Frequently Asked Questions

How does Global Integrity generate the Index?
The Index utilizes a unique methodology based on a quantitative analysis of the existence and effectiveness of anti-corruption and good governance mechanisms. Rather than being a survey that polls households or businesses or aggregates third-party opinion polls, the Index is a compilation of country-specific expert assessments backed up by standardized scoring criteria, sourcing requirements, and a blind peer review process. All data is scored by in-country experts, not Global Integrity staff.

Is the Index the only thing that Global Integrity produces?
Not at all; in fact, the Global Integrity Index is just a small (though highly visible) component of the annual Global Integrity Report, a collection of country assessments that combine qualitative journalistic reporting with quantitative data gathering. The Report assesses good governance/anti-corruption mechanisms at the national-level in a diverse mix of countries around the world each year, and the data that is gathered in each country as part of that fieldwork is aggregated to produce the annual Global Integrity Index.

Who are your target audiences?
We target our work at five primary audiences: government policymakers (particularly donor governments and aid recipient governments) seeking to design evidence-based reform programs; grassroots advocates that want to focus their efforts when calling for reform; journalists seeking insight into where corruption is more or less likely to occur in a country; researchers and academics interested in exploring the relationship between anti-corruption safeguards and other variables; and businesses (especially investors focused on emerging markets) seeking to assess risk and opportunity.

What is the difference between the Global Integrity Index and perceptions-based indices such as Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)? How does it differ from the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators?
The CPI and World Bank indicators are based largely on opinion polls (in the case of the Bank's indicators, a mix of opinion polls and expert assessments, including Global Integrity's country assessments). Unlike these indices, the Global Integrity Index is based on original, empirical on-the-ground research, backed by peer-reviewed commentary and references. We hire local experts on corruption and governance issues to score the Integrity Indicators and prepare the accompanying qualitative reports in every country we cover. We do not base our scores on pre-existing third-party data or assessments, as do aggregate tools such as the Corruptions Perceptions Index or the World Bank indicators.

So is the Global Integrity Index better than other indices?
We view the Index as complementary to other work, including the various surveys and polls produced by Transparency International; the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators; various political risk assessments; and sector-specific assessments such as the Open Budget Index. We hope that users grasp the need to combine multiple sources of both quantitative and qualitative resources when analyzing governance and corruption issues, which are inherently complex, opaque, and difficult to generalize across countries. While we believe the Global Integrity Index adds value by uniquely assessing anti-corruption safeguards in a quantitative manner, we do not view it as a substitute for other indices or the only resource worth using.

How many countries will the Global Integrity Report eventually cover?
We are growing rapidly and hope to expand our coverage every year. Coverage of the Global Integrity Report (and Global Integrity Index) has increased to 55 countries since its inauguration in 2004, with assessments now having been produced for 76 countries total. The scope of our coverage is constrained by the resources at our disposal, both financial as well as the availability of well-qualified social scientists, journalists, and peer reviewers. In a given year, countries are included or excluded from our study based largely on these constraints. Our goal is to aim for increasingly comprehensive coverage of countries without sacrificing the quality of our work.

What is the professional background of Global Integrity's in-country experts?
Selecting our field staff is the most important decision we make each year. In-country teams of experts are recruited from a variety of professional backgrounds. Lead researchers are typically based in leading local non-governmental organizations, universities, research institutes, and foundations, although some are independent research consultants. Lead journalists are often reporters and editors at major daily print publications, though some work for radio and television media. Most peer reviewers are journalists, academic researchers, or development consultants.

How long does it take Global Integrity to prepare a country assessment?
The actual fieldwork is not terribly long; it generally takes 8 to 12 weeks for our experts in the field to prepare the raw Reporter's Notebook and Integrity Indicators scorecard. The peer review process and final editing and scoring adjustments constitute another eight weeks, approximately. Overall, 6 months is a conservative approximation. This rapid turnaround is possible due to both our approach to research and our innovative organizational structure.

How big is the Global Integrity Report? Can I purchase a print copy of the Report?
The annual Global Integrity Report is a massive and growing collection of work that, in 2007 alone, totaled more than 1.5 million words of text and included nearly 20,000 peer-reviewed data points. On a typical printer, the entire report would fill more than 5,000 pages. As such, it is impossible to publish all of the composite country assessments as a useable single volume, though individual country reports are available as downloadable PDF documents on our website.

Is Global Integrity an advocacy organization?
Global Integrity is an independent information provider dedicated to educating the public. We are not a lobbying organization. While we hope that both national and international organizations utilize our data and reporting in their efforts to promote better governance, we do not engage in any overt lobbying efforts.