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National Integrity System: assessment of Ukraine (independent assessment of the readiness of Ukraine to system anti-corruption reforms)

The National Integrity System (NIS) comprises the principle governance institutions in a country that are responsible for the fight against corruption and its prevention. When these governance institutions function properly, they provide for effective corruption counteraction, as well as assist in achieving wider goals, for example, connected with ensuring appropriate governance. However, when these institutions are characterised by a lack of appropriate legal regulations, and the practice of their functioning contains inner shortcomings, corruption is likely to thrive, which in its turn has negative effects for economic growth, stable society development and social cohesion.

Since the moment of the National Integrity System assessment launch in the end of 1990-ties, TI has realized more than 70 corresponding projects. A lot of them later became the foundation for advocacy-campaigns, initiatives as for conducting reforms in the sphere of anti-corruption policy, as well as forming general understanding of the main drawbacks of governance in the framework of corresponding countries. In 2008 a number of refinements and revisions in the NIS assessment approach have been undertaken (namely, indicators’ evaluation was introduced), which promise to make the tool even more relevant for independent governance and anticorruption initiatives.

The concept of the NIS has been developed and promoted by Transparency International (TI) as part of TI’s holistic approach to combating corruption .The NIS generally comprises the pillars (institutes and sectors) depicted in Diagram 1, which are based on a number of foundations related to policy, economy, and culture.

The evaluation of each of the aforesaid pillars should be done according to 3 parameters:
•   Capacity of the institution to conduct activity related to corruption counteraction;
•   Inner Governance – integrity, transparency, accountability;
•   Role of the institution in forming: 1) general level of integrity of the national system of governance; 2) corresponding indicators in the framework of each parameter, namely – resource supply and independence in the framework of such parameter as capacity of the institution; transparency, accountability and integrity in the framework of such parameter as governance; and some special indicators in the framework of such parameter as institution role (indicators for the role of each institution vary from each other; it is predetermined by the fact that each organ (sector) plays its specific role in the National Integrity System).

The majority of indicators includes two aspects:
•   Legal framework for the institution’s functioning;
•   Practice, which has an aim to discover differences between the legal framework and practice of its implementation.

Stages of project realization in Ukraine:
Project realization of the National Integrity System assessment in Ukraine includes the following stages:
Stage 1: Planning the assessment of National Integrity System – the researcher plans the process of research preparation, studies TI approaches and methodology as for conducting NIS assessment.
Step 2: Data Collection – Researcher collects data on legal framework and actual practice of NIS pillars, and for other components of NIS report.
Step 3: Drafting NIS report (Analytical report) – Researcher develops draft NIS report based on collected data.
Step 4: Scoring NIS Indicators – Researcher scores NIS indicators and passes them for consideration to Advisory group of independent consultants.
The advisory group of independent consultants comprises around 15 prominent in Ukraine experts who represent scientific circles, authorities, civil society, donor organizations and business sector.
Step 5: Convening NIS conference – National Chapter (Contact group) of Transparency International convenes national conference to discuss findings and identify recommendations and action plans for strengthening national integrity. Subsequently, based on the outcomes of the national conference the final version of the NIS report is prepared.
Step 6: Publishing NIS country report - NIS report is getting ready for publication, is published and disseminated in the corresponding country and abroad.
Step 7: NIS Advocacy, aimed at promoting reforms, which come up from the analytical NIS report – stating aims, tasks of advocacy campaign, preparation and conducting of the events aimed at introducing reforms, which come up from the NIS assessment.