A roadmap for building integrity organizations: NACP develops Leadership Guide for public and private officers

03.11.2023

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has developed a "Leadership Guide", a comprehensive practical document on the systematic development of the integrity and efficiency of organizations in the public and private sectors, and thus the whole country. Since organizations form the basis of the institutional environment in any sphere of public life, their efficiency and management culture largely determine the level of development and potential of society. If the governance system is mature enough to achieve the organization's goals, it eliminates even the causes of corruption. Immature governance systems are breeding grounds for corruption. The largest arsenal of tools for building a virtuous organization is concentrated in the hands of its head. The manager must be a leader in ensuring that each employee performs his or her duties duly and competently, based primarily on principles and values. The head of the organization is responsible for building integrity in the organization and for the effectiveness of its achievement of its goals. "Based on the Capability Maturity Model Integration, the "Leadership Guide" provides step-by-step recommendations for creating an effective organization, from assessing the current level of integrity and defining the mission and vision to appointing an anti-corruption officer, identifying corruption risks, approving an integrity program, and ensuring the independence of internal audit. Implementation of these measures takes management processes to a new level, transforming them from chaotic and disorganized to clear and more sophisticated. It is important that the document complement the integrity strategy based on administrative rules and procedures (compliance) with tools based on values. Therefore, it is important for the head of an effective organization to balance rule-based and value-based integrity strategies. Every head of a state agency, municipal agency, or private enterprise is interested in implementing the recommendations of the Guide, because the main advantage of building a virtuous organization is the ability to protect it from criminal prosecution, litigation, sanctions, and other negative consequences through effective internal control and risk management. An organization with integrity is efficient and has a positive reputation by default. In addition to a detailed algorithm for building an organization based on the principles of integrity, each recommendation in the Guide is accompanied by a description of real facts, statistics, and references to good practices. The document also contains useful annexes, including recommended requirements for integrity officers (for the prevention and detection of corruption), an institution that provides expertise and coordination of the anti-corruption policy of the head of the organization. "The NACP calls on the heads of organizations of all levels and forms of ownership to actively engage in the implementation of integrity standards in their activities and corporate culture. After all, not only the country's ability to withstand and win the fight against the aggressor but also to finally turn it into the best place for the realization of the talents of every Ukrainian into a full-fledged member of the European and Euro-Atlantic communities depends on the development of virtuous and highly efficient public and private organizations," said NACP Head Oleksandr Novikov.