During working visit to the United States, the Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) met with Paul Massaro, Policy Advisor, U.S. Helsinki Commission, the head of the World Bank, Microsoft's Vice President of Building Integrity, representatives of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the newly appointed U.S. Department of State Sanctions Coordinator Ginni Badanes.
During the meeting with Paul Massaro, the NACP Head spoke about Ukraine's progress in implementing its anti-corruption policy: the implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Program for 2023-2025, the first results of the restoration of e-declaration for officials, recent legislative initiatives of the Parliament to support the institutional capacity of anti-corruption agencies, and the Government's approval of the draft law on integrity lobbying and advocacy. The Senior Policy Advisor of the U.S. Helsinki Commission positively assessed Ukraine's progress in implementing anti-corruption reform.
During a meeting with the World Bank's Integrity Team (INT), Alan Bacarese, Lorna Jacobson, and Kathleen Peters, the parties discussed the importance of integrity education for parliamentarians, building anti-corruption compliance and integrity standards in the private sector. Oleksandr Novikov told the World Bank representatives in what way the NACP helps to develop a culture of ethical and integrity in business in Ukraine. In particular, a practical tool for this is the NACP's Leadership Guide called "Guide for Top-Managers".
According to the Head of the NACP, an effective management system in an organization is a guarantee of quality interaction between employees and protection against corruption. The NACP operates according to the best international management standards, using the OKR methodology for setting and implementing goals in its work. Microsoft, one of the world's largest technology companies, has long been using the same methodology. This topic was discussed with Microsoft Vice President Ginny Badanes, who is responsible for OKR to develop integrity policies in countries around the world.
"At the NACP, we believe that effective management in an organization directly affects its success and "immunity" from corruption. As the first government agency in Ukraine to implement this methodology, we want to demonstrate to others that OKR is about values, the mission of the organization, transparency, specific goals, and most importantly, powerful results needed to increase the efficiency of the government and improve the well-being of Ukrainians," said the NACP Head.
The Microsoft Vice President supported the idea of implementing the OKR methodology in other organizations in our country. Such a practice should not only have a positive impact on public trust in government agencies, but also increase the trust of international partners. Oleksandr Novikov told the Microsoft representative about the NACP's innovative digital integrity tools. For her part, Ginny Badanes expressed interest in supporting the Agency in developing IT tools for preventing corruption.
The Head of the NACP also visited the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where he met with the leadership of the office to discuss the importance of coordinating international assistance. In particular, the Head of the NACP noted that Ukraine continues to digitize most of the state processes in Ukraine to reduce the impact of the human factor and increase accountability and transparency, in particular during reconstruction and aid.
In addition, the NACP Head met with the newly appointed Sanctions Coordinator of the U.S. Department of State, Erin Barrett. They discussed sanctions priorities of Ukraine and the United States and further strengthening of sanctions pressure against Russia.
