An overview of corruption & AC assessment tools
Photos by Adam Rogers/UNCD
Country-level corruption and anti-corruption assessment tools Corruption Perception Public opinion Experts Public sector
Experience/ victimisation
Transparency/Accountability/Integrity
Diagnostic Assessments
General population / vulnerable groups
Institutions
Public sector
Sectors
Private sector
Compliance monitoring
Processes
Local level
Mapped by Transparency International
Selecting an appropriate assessment tool • 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
Tools for measuring corruption WB governance & AC diagnostic surveys • 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 Corruption Perception Public opinion Experts Public sector
Experience/ victimisation
Transparency/Accountability/Integrit y
Diagnostic Assessments
General population / vulnerable groups
Institutions
Public sector
Sectors
Private sector
Compliance monitoring
Processes
Local level
Mapped by Transparency International
Tools for measuring corruption GAC diagnostic survey – Ho us e ho ld •
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)
Existing data source: TI Global corruption barometer • To w hat e x te nt (1- 5) do yo u p e rc e iv e the s e ins titutio ns to b e affe c te d b y c o rrup tio n? Political parties, parliament, private sector, media, civil servants, judiciary • Whic h o f the s e ins titutio ns /s e c to rs do yo u c o ns ide r to b e the mo s t affe c te d b y c o rrup tio n? • In the p as t 12 mo nths , hav e yo u o r anyo ne liv ing in yo ur ho us e ho ld p aid a b rib e in any fo rm? • Ho w w o uld yo u as s e s s yo ur c urre nt g o v e rnme nt’s ac tio ns in the fig ht ag ains t c o rrup tio n? (ine ffe c tiv e , ne ithe r, e ffe c tiv e )
Country-level corruption and Anti-corruption assessment tools
Corruption Perception Public opinion Experts Public sector
Transparency/Accountability/Integrity
Experience/ victimisation
Diagnostic Assessments
General population / vulnerable groups
Institutions
Public sector
Sectors
Private sector
Compliance monitoring
Processes
Local level
Mapped by Transparency International
Tools for measuring corruption GAC diagnostic survey – Pub lic o ffic ial • 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
Country-level corruption and Anti-corruption assessment tools
Corruption Perception Public opinion Experts Public sector
Transparency/Accountability/Integrity
Experience/ victimisation
Diagnostic Assessments
General population / vulnerable groups
Institutions
Public sector
Sectors
Private sector
Compliance monitoring
Processes
Local level
Mapped by Transparency International
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 (o ut o f a to tal o f 27 c o untrie s ): 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 indic ato rs me as ure w hat firm s are s aying ab o ut the w ays that g o v e rnme nt p o lic ie s , rule s , and p ro c e dure s are implemented in practice.
Country-level corruption and Anti-corruption assessment tools Corruption Perception Public opinion Experts Public sector
Transparency/Accountability/Integrity
Experience/ victimisation
Diagnostic Assessments
General population / vulnerable groups
Institutions
Public sector
Sectors
Private sector
Compliance monitoring
Processes
Local level
Mapped by Transparency International
Tools for measuring integrity
CRINIS (Political Party Finance) • 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
Tools for measuring integrity
CRINIS (Political Party Finance) 10 “dimensions� of political party transparency: 1. Internal book keeping 2. Reporting to the electoral management body 3. Disclosure of information to the public 4. Comprehensiveness of reporting 5. Depth of reporting 6. Reliability of reporting 7. Prevention 8. Sanctions 9. State control 10. Public oversight
Country-level corruption and Anti-corruption assessment tools Corruption Perception Public opinion Experts Public sector
Transparency/Accountability/Integrity
Experience/ victimisation
Diagnostic Assessments
General population / vulnerable groups
Institutions
Public sector
Sectors
Private sector
Compliance monitoring
Processes
Local level
Mapped by Transparency International
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 p rac tic e , w hat typ e o f ‘c o ntro l’?
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
Country-level corruption and Anti-corruption assessment tools Corruption Perception Public opinion Experts Public sector
Transparency/Accountability/Integrity
Experience/ victimisation
Diagnostic Assessments
General population / vulnerable groups
Institutions
Public sector
Sectors
Private sector
Compliance monitoring
Processes
Local level
Mapped by Transparency International
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 nongovernmental 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
Tools for measuring corruption
Open Budget Index (122 q ue s tio ns ) 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
Tools for measuring corruption
Open Budget Index - examples 3. Budget process Executive’s formulation of the budget Do e s the e x e c utiv e re le as e to the p ub lic its tim e tab le fo r its b udg e t p re p aratio n p ro c e s s ? Legislative approval of the budget Do e s the e x e c utiv e p re s e nt mo re de tails o r p ro v ide a b e tte r e x p lanatio n o f any b udg e t p ro p o s al, if me mb e rs o f the le g is lature (inc luding fro m mino rity p artie s ) re q ue s t s uc h info rmatio n?