tackling corruption through civil society-led information and communication technology initiatives
DESCRIPTION
Information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming a vital tool in fighting corruption. It has the potential to improve public service delivery, increase transparency and accountability in government agencies, and increase participation in governance processes. ICT offers eight kinds of interventions that can potentially prevent, detect, analyze, and address corruption.TRANSCRIPT
March 2014 | Issue 53
Highlights
Regional | Governance
• Informationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT)offersunparalleledopportunitiestofostercivilsocietyparticipationinthedevelopmentprocess.
• ICT-driveninitiativesbycivilsocietynowplayanincreasingroleingovernance,promotingtransparencyandaccountabilitythatcanpotentiallycontributetothefightagainstcorruption.
• DevelopmentagenciescanstrengthenICTinitiativesbyfundingprojectsandprogramsthatfosterinstitutionalenvironmentsconducivetoparticipationinpublicaffairs,promotecooperationandmobilizationinanticorruptionefforts,anddevelopcapacitiestofightcorruption.
Tackling Corruption through Civil Society-led Information and Communication Technology Initiatives
Information and Communication Technology: Shaping the 21st Century
Informationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT)isoneofthemostpowerfulforcesshapingthe21stcentury.ICT—definedhereastechnologiesthatelectronicallyfacilitatetheprocessing,transmission,anddisplayofinformation—providesfasterandcheapercommunication.Itfacilitatesthesweepingreorganizationofbusinessesandboostsefficiencyandproductivity.Itreducestransactioncostsandbarrierstoentry.Itallowspeopletoseek,acquire,andshareexpertise,ideas,services,andtechnologieslocally,nationally,regionally,andglobally.Itgenerallymakesmarketsworkmoreefficiently.Globalizationisitsmostpronouncedoutcome.
Bearinginmindthatalmosthalftheworld—over3billionpeople—liveonlessthan$2.50aday,1developingcountriesthatharnessICTforinternetandmobilephoneconnectivitycanleapfrogstagesofdevelopment.Thissaid,ICTcanservegoalsotherthansustainableeconomicgrowthandpublicwelfare.Giventheprimacyofgovernanceindevelopmenteffectiveness,oneofICT'smostimportantapplicationsisine-government.2
Fighting Corruption through ICT
A Democratic Medium to Fight Corruption.ICThasagreatpotentialtoactasademocraticmedium,asevidencedbyitscurrentusesfore-government.Severalfactorshaveencouragedthistrend.Theseincludethegrowinginterestinthepotentialofe-governmentandopendatatoimprovegovernmentandspurgrowthandinnovation,andICT’scapabilitytoaddressspecificprincipal–agentproblemsanddomesticateotherdisruptivetechnologies.Outsideorcompetitivepressureandbottom-uppressurefromcitizenshavealsoincreasedICTusage.
ICTisnowwidelyusedine-government.Itsappealliesinitsenormouspotentialtoimprovepublicservicedelivery,increasetransparencyandaccountabilityingovernmentagencies,andraisethelevelofparticipationavailabletocitizensinthegovernanceprocess.
Corruption—theabuseofpublicofficeforprivategain—canoccuratagrandorpettyscaleatalllevelsofsociety.Regardlessofwhereittakesplace,corruptiontendstoaffectthepoorestsectorsofsocietythemost,especiallyinthecompetitionforscarceresourcesandinadequatelyfundedservices.ICToffers
eightkindsofinterventionsthatcanpotentiallyprevent,detect,analyze,andaddresscorruption.3
Government-Initiated ICT Anticorruption Initiatives. FouroftheseeightICTanticorruptioninterventionsareusuallyledbythegovernment.Thesearetransparencyandopen-dataportals,serviceautomation,andonlineservices.Portalsforopendatagiveaccesstodatasetsinmachine-readableformats,whiletransparencyportalsprovidetimelypublicationofkeygovernmentdocuments.Bothprimarilyseektransparency.Serviceautomationandonlineservices,ontheotherhand,aimtoautomatetransactionswithgovernment.Serviceautomationreplacesdiscretionarydecisionmakingbypublicofficialswhileonlineservicesallowcitizenstoself-serveforpublicservicesaccess.
Civil Society-Led ICT Anticorruption Initiatives. TheotherfourICTinterventionsareusuallyledbycivilsociety.Twotypesoftheseinterventions—onlineinformationrequestsandcrowd-sourcedreporting—seektransparencyreforms.TheformerenablescitizenstorequestpublicinformationthroughtheInternet,whilethelatterallowspeopletoreportcorruptionandgrievancesandsharedataonreportsandtrends.TheothertwocivilsocietyICTinterventions—onlinecorruptionreportingandissuereporting—targettransactionsreforms.Thefirstisusedinreportingcorruptionorgrievances,whilethesecondallowscitizenstoreportproblems
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1 PovertyFactsandStats.www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
2 E-government(shortforelectronicgovernment)referstotheuseofICTtoenhanceservicedeliveryinthepublicsector.Itallowsgreaterpublicaccesstoinformationandmakesgovernmentsmoreaccountabletocitizens.Itencompassesdigitalinteractionsbetweenagovernmentanditscitizens,governmentandbusiness,governmentandemployees,andgovernmentandgovernments.
3 T.DaviesandS.Fumega.2013.Mixed Incentives: Adopting ICT Innovation in the Fight against Corruption. Practical Participation.DraftworkingpaperforU4Anti-CorruptionResourceCentre.
Knowledge Showcases
TheI Paid A Bribewebsiteasksusersiftheyhadeverpaidabribetogettheirworkdoneatagovernmentoffice,towhomthebribewaspaid,why,andwhen.
Source:www.ipaidabribe.com
©AsianDevelopmentBank PublicationStockNo.ARM146361-2
KNOWLEDGE CONTRIBUTORS
TheKnowledgeShowcasesSeries,aproductoftheKnowledgeSharingandServicesCenter,highlightsgoodpracticesandinnovativeideasfromADBtechnicalassistanceandotheroperationstopromotefurtherdiscussionandresearch.
www.adb.org/knowledgeshowcaseswww.adbknowledgeshowcases.org
TheAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)isdedicatedtoreducingpovertyintheAsiaandPacificregion.
Theviewsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsandpoliciesofADBoritsBoardofGovernorsorthegovernmentstheyrepresent.
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4Here,civilsocietyreferstogroupsotherthangovernmentandbusinessthatoperatearoundsharedinterests,purposes,andvalues.Theyincludenongovernmentorganizations,tradeunions,faith-basedgroups,professionalorganizations,andsuch.
5 Forexample,governmentsmaysetupopendataportalsprimarilyforeconomicbenefitbutcivilsocietycancampaignforrelatedinterventionstoincludeimportantinformationonbudgetsandspending,andcanusethattoholdgovernmentstoaccount(provided,ithastheawarenessandtechnicalskillsneededtodothis).
6 Theycanalsoassociatedirectlywithgovernmentstoadvancethecivilsociety-ledICTanti-corruptionactivities.
7OECD.2003.Fighting Corruption: What Role for Civil Society? The Experience of the OECD.Paris.
8InthePhilippines,forexample,ADBhasbeenstrengtheningcitizeninvolvementinmitigatinggovernancerisksinlocalgovernmentunitsinthecontextofADB'sSecondGovernanceandAnticorruptionActionPlan,detailsofwhichareatwww.adb.org/documents/second-governance-and-anticorruption-action-plan-gacap-ii.SeeTA6445–REG:SupportforImplementationoftheSecondGovernanceandAnticorruptionActionPlan.
9Detailsareatwww.oecd.org/site/adboecdanti-corruptioninitiative
Haidy Ear-Dupuy ([email protected])isasocialdevelopmentspecialistintheNGOandCivilSocietyCenterinADB'sRegionalandSustainableDevelopmentDepartment.
Olivier Serrat ([email protected])isaprincipalknowledgemanagementspecialistinADB'sRegionalandSustainableDevelopmentDepartment.
withpublicservices.Apartfromthese,civilsocietyalsoplaysanimportantroleinanticorruptiontheoriesofchangearoundmanygovernment-ledICTinterventions.
Strengthening Civil Society-Led ICT Initiatives Against Corruption
ThemajorityofICT-enabledanticorruptioninitiativesoriginatefromcivilsociety.4EvenwheregovernmentsadoptICTinnovationsforreasonsnotrelatedtotheiranticorruptionpotential,civilsocietycanhelpsecureanticorruptionusesofthetechnology.5Therehavebeentwokindsofcivilsociety-ledinterventions:pushandpull.Intheformer,citizensspeakupandcommunicatetheirexperiencesonanissue;inthelatter,theydrawinformationfromavailablesourcesandusethosetoactinsomeway.Evidently,thetwoapproachesarenotmutuallyexclusive.
Civilsocietyorganizations(CSOs)thatenjoyatrustedrelationshipwiththeirmembersorconstituenciescanchannelinformationbetweenthelatterandgovernment.Theycanalsoserveaswatchdogs.Iftheyarewell-developed,theycanalsorepresentawidevarietyofinterestsandbringdiverseperspectivestodesignstrategyandincreasechancesofsuccess.NotallCSOsdisplaytheseidealattributes.Limitsmaybeimposedbygovernment,resources,orcitizensthemselveswhomaynotbesufficientlyawareofthecostsofcorruption.
Inpoorernations,developmentagenciesarewell-placedtopromoteoutreachactivities—amongthemICTinterventions—thatstrengthencivilsociety'scontributionstothefightagainstcorruption.6Theycanfosterinstitutionalenvironmentsconducivetothedevelopmentofcivilsocietyanditsparticipationinpublicaffairs.7Todothis,developmentagenciescanfundprojectsandprogramsthatadvancebasiccivillibertiesthatallowactiveparticipationinanticorruptionactivitiesandotherpublicaffairs,promulgatelegislationthatfacilitatestheestablishmentofCSOs,promotethedevelopmentofindependentmediathatisabletoscrutinizegovernmentoperationsfreely,andcontributetoincreasegovernmenttransparencyandcooperationwithCSOs.8
DevelopmentagenciescanpromotethecooperationofpublicandcivilsocietyactorsinanticorruptioneffortsbyboostingoutreachinitiativessuchastheADBOrganizationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopmentAnti-CorruptionInitiativeforAsiaandthePacific.9
TheycanalsoencourageabroadmobilizationagainstcorruptionbystrengtheningcitizensupportforexistingCSOsthatfightcorruption.Equally,developmentagenciescanalsoincreasetheparticipationoforganizationswhoseprimaryinterestisnottofightcorruption.
Lastly,developmentagenciescanenhancethecapacitiesofCSOsthatfightcorruptionbyprovidingthemwithinformationandexpertise,sponsoringtrainingprograms,contributingfunds,andencouragingpartnershipsamongcivilsocietyactors.
Transparencyandaccountabilityarecentraltothefightagainstcorruption.Itsmostperniciouseffectisthelossoffaithinpublicinstitutions.Sincecorruptionisafunctionofboththeopportunitytoabusepublicofficeandtheriskofdetection,ICTisaninvaluabletool.Itbridgesthegapbetweenthedemandforandsupplyofgoodgovernance.Developmentagencies,inworkingwithcivilsocietytofightcorruption,canintegrateICTinterventionsforonlineright-to-informationrequests,crowd-sourcedreporting,onlinecorruptionreporting,andissuereportingacrossabroadspectrumofoutreachactivities.Thesewillfosterinstitutionalenvironments,promotecooperation,encourageabroadmobilization,anddevelopcapacitiesinfightingcorruption.
TheAnti-Corruption Internet Database,orACID,isamultifunctionalwebrepositoryforallcorruptionrelatedissuesinNigeria.ItprovidesacollaborativeplatformforinformationonanticorruptionandgoodgovernanceinitiativesundertakenbyCSOs,mediaagencies,andorganizations;andtoolstofacilitatecivicengagementandpublicadvocacy.
Source:www.antigraft.org