This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from the European Commission. The Anti-Corruption Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International and funded by the European Union.
Query
Please provide an overview of best practices to promote private sector collective action on business integrity and compliance (with a particular focus on EU transition countries if possible).
Summary
Collective action has emerged as one of the most promising approaches to promote business integrity. This is due to its ability to bring different capacities and interests to the table, speak to business motivations, level the playing field, strengthen individual action, facilitate peer learning and promote activities in the wider business environment. Best practices have emerged with increased global implementation. While collective action is heavily context-specific, general success factors include: identifying and engaging the right stakeholders; investing sufficient time and resources; engaging the right facilitators; setting achievable objectives; establishing appropriate governance structures; managing expectations; speaking to stakeholder motivations; and creating sustainability strategies. In Eastern Europe, initiatives have been building on these experiences to establish successful collective actions for business integrity, for example, by introducing integrity certifications, building multi-stakeholder alliances, entering into enforceable integrity pacts, creating industry-wide efforts and providing relevant knowledge.
Contents
- Introduction
- Collective action to advance business integrity
- Best practices in collective action
- Implementation in Eastern Europe
- References
Main points
- There is no one size fits all in collective action. The right approach depends on context and goals.
- To be successful, Initiatives need to pick the right facilitators, identify the right stakeholders, spend time building trust, address motivations, and develop
sustainability and impact assessment strategies , among others. - In Eastern Europe, joint activities and networks have been successful in raising awareness, building capacity and creating common codes of conduct.
- Integrity p acts have been successful in increasing transparency, trust and competition in public procurement processes.
Authors
Jennifer Schöberlein, [email protected]
Reviewer
Nieves Zúñiga, Transparency International
Date
21/06/2019
Tags
Download PDF
