for long-term economic prosperity and sound public finances.

– Definition of the key terms:

– Ethics: set of values that guide the performance of public duties.– Integrity of the whole system of administration: serving the public interest.– Corruption: the misuse of public position or power for personal or private gain.

– Grand and petty corruption– Systemic and sporadic corruption

– When does corruption arise?

One in 12 Europeans surveyed in 2013 hadexperienced or witnessed a case ofcorruption in the past 12 months, one infour felt personally affected by corruptionin their daily lives. Over four in tencompanies felt corruption, patronage andnepotism to be a problem for doingbusiness.

Analysis by the EU-financed ANTICORRPprogramme shows a strong correlationbetween corruption and governmentover-spending, under-collection oftaxes, fiscal deficits, and under-absorption of ESI Funds. It is alsostrongly associated with ‘brain-drain’from the economy to more meritocraticenvironments.

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Key Questions for ethical and anti-corruptionpractices

1. How to set the framework for integrity and combatting corruption?

2. What role for transparency and accountability play in (re)buildingpublic trust?

3. What preventative measures to strengthen ethical performanceand reduce the scope for corruption?

4. How to detect and act on corruption?

1. Establishing the policy frameworkIntroduction

– Ethical behaviour in public life should be the norm.

– Systemic corruction represents the absence of public service ethos anda failure to identify or take corrective action.

– The challenge for public administrations is to:– incentivise integrity– deter corrupt activities– dismantel systemic corruption

This demands leadership.

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1. Establishing the policy framework

• Ethical values and standards– Codes of ethics– Codes of conduct

• Risk-based strategies– Anti-corruption strategies– Risk assessment

• Laws and regulations– International conventions and principles– National laws, traditions and structures

• Integrity coordinators and anti-corruption agencies

Inspiring examples: UK’s Seven Principles of Public Life; Ireland’sStandards in Public Office Commission

Inspiring example: Finland’s “Values in the Daily Job – Civil Servants’Ethics”

Inspiring example: Lithuania’s Anti-Corruption Strategy & Programmes

Inspiring examples: Slovenia’s sample integrity plan & methodology;Lithuania’s corruption risk analysis

Inspiring example: UK Bribery Act 2010

Inspiring example: Integrity coordination in the Flemish Government,Belgium

2. Building public trust through transparency &accountability

• Open government– Public Sector Information Directive

• External scrutiny– Strong institutions from outside the

executive and judiciary– Civil society organisations– Lobbying

Inspiring examples: Italy’s OpenCoesione opengovernment strategy; UK’s Local GovernmentTransparency Code

3. Promoting integrity and reducing the scopefor corruption

Introduction

- Officials acting in the best interests of their organisations are thefoundation of well-functioning institutions.

- Public authorities should promote integrity in the workplace.

- Prevention is the highest priority within anti-corruption measures.

Balanced approach: accentuating the positive benefits of ethicalbehaviour + being aware of the potential for corrupt activities.

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3. Promoting integrity and reducing the scopefor corruption

• Human resources management and training– Identification of sources and risks of corruption

– Ethics and dilemma training

• Disclosure by public officials– Verification

– Unintended consequences

– Targeted approach

• Simplification, controls and automation

Inspiring examples: Slovene police’s ethics codeand training; dilemma training in the FlemishGovernment

Inspiring example: Detecting health corruptionthrough fraud audit in Calabria, Italy

4. Detecting and acting on corruption

• Whistle-blowing mechanisms– Protection of whistle-blowers

• Investigation, prosecution andsanctions

– Anti-corruption agencies

– Punitive sanctions

Inspiring example: UK’s PIDA & the role of PCaW

Inspiring example: Ireland’s Protected Disclosures Act

5. Key messages- call for future action

• Agree and adopt a set of values to guide behaviour and actions

• Prepare and implement policies and strategies around the equation corruptionrisk = opportunity – constraints

• Make sure these policies and strategies are comprehensive

• Take a balanced approach that builds trusts

• Ultimate point? Values are internalised, rules are implicit and recourse toenforcement is the last resort.

Good governance = ethical administration.