Advancing Anti-Corruption through Collective Action in Bangladesh

Accelerate and scale the collective impact of businesses by upholding the 10th Principle of the United Nations Global Compact in Malaysia

The initiative aimed at accelerating and scaling the collective impact of businesses by upholding the 10th Principle of the United Nations Global Compact on corruption. Its main objectives were to:

• Address systemic corruption and challenge existing norms and practices in the private sector;
• Contribute to the research on corruption in Bangladesh’s private sector;
• Strengthen integrity and good governance practices in the private sector that go beyond compliance standards and regulatory requirements;
• Promote Collective Action and build the private sector’s capacity to engage in Collective Action initiatives by partnering with like-minded organization;
• Build the capacity of youth and future leaders on ethical values, compliance, integrity and good governance.

The initiative was led by the Global Compact Network Bangladesh. It received seed funding from the Siemens Integirty Initiative for 3 years.

The initiative primarily catered to private sector participants. However, Global Compact Network Bangladesh reached out to government stakeholders at miniterial level to participate in events in an effort to strengthen its legitiacy and voice and build confidence among all stakeholders. The initiative also partnered with likeminded CSOs, such as Transparency International Bangladesh, to better understand local challenges and tailor solutions to the local systemic issues. Collaborations with univeristies helped lay the foundation to promote ethical behavior in students and future leaders.

The initiative conducted various activities, including:

• Launching a private sector integrity survey to address the lack of research on corruption in Bangladesh and South Asia and establish a baseline for initiatives;
• Creating the first Integrity Working Group in Bangladesh for private sector participants, providing a safe platform to discuss challenges that companies face and solutions to advance ethics and integrity;
• Hosting the Integrity Day and Regional Symposium to Advance Integrity through Collective Action and other flagship events bringing together the private sector, Government, civil society, and academia for open exchanges and shared learning;
• Engaging over 400 students through the Youth for Integrity campaign, offering workshops and debate competitions focused on ethics, integrity, and good governance.