Monitoring and evaluation in global HIV/AIDS control - weighing incentives and disincentives for coordination among global and local actors

This paper discusses coordination efforts of both donors and recipient countries in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of health outcomes in the field of HIV/AIDS. The coordination of M&E is a much underdeveloped area in HIV/AIDS programming in which, however, important first steps towards better synchronisation have already been taken. In this paper, we review the concepts and meanings commonly applied to M&E, and approaches and strategies for better coordination of M&E in the field of HIV/AIDS. Most importantly, drawing on this analysis, we examine why the present structure of global health governance in this area is not creating strong enough incentives for effective coordination among global and local actors. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Cultural specificity versus institutional universalism: a critique of the National Integrity System (NIS) methodology

This article provides an assessment and critique of the National Integrity System approach and methodology, informed by the experience of conducting an NIS review in Cambodia. It explores four key issues that potentially undermine the relevance and value of NIS reports for developing democracies: the narrowly conceived institutional approach underpinning the NIS methodology; the insufficient appreciation of cultural distinctiveness; a failure properly to conceptualise and articulate the very notion of ‘integrity’; and an over emphasis on compliance-based approaches to combating corruption at the expense of the positive promotion of integrity. The article seeks to offer some pointers to how the NIS approach could be adapted to broaden its conceptualisation of institutions and integrity, and thereby provide reports that are more theoretically informed as well as being more constructive and actionable

Evaluating the impact of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on corruption in Zambia

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is internationally recognised as a leading anti-corruption scheme, which promotes transparency, accountability and good governance of public oil, gas, and mining revenues. This article provides the first rigorous quantitative investigation of the impact of EITI on corruption in Zambia. Using a case-comparison approach, called the Synthetic Control Method (SCM), we find that the implementation of EITI provoked a significant decrease in corruption in Zambia (with the corruption-reducing effect of EITI being, though, much stronger at the earlier stages of implementation)

The institutional determinants of private equity involvement in business groups – the case of Africa

This study examines the governance attributes of post-IPO (initial public offering) retained ownership of private equity in business group constituent firms in contrast to their unaffiliated counterparts, in 202 newly listed firms in 22 emerging African economies. We adopt an actor centered institutional-theoretic perspective in rationalizing institutional voids and the advantages of maintained governance by both business angels (BA) and venture capital (VC) private equity. Our findings reveal private equity retain higher post-IPO ownership in business group constituents compared to unaffiliated firms and that this is inversely moderated in the context of improving institutional quality – where this is particularly strong in case of foreign VC as opposed to domestic VC or BA. Our result adds to the literature on multifocal corporate governance mechanisms and the institutional determinants of private equity investment

Providing an alternative to silence: Towards greater protection and support for whistleblowers in Belgium

Transparency International Belgium publishes an overview of whistleblowing schemes in the Belgian public and private sector One of the biggest challenges in preventing and combating corruption detection and uncovering bribery, fraud, theft of public funds and other forms of misconduct. One of the most direct ways to bring corruption to light is whistleblowing (the "whistleblowing"). Unfortunately, whistleblowers are often the victims of reprisals in the form of harassment, dismissal, threats and even physical violence, and their revelations are systematically ignored. Transparency International Belgium (TI-B) is working towards the establishment of accessible reporting points for whistleblowers and aiming to provide sufficient protection for whistleblowers against retaliation. In this context, TI-B conducted research on whistleblowing schemes in operation in Belgium, both in the public and private sectors. An evaluation of these systems supplemented with recommendations can be viewed in the report 'Providing an alternative to silence: towards greater protection and support for whistleblowers in Belgium

Money talks: moral economies of earning a living in neoliberal East Africa

Neoliberal restructuring has targeted not just the economy, but also polity, society and culture, in the name of creating capitalist market societies. The societal repercussions of neoliberal policy and reform in terms of moral economy remain understudied. This article seeks to address this gap by analysing moral economy characteristics and dynamics in neoliberalised communities, as perceived by traders in Uganda and sex workers in Kenya. The interview data reveal perceived drivers that contributed to a significant moral dominance of money, self-interest, short-termism, opportunism and pragmatism. Equally notable are a perceived (i) close interaction between political–economic and moral–economic dynamics, and (ii) significant impact of the political–economic structure on moral agency. Respondents primarily referred to material factors usually closely linked to neoliberal reform, as key drivers of local moral economies. We thus speak of a neoliberalisation of moral economies, itself part of the wider process of embedding and locking-in market society structures in the two countries. An improved political economy of moral economy can help keep track of this phenomenon

Principios empresariales para contrarrestar el soborno : edición para pequeñas y medias empresas (PYMES)

Transparency International (TI) es la organización de la sociedad civil que lidera la lucha contra la corrupción en el mundo, y a através de este informe propone exponer, de un modo claro y directo, el proceso mediante el cual las empresas pequeñas y medianas pueden desarrollar un programa adecuado para luchar contra el soborno, en función de su tamaño y recursos

Contrataciones públicas en estados de emergencia : elementos mínimos que los gobiernos deben considerar para asegurar la integridad de las adjudicaciones que realicen durante contingencias

En emergencias con la magnitud como la del coronavirus, los Estados enfrentan consecuencias económicas y sociales que derivan en mayor demanda de bienes y servicios para atender las necesidades que se generen por tal situación, así como en afectaciones por la limitada actividad económica por las restricciones o imposibilidad de operar con normalidad. Esta situación propicia la manipulación de información y genera las condiciones para el uso inadecuado de fondos y fideicomisos de emergencia o presupuestos extraordinarios. El ejercicio del gasto toma particular importancia, porque de hacer un mal uso de esos fondos extraordinarios, se vulneran los derechos de las personas. Para garantizar la integridad de estos recursos extraordinarios y en consecuencia el acceso de las personas al ejercicio oportuno de sus derechos, Transparencia Internacional acá propone las recomendaciones para las compras y contrataciones públicas que se realicen en el marco de una emergencia

Devuelvan el juego. Arreglemos la FIFA = Give back the game. How to fix FIFA

Transparency International cree que la reforma debe estar en la cima de la agenda de la FIFA si el comité ejecutivo de la federación quiere mostrar que es serio combatir la corrupción. Desde una comisión de reforma independiente hasta el papel de las asociaciones nacionales de fútbol y las elecciones presidenciales, nuestras recomendaciones a la FIFA tienen un objetivo: asegurar que el proceso de reforma tenga sus raíces en la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas = Transparency International believes reform should be top of FIFA’s agenda if the federation's executive committee wants to show it is serious about fighting corruption. From an independent reform commission to the role of national football associations and the presidential elections, our recommendations to FIFA have one goal: making sure the reform process is rooted in transparency and accountability

Integrating institutional and behavioural measures of bribery

Bribery involves individuals exchanging material benefits for a service of a public institution. To understand the process of bribery we need to integrate measures of individual behaviour and institutional attributes rather than rely exclusively on surveys of individual perceptions and experience or macro-level corruption indexes national institutions. This paper integrates institutional and behavioural measures to show that where you live and who you are have independent influence on whether a person pays a bribe. The analysis of 76 nationwide Global Corruption Barometer surveys from six continents provides a date set in which both institutional and individual differences vary greatly. Multi-level multivariate logit analysis is used to test hypotheses about the influence of institutional context and individual contact with public services, socio-economic inequalities and roles, and conflicting behavioural and ethical norms. It finds that path-determined histories of early bureaucratization or colonialism have a major impact after controlling for individual differences. At the individual level, people who frequently make use of public services and perceive government as corrupt are more likely to pay bribes, while socio-economic inequality has no significant influence. While institutional history cannot be changed, changing the design of public services offers is something that contemporary governors could do to reduce the vulnerability of their citizens to bribery