Europe & CIS

Objectives:

The project aims at addressing some of the problems of anti-corruption agencies and practitioners in the countries of the region through the establishment of a regional mechanism supporting knowledge sharing and strengthening institutional capacity to fight corruption.

Expected output: Selected national anti-corruption agencies have improved capacity for fighting corruption thanks to the regional capacity development activities implemented in the ACPN framework and to effective programmatic support from UNDP country offices

Situation analysis:

While the level of corruption and the legislative and institutional frameworks are quite different across the region, most countries face corruption as a major hindrance to the capacity of the institutions to deliver services, and to overall development. International legal instruments like the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and Council of Europe’s Conventions are ratified by many countries in the region, however the institutional capacity for their implementation is weak. Systems of information sharing and mutual legal assistance between the Anti-Corruption Institutions operating in different countries are not in place.
In recent years, one of the priorities of the governments in the Eastern European and the CIS countries has been the design of anti-corruption strategies and the creation of AC agencies. This process of institutional development, requested by the international community and supported with development aid, has been often very fast, based on the introduction of models implemented in other countries and weakened by the lack of serious assessment of the real institutional needs to fight corruption. As a consequence, many AC agencies of the region are currently struggling with organizational and financial problems and even for their independence and survival.

Strategy:

The project will support anti-corruption agencies and practitioners in the region through knowledge management and capacity development activities developed within the framework of the existing Anti-Corruption Practitioners Network (ACPN) info at: http://anticorruption.undp.sk . Concerning the knowledge management fold, the project will ensure the maintenance and facilitation of the ACPN and of the related Website and database through researches and information sharing with the members of the network. The project is also expected to result in the enlargement of the network through seeking the participation of new experts and practitioners and contacting relevant agencies for the establishment of official partnerships.

Concerning the capacity development activities, the project programme is to design and implement capacity assessments of selected anti-corruption agencies in the region and then deliver related capacity development support. Targeted capacity development activities may include: study tours (practitioners from selected AC agencies visit the more advanced and performing agencies in the region) and staff exchanges. The project will also deliver a follow up strategy to support the implementation of tangible reforms in the agencies involved in the project and providing guidance to the COs to support the institutional capacity development effort in the long term.

For the delivery of capacity development support the project will use the ACPN outreach infrastructure: (the contacts established with many anti-corruption experts and practitioners and the cooperation already developed with some anti-corruption agencies) to assess the needs for capacity development and identify possible resources for the project activities. Through the utilization of regional expertise, the project aims at delivering relevant and effective technical assistance and will propose solutions to concrete problems and examples of best practices derived from the experience of practitioners dealing with the fight against corruption on a daily basis.

Activities:

1. (2008) Selection, in cooperation with country offices, of 3 to 5 agencies that will participate to the capacity development activities. Identification of the partner agencies that will provide the expertise and other knowledge resources needed.
2. (2008) Capacity assessment:

• (first phase) Workshop with practitioners from the selected agencies, COs staff involved in the project and external experts to initiate the assessment of the capacity development needs;
• (second phase) Desk review of documentation concerning the selected agencies and field visit to the agencies for the development of effective response strategies, self assessment toolkits and benchmarking systems.

3.  Production of a toolkit for supporting specialized anti-corruption agencies containing a  collection and codification of lessons learned in programming in support of ACAs and a methodology for capacity development of the ACAs 
4. Organization of a training / workshop to roll out the toolkit
5. (2009) Targeted capacity development activities, including: study tours (practitioners from selected AC agencies visit the more advanced and performing agencies in the region) and staff exchanges.
6. (2009) Development of a follow up strategy to support the implementation of tangible reforms in the agencies involved in the project and providing guidance to the COs to support the institutional capacity development effort in the long term.
7. (2010) Technical assistance provided by the UNDP BRC to the COs involved in the project and to the anti-corruption agencies (development of TORs, contacting experts for specific tasks, organization of targeted expert missions).
8. (2010) Results assessment:

• Gathering and aggregation of data and documentation of lessons learned about:

1. international cooperation developed as a result of the project;
2. organizational set up (budget, salaries, technical facilities, staffing - including gender balance) and performance of targeted agencies. Analysis of the data and comparison with baseline information collected at the beginning of the project.

• Workshop gathering all the participants to the project activities (practitioners, experts, CO staff) in order to present the results of the project, compile and validate lessons learned, and identify needs for subsequent follow up.

7. (2008-2010) ACPN maintenance:

• On-going facilitation of the Network
• Updating of the ACPN Website and database
• Enlargement of the network

UNDP Country Offices in the countries of the Agencies selected for the project are expected to take the lead in the final stage of the progect and to ensure the sustainability of the project results.

Project website: http://anticorruption.undp.sk