News & Blog

Collective Action is at the heart of the new Strategy 2021–23 of the United Nations Global Compact, an ambitious corporate sustainability initiative that supports companies around the world in achieving sustainable and responsible business operations throughout their supply chains. The UN Global Compact’s 10th Principle on Anti-Corruption has long [recommended Collective Action](htt

An interview with Gilbert Sendugwa, Senior Regional Manager Africa of the Uganda chapter of CoST – the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. He gives an insight into a recent UK Business Integrity Initiative-funded project on “Promoting fair business practices between the government and the private sector". Can you tell us about the problem you are working to solve? Yes: corruption in infrastructure procurement in Uganda. It undermines our coun

An illuminating new report by our OECD partners on Responsible Business Conduct and Anti-Corruption Compliance in Southeast Asia illustrates three points we have long emphasised at the Basel Institute. First, how corruption, environmental, human rights and other elements of sustainable and responsible business conduct are increasingly being integrated within company-wide risk m

This case study and Q&A looks at a recent UK Business Integrity Initiative-funded project in Ghana to create and implement 10 service delivery charters for government licensing and approval authorities through a Collective Action approach. The project was carried out by the Ghana Integrity Initiative, which is the local chapter of Transparency International, in collaboration with the Private Enterprise Federation. What is th

In this short video, Gabriel Cifuentes, former Secretary of Transparency in the Office of the President in Colombia, talks about his experience in implementing the second High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM) to ensure a clean procurement process for the construction of the Bogotá Metro. Developed by the Basel Institute on Governance, OECD and Transpa

Oil, Gas & Energy Law (OGEL) has just published a detailed paper I wrote on Anti-Corruption Disclosure in the Oil and Gas Industry: Challenges and Opportunities for Collective Action. The oil and gas industry is particularly affected by the evolving regulatory landscape and growing jigsaw of standards and guidelines focusing on non-financial (extra-financial) reporting. But many other indu

As aid, donations and recovery packages are deployed to cope with the pandemic, the risk of corruption is surging in many countries. Funds for emergency healthcare procurements are flooding in. These fast procurement processes often have limited corruption prevention measures in place and therefore present an increased risk for both governments and businesses. In his recent publication “[It’s Only the Beginning: COVID-19, Public Procurement, and Corruption](https://www.paulhastings.com/publicat

A guest blog by William Loo, Senior Legal Analyst and Deputy Head of the OECD Anti-Corruption Division and Elisabeth Danon, Legal Analyst at the OECD Anti-Corruption Division. The OECD has released a new study on the ingredients for a successful High-Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM). HLRMs were designed in 2012 by the Basel Institute on Governance, Tr

Where corruption is already rampant, a crisis makes it worse. There are flash floods of relief money landing in contexts where power is imbalanced, governance is weak and criminals already know how to game the system. But we can fight back by making anti-corruption an integral part of crisis relief efforts. Like emergencies in the past, the covid-19 pandemic demonstrates that anti-corruption is not just a nice-to-have but can really save lives. This was the gist of a recent presentation I gave

I recently spoke about Collective Action as part of a virtual panel discussion along with Andrey Tsyganov, Deputy Minister of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, on the topic of New Russian Antimonopoly Regulations. The webinar was organised by the Russian Business Ethics Network and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research, and is [available on YouTube here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGKLYPDGz

The success of the Construction Transparency Initiative (CoST) in Malawi shows the impact Collective Action can have on addressing corruption and levelling the playing field even in difficult environments. But it needs perseverance, leadership and systematic efforts to drive policy change, as our interview below with Joe Chingani, Chairperson of CoST Malawi, demonstrates. First, some background. The costs of corruption in infrastructure projects Public infrastructure proj

In this article, Juhani Grossmann, IWT Team Leader at the Basel Institute on Governance, explores the role of public-private partnerships in tackling illegal wildlife trade (IWT). This is the second article in our short series of perspectives on IWT and financial crime, in collaboration with the International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators. White elephant or panacea? Public-private partnerships and their role in wildlife protection

The recently published Global Mapping of Anti-Corruption Authorities fills a critical gap in information about national anti-corruption authorities (ACAs) around the world. ACAs are key institutions to prevent and combat corruption, but until now centralised data on their mandates, activities and even existence has been lacking. The survey is a project of the French Anti-Corruption Agency ([AFA](https://www.agence-francai

The global disruption from covid-19 to health and economic systems has magnified risks to preserving business integrity that will have longstanding impact. As a result, the pandemic is drawing significant attention to several of the world’s largest Collective Action initiatives that are reinforcing ethical business conduct in healthcare. The timing and actions of these initiatives could not be more critical in our crisis recovery efforts. Health sector challenges and their implications for i

In this short interview, Susanne Friedrich, Director of the Alliance for Integrity, offers her insights into the current challenges faced by SMEs and how Collective Action can help them emerge stronger on the other side. What challenges are SMEs facing right now related to integrity and compliance? SMEs around the globe are facing considerable uncertainty and economic pressure as demand is down and supply chains are disrupted. Many countries have sta

The Banknote Ethics Initiative (BnEI) has made great strides since 2013 in promoting the highest standards of integrity and fair competition in the banknote sector. Now it’s one of the first business-led initiatives to promote Integrity Pacts as a tool to safeguard banknote-related procurement from corruption risks. The high level of confidentiality needed in this sector adds an extra challenge to the mix. The BnEI’s Chairman, Antti Heinonen, gives a short insight into t

Governments are already contemplating life after lockdown and are keen to permit as many businesses as possible to resume operations, ramp up global trade once more, and to galvanise their economies as best they can - even as forecasts about global recession get bleaker by the day. As economic activity resumes, what will be the effects of the pandemic on the health and well-being of corporate integrity standards and anti-corruption compliance? What support will companies need or want in the pos

The agility that we pride ourselves on at the Basel Institute is often tested, not least by political turbulence in our partner countries. Beyond its implications for society and its catastrophic impact on victims and health systems, the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest test for us so far. We know we are anything but alone in this, and – as with corruption – it is clear we can only come out of this in a good way if we share our experiences and help each other. In this spirit, we wanted to gi

Mark Pieth, Professor Emeritus of the University of Basel President of the Board of the Basel Institute on Governance, offers an insight into the risks of human rights and environmental harms in gold supply chains. Where are the risks and responsibilities? Collective Action with gold refineries, suppliers and other stakeholders, he concludes, could help ensure more responsible and sustainable sourcing of gold. What is gold laundering? On its way from the ground to your wedding ring or mob

In March 2017, the World Customs Organization (WCO) formally adopted Collective Action as an innovative approach to enhance integrity and combat corruption in Customs administrations – a development that we welcomed and supported. On 21 February 2020, I returned to the WCO’s [Integrity Sub-Committee](http://www.wcoomd.org/en/about-us/wco-working-bodies/capacity_building/integrity_sub

Given the vast dimensions of the multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife trade (IWT), it may be surprising that until recently, global efforts to tackle IWT came mainly from the conservation sector. This has typically consisted of numerous donor-funded efforts to catch poachers and raise public awareness of the plight of endangered species. Valuable as those efforts are, they do little to impact the organised crime networks, corruption and illicit financial flows that allow the lucrative illegal

We are pleased to once again confirm our commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and its Ten Principles and submit our third biannual Communication on Engagement. Our efforts around the world to strengthen governance and counter corruption and other financial crimes directly fulfil the UNGC’s [10th Principle on Anti-Corruption](https://www.un

“Evolution to Revolution” was the theme of the year for the Basel Institute’s activities promoting Collective Action in 2018. Endorsement of anti-corruption Collective Action in 2018 by the B20 Argentina and UK Anti-Corruption Strategy supports growing acceptance of the concept as a useful tool to tackle bribery. Collective Action is gradually moving towards becoming a global norm. We are delighted to have contributed to these achievements and look forward to continuing to promote the potential

There’s no time like the present for anti-corruption Collective Action in Malawi, as the country gears up to review and update its National Anti-Corruption Strategy. Malawi, also known as the warm heart of Africa, is famous for its open and welcoming people and of course for one of the most spectacular lakes in the world, but it is also a county that has been shaken-up by massive corruption scandals in the past decade that have left their mark. To this day Malawi is recovering from the fall-ou

Globally operating companies increasingly feel the pressure to ensure their compliance and integrity standards are maintained throughout their supply-chain. This has led to a transfer of pressure all the way down to the weakest link, the small and medium-sized businesses. As a result, many small and medium-sized business supplying large international companies are faced with unreasonable demands when it comes to their compliance programs that neither reflect their business environment nor their

What role can compliance certification play in anti-corruption Collective Action? The discussion around the ISO 37001 standard, published late 2016, created something of a debate on the pros and cons of certifying companies’ compliance programs. And while many welcomed the introduction of a uniform international standard for the prevention and detection of bribes other familiar criticisms of certification remain. These include the cost, the burdensome internal processes, and of course the bu

How can more civil society organisations get involved in anti-corruption Collective Action, and in what capacity?  These are the questions that Transparency International addresses in its new publication, Collective Action on Business Integrity: A Practitioner’s Guide for Civil Society Organisations. This Guide is a succinct, easy-to-read, and practical tool for civil society organisations (CSOs) to be

The OECD and the Basel Institute on Governance would like to invite all participants of the 2018 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum and any other interested stakeholders to attend the panel session. Moderated by OECD Legal Director Nicola Bonucci At the OECD Headquarters (2 rue André Pascal, Paris 75016) March 29, 2018, at 10am Conference Centre, Room CC7 The event will present an innovative tool developed by the OECD, the Basel Institute and Transparency International to fight

Looking back on developments in Collective Action in 2017, one of the events that stands out was the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) formal adoption of Collective Action as an innovative approach to enhance integrity and combat corruption in Customs and Tax administration. The WCO Integrity Sub-Committee held its 16th Session on 9-10 March 2017 at the WCO headquarters in Brussels. Over 150 delegates representing WCO Member administrations and stakeholder organisations participated in discu

Are we on the brink of the next industrial revolution - or is it already here? Are we about to witness a leap forward into what sounds like a mixture of science fiction and hype but which may also provide new opportunities for economic and social development and see a significant reduction in corruption? These are a the questions that I will be exploring on a panel this Thursday, 22 February 2018, on “Digital Compliance in Emerging Market Economies: How can we Increase Compliance in Global Supp