Components of Integrity:Data and Benchmarks

for Tracking Trends in Government

Michael JohnstonColgate University

Hamilton, New York USA

OECD/OCDE, ParisOctober 2, 2008

Integrity…Not just the absence of corruption Justice, equity to promote the public interest Transparency, openness Accountability Efficiency

How to measure and track trends in detail?

The dominant approach…

Measuring Corruption…? But we cannot measure corruption directly

It is secretive Usually lacks immediate victims to file reports Comes in many forms difficult to compare

And it is only one aspect of integrity…

Corruption indices are flawed:

Based on perceptions, not corruption itself “Echo chamber” problems Give whole countries one number Uncertain reliability for tracking change Are not actionable: don’t tell us what to do

The DB strategy: Data…

How long, how many steps to get a license Prices paid for supplies, services, labor Invoices: paid quickly and accurately? Inspections, assessments: too frequent,

arbitrary, “negotiable”? Amounts, quality of goods received Client evaluation of services and integrity Officials’ own knowledge of processes

The DB strategy: Benchmarks…

Comparisons to other governments Limited comparisons to private sector Compare variation in cases (e.g., tax

assessments) creating norms for discretion Judicious sampling of officials’ knowledge,

views Citizen, client involvement, evaluation,

consultation

Data, Benchmarks must be…

Useful, actionable, detailed Appropriate to the public sector Minimally intrusive, expensive Defined in terms of values of integrity Expressed in real units, not points in a ranking High in validity, readily understandable Useful knowledge Supportive of trust, accountability 

Indirectly, DB assesses corruption:

Data, Benchmarks reflect past corruption Many steps in a process, wide discretion in

assessments, frequent and arbitrary inspections suggest that bribes have usually been available

And assess incentives sustaining corruption Slow processes, abuse of discretion, poor

controls on prices/procurement, poor accountability all encourage bribery, extortion

DB also assesses integrity…

Where processes move quickly… Numbers of steps are reasonable… Discretion is limited… Prices paid and charged are reasonable… Oversight and accountability are sound… Services are of high quality… Citizen, client satisfaction is high...

Integrity is more likely to be strong

Goals and uses

To provide useful, detailed information to officials and their clients

Not to rank whole countries, or stigmatize To identify points of vulnerability To show movement toward positive goals To confer credit for success, fix

accountability for failure

Sequence of activities:

Examine core of Integrity Framework Examine inputs, processes, outputs Gather data on supportive management,

governance conditions Repeated assessments in all sectors

Main types of Data:

Inputs required to produce a service Public sector processes: “structures,

procedures, and management arrangements”

Outputs: results of services, processes Outcomes: impact and consequences for the

community

DB produces detailed, actionable information: Which processes to improve, and how Where prices, fees must be brought down Where discretion is too broad How much change is needed What results reforms produce Where countermeasures are not working

A culture of integrity:

Data identify opportunities for responsive government, management

Failing agencies, programs, managers are identified

Effective leaders can claim credit

Priority areas:

Procurement Taxation Customs Regulatory functions Licensing and inspection functions “Blinking indicators” by sector

Problems and precautions…

“Gaming” of the data Abuse of the results The “efficiency trap” Contrasts between public, private sectors Losing sight of integrity values

Problems and precautions…

Participation and compliance Resistance, obstruction, deception Maintaining incentives to participate Openness, accountability in DB processes Sponsorship, ownership of DB processes

Still, a valuable approach

Valid measures of process and change Offering a high level of detail Linked to positive integrity values Readily gathered, published, understood Offering positive incentives Recognizing integrity in its broadest senses