Ti uk strategy 2015

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL UK (TI-UK) TI-UK STRATEGY 2015

Introduction This document, which was approved by TI-UK’s Board on 21 July 2011, sets out a framework for TI-UK’s future strategy over the period 2011-15. Detailed operational plans/budgets to support the implementation of this strategy will be approved by TI-UK’s Board on an annual basis.

I.

VISION, MISSION, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

Transparency International UK (TI-UK) is the UK national chapter of the global anticorruption non-governmental organisation, Transparency International (TI).

Our Vision is a world in which corruption is greatly reduced and the UK has zero tolerance for corruption both at home and abroad.

Our Mission is to combat corruption in the public and private sectors in the UK and at the international level. We do this by increasing awareness of corruption, building constructive partnerships with government, the private sector and civil society and developing practical tools to tackle corruption.

Our Core Values are: transparency, accountability, integrity, solidarity, courage, justice and democracy.

Our 10 Guiding Principles1 are: 1.

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As coalition builders, we will work cooperatively with all individuals and groups, with for profit and not for profit corporations and organizations, and with governments and international bodies committed to the fight against corruption, subject only to the policies and priorities set by our governing bodies.

We undertake to be open, honest and accountable in our relationships with everyone we work with and with each other.

We will be democratic, politically non-partisan and non-sectarian in our work.

We will condemn bribery and corruption vigorously and courageously wherever it has been reliably identified, although we ourselves do not seek to expose individual cases of corruption.

The positions we take will be based on sound, objective and professional analysis and high standards of research.

We will only accept funding that does not compromise our ability to address issues freely, thoroughly and objectively.

We will provide accurate and timely reports of our activities to our stakeholders.

We will respect and encourage respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.

We are committed to building, working with and working through national chapters worldwide.

We will strive for balanced and diverse representation on our governing bodies.

Adopted by the TI Movement in Prague, October 2001.

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II.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

Since its creation 17 years ago, TI-UK has evolved from a small network of individuals with a common interest in combating corruption to a charitable organisation that is recognised in the UK and internationally as a key source of expertise and advice on anti-corruption issues.

In 2010, we won an Award in the ‘Big Impact’ category of the Third Sector Excellence Awards for our contribution to bribery law reform. TI-UK’s work was described by Third Sector Editor, Stephen Cook, as “a great example of the voluntary sector acting as the conscience of the nation”.

In recent years, the strategic environment for our anti-corruption work, both within the UK and globally, has changed in positive and negative ways. The new Bribery Act – for which TI-UK campaigned vigorously for almost a decade – came into force on 1 July 2011. It has the potential to greatly strengthen the UK’s improving record in enforcing the OECD AntiBribery Convention and to drive significant changes in corporate culture. However, the enforcement of the new law is likely to be hampered by serious resource constraints and awareness of its implications is still weak among UK companies, especially in small and medium sized enterprises.

TI-UK’s Report on Corruption in the UK2 published in June 2011 revealed that the problem of corruption is more acute than is currently recognised. There is complacency and a lack of knowledge of the extent of corruption in key sectors and institutions. The research revealed that there are particularly serious issues in relation to parliament, political party funding, prisons and sport.

There are growing links between organised crime and corruption.

Institutional mechanisms that have important roles in tackling corruption are being dismantled. Official policy responses to these problems are patchy and un-coordinated.

The UK does not have an overall coherent strategy for tackling corruption and the role of the Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion remains unclear and largely unknown to the UK public, a majority of whom believe that the problem of corruption is increasing.

Globally, more than 150 countries have ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption but there are serious doubts about how its provisions will be enforced in many countries. Weak governance and high levels of corruption threaten to derail progress in attaining the Millennium Development Goals in many parts of the world. The UK is one of the few international donors that has increased its official development assistance in recent years but faces enormous challenges in ensuring that UK aid is not undermined by corruption in several countries, especially fragile and conflict-ridden states.

The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention has become the international community’s most effective legal instrument for tackling ‘supply side’ bribery, but 21 of the 38 parties to the Convention have done very little to enforce it properly. There is greater awareness of the harmful impact of corruption in an increasing number of countries but progress in anticorruption reforms is slow and frustrated by deeply embedded corrupt networks.

An increasing number of governments are interested in building integrity and introducing anticorruption reforms in their defence establishments. The international defence industry is engaged in voluntary initiatives to raise ethical standards. But there are significant obstacles to anti-corruption efforts in the defence and security sector.

III.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, PROGRAMMES AND AREAS OF FOCUS

Against this background, TI-UK’s future strategy needs to look both inward and outward because there are serious corruption challenges within the UK and overseas. We are in a good position to scale up our activities because of our recently completed study of corruption in the UK, our expanding work to assist organisations to improve their anti-corruption 2

Corruption in the UK – Overview and Parts I-III, June 2011.

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standards, the recent strengthening of our capacity to communicate and use social media more effectively and the productive partnerships we have established with other organisations who share our objectives. Our Strategy 2015 will focus on four strategic priorities: 1. Combat corruption in the UK, particularly in the areas where its incidence is high and it is having the most detrimental impact.

2. Prevent the ‘export’ of corruption and thus reduce the UK’s corruption ‘footprint’ overseas as well as ensure that the UK fulfils its international obligations.

3. Increase awareness in the public and private sectors, the media and the wider public of the impact of corruption and the importance of tackling it through individual and collective action.

4. Communicate and disseminate our knowledge effectively so that others may benefit from our expertise and experience.

These strategic priorities are consistent with those outlined in the TI Movement’s ‘TI Strategy 2015, which was adopted in 2011 after extensive consultation within the Movement. TI-UK will address these priorities through four Programmes: Programme 1 Combating corruption in the UK Programme 2 Combating overseas corruption Programme 3 International defence and security Programme 4 Awareness raising, education and capacity building Details of these programmes are summarised below. Projects and activities will be undertaken in Key Areas of Impact identified in the Programmes.

The availability of financial and human resources will determine the emphasis given to different areas over the period 2011-2015. It may not be possible to undertake projects/activities in every area in each year during the period.

The proposed programme framework is designed to accommodate existing and planned projects/activities, including: TI-UK policy paper on negotiated settlements of bribery cases; scaling up anti-bribery advisory services and training; strengthening the capacity of NGOs to counter bribery, based on the NGO Principles and Guidance for Countering Bribery developed under the auspices of BOND on the initiative of TI-UK; and a new report on anti-money laundering and asset recovery.

Programme 1: Combating corruption in the UK This Programme will address the main areas of concern and policy recommendations in TIUK’s Report on Corruption in the UK (2011). Important pillars of the UK’s National Integrity System need to be strengthened. The growing threat of corruption in key sectors and institutions requires a coherent and coordinated response from the Government. In particular, we will address issues related to ethical standards in public life and the media, political party funding, integrity mechanisms in Parliament, regulation of the revolving door3 between government and the private sector and the links between organised crime and corruption. Further research is needed on the incidence and impact of corruption in the UK. The TI-UK Report identified several areas, including corruption in the legal profession, lowlevel procurement, agriculture, private security, waste management and the financial system; impact of corruption on poor and marginalised communities; and research in the other countries of the UK.

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Important recommendations were made in TI-UK’s Report, Cabs for Hire – Fixing the Revolving Door between Government and Business (May 2011).

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Key Areas of Impact: 1A The UK’s National Integrity System will be strengthened.

1B Policy reforms will be encouraged in sectors where corruption risks are high.

1C Further research will be undertaken on the incidence and impact of corruption in the UK. Programme 2: Combating overseas corruption This Programme will cover issues related to the enforcement of the Bribery Act and assess the UK’s compliance with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). We will also address the UK’s role in wider international efforts to combat corruption, including curbing illicit financial flows and international recovery of looted assets. We will advocate better coordination among UK government departments to deliver an effective UK strategy for combating overseas corruption with effective leadership from the Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion. We will advocate UK support for anti-corruption initiatives by the G-20.

Key Areas of Impact: 2A The Bribery Act is enforced effectively and the UK is compliant with the OECD AntiBribery Convention.

2B The UK implements effectively its other international obligations, notably under UNCAC and GRECO. 2C Illicit financial flows into the UK and its overseas territories are curbed and foreign jurisdictions are assisted in recovering looted assets.

2D UK aid impact is improved by addressing governance and corruption challenges in recipient countries more effectively.

Programme 3: International Defence and Security This Programme is an international TI programme led by the TI-UK Defence Team. It aims to improve transparency and reduce levels of corruption in the defence and security sector worldwide. We will work with national defence ministries and armed forces to build integrity and reduce corruption. We will collaborate with international organisations such as NATO, the UN, and the African Union to develop tools and approaches that reduce corruption risks.

Defence companies will be encouraged to collaborate internationally to enhance the integrity of international tendering. We will strengthen civil society’s ability to engage constructively on defence, and provide expertise for those playing a monitoring and oversight role. Through our research programme, we will develop new tools to implement anti-corruption change and build knowledge and expertise on defence and security corruption.

Key Areas of Impact 3A Defence or security reform initiatives are implemented and publicised in a variety of governments, especially those in developing countries and in conflict or unstable environments.

3B International arms transfers are conducted more responsibly, with improved controls against corruption.

3C Civil society organisations, governments, and companies are better able to counter corruption with practical tools that they can directly apply and have increased capacity to do so.

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3D The danger of defence and security corruption becomes more prominent on the agenda of policy makers and international organisations (including the UN, AU, World Bank, EU, and NATO).

Programme 4: Awareness raising, education and capacity building This Programme will increase TI-UK’s engagement with stakeholders and other groups and help to increase awareness and raise anti-corruption standards in the private, public and voluntary sectors. We will educate and inform the wider public about the harmful impacts of corruption, making greater use of social media to communicate our messages. Our engagement with companies and investors that are committed to ethical business will be strengthened. We will refine existing tools and develop new tools to help organisations to prevent corruption. The capacity of NGOs to counter bribery in difficult environments will be strengthened. An expanding range of advisory and training services will be provided to organisations that wish to build their capacity to prevent corruption more effectively (if viable, a separate organisational entity, controlled by TI-UK, will be established to provide such services).

Key Areas of Impact 4A There is greater public awareness of corruption and TI-UK is able to reach out to new groups and regions in the UK. 4B Anti-corruption standards are raised in the private, public and voluntary sectors.

4C Advisory services and training are provided to an increasing number of organisations.

IV.

RESOURCES AND ORGANISATION

Programme 3 (Defence Programme) is fully funded (£704,000 per year, subject to satisfactory performance) under the DFID PPA until financial year (FY) 2013-14. We hope that funding, at least at this level, will be renewed thereafter.

At present, TI-UK’s annual ‘core’ or ‘unrestricted’ budget is £378,000. This includes half of the cost of a new full-time admin assistant (the cost is shared equally with the Training and Advisory Services (TAS) programme). The annual fixed costs budget of TAS, which is to be funded from TAS income, is £88,000.

For the 2015 Strategy, it is proposed that: 1.

From the present base of about £378,000, the core budget should rise in line with inflation in FYs 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15. Project expenditure would be additional to this and depend upon success in raising funds for projects. If funding is available from donors and/or TAS surplus income: (a) a new research co-ordinator’s post will be added to our establishment at an additional cost in the range of £4045,000 per year (assuming this is a full-time position); and (b) a full-time admin assistant will be appointed for ‘core’ TI-UK activity at an additional cost of £12,000.

In recent years, TI-UK has built a good track record for delivering high quality projects and we are optimistic about attracting increasingly larger amounts of project funding. This will help us to recover an increasing proportion of our employment and overhead costs.

2. In the case of TAS, the working assumption is that, from a base of £88,000, the TAS budget will rise in line with inflation, with additional costs added only if the income 5

justifies doing so (e.g. for IT or marketing investment). This will be financed by TAS income. For FY 2011-12, TAS is expected to break even. There is optimism that TAS will be successful because of potentially high demand from UK companies for advisory services following the commencement of the Bribery Act. A decision on making TAS an autonomous entity will be deferred until it has a proven, sustainable track record.

3. Within this framework, annual operational plans/projects/budgets will be approved by the TI-UK Board in each FY. 4. The main sources of funding the TI-UK 2015 Strategy (as agreed at the Board’s fundraising strategy meeting in March 2011) will be: companies; trusts and foundations; individuals, including through the 1000 Club (now to be called the Transparency Leaders Network!); the Defence Programme (for TI-UK support services); TI-S; and the UK Government.

It is unrealistic to make forecasts of funding from these sources at the present time. A rolling annual fund raising plan will be overseen by a sub-committee of the TI-UK Board.

5. Apart from some possible changes to TI-UK’s staff establishment, no changes are proposed to TI-UK’s organisational structure and governance.

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