1. What is the Center for Public Integrity?
2. What is Global Access?
3. What is the Global Integrity Report?
4. Who may find this report useful?
5. What countries are included in the study?
6. Who conducted the research?
7. What did the peer review process entail?
8. How are corruption and public integrity defined?
9. What does the Public Integrity Index measure?
10. How is the Public Integrity Index constructed?
11. What are the six categories and sub-categories that make up the Public Integrity Index?
12. How were the Integrity Indicators scored?
13. How does the Public Integrity Index differ from and compare to the Corruption Perception Index produced by Transparency International?
14. What time period does the Global Integrity Report cover?
15. Who funded the study?
16. Will the study be repeated?
1. What is the Center for Public Integrity?
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts investigative research and reporting on public policy issues in the United States and around the world. Based in Washington, D.C., its mission is to provide citizens with vital information about public officials and institutions. Since 1990, the Center has produced approximately 250 investigative reports and 12 books, its work honored 26 times by the Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, PEN USA and other respected organizations.
2. What is Global Access?
Global Access is an international research project of the Center for Public Integrity tracking corruption and integrity in 25 countries around the world. It is impossible to measure, with any degree of completeness, the hidden practices of corruption. It is possible, however, to measure the opposite of corruption—namely, the systems that expose corruption, deter it and ultimately prevent it. Global Access focuses on measuring the existence and effectiveness of mechanisms that counteract the abuse of power and promote public integrity, including the access that citizens have to their government.
3. What is the Global Integrity Report?
The Global Integrity Report is a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, blending social science and journalism. It includes the Public Integrity Index and 25 Country Reports. Each Country Report consists of a Corruption Timeline, which summarizes major corruption news from the early 1990s to December 2003; a Corruption Notebook, an impressionistic essay on the culture of corruption and governance in that country; an Integrity Assessment, which analyzes key features from the six main public integrity categories; and Country Facts, which provides background information about that nation.
4. Who may find this report useful?
Government agencies, multilateral institutions, global non-governmental organizations, international businesses and citizens in general, all of whom need an accurate picture of the state of corruption and government accountability around the world. While the Center for Public Integrity does not engage in public policy advocacy, these groups and others can use the report as a scorecard of the anti-corruption mechanisms in place in a particular country and a road map for possible reforms.
5. What countries are included in the study?
The 25 countries included in the Global Integrity study are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, the United States, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The countries—including the largest democracy on each continent—were chosen to generate a sample with geographic, economic and political diversity. The selection of countries includes six from Africa and seven from Latin America.
6. Who conducted the research?
In each country, the Center for Public Integrity used teams of at least five researchers, working independently, to compile the material for the Country Reports. A country team typically consisted of a lead social scientist, an investigative journalist and five country readers forming a peer-review panel.
7. What did the peer review process entail?
A peer review panel, consisting of three to eight social scientists and journalists, was carefully selected by the Washington team to review the draft Country Reports in a blind peer-review process. Reviewers were given two weeks to provide critical feedback, additional commentary and references on the Integrity Indicators, Integrity Assessments, Corruption Notebooks and Global Access methodology in general. All comments were taken into account in producing the final reports and select reader comments are posted on the Global Access Web site.
8. How are corruption and public integrity defined?
Corruption here is defined as the abuse of power for private gain from public office. Corruption erodes public trust in government, undermines the rule of law, weakens the state and hinders economic growth by discouraging investment. Public integrity is the opposite of corruption. It is a holistic concept that champions the public interest over the personal and refers to mechanisms that promote government honesty, openness, accountability, responsiveness and transparency.
9. What does the Public Integrity Index measure?
Essentially, the Public Integrity Index measures three things:
- The existence of public integrity mechanisms, including laws and institutions that promote public accountability and limit corruption
- The effectiveness of these mechanisms
- The access that citizens have to public information to hold their government accountable.
What are the different score tiers making up the Public Integrity Index?
The Public Integrity Index groups countries into five tiers based on their public integrity systems: Very Strong (90-100); Strong (80-90); Moderate (70-80); Weak (60-70); and Very Weak (Below 60).
10. How is the Public Integrity Index constructed?
The Public Integrity Index is divided into six main governance categories, each made up of Integrity Indicators. Carefully selected from a comprehensive review of the anti-corruption literature and other democratic governance sources, the Integrity Indicators are used to score the institutional framework that exists at the national level to promote public integrity and accountability and prevent abuses of power.
11. What are the six categories and sub-categories that make up the Public Integrity Index?
- Civil Society, Public Information and Media: Civil Society Organizations; Access to Information; Freedom of the Media.
- Electoral and Political Processes: National Elections; Election Monitoring Agency; Political Party Finances.
- Branches of Government: Executive; Legislature; Judiciary.
- Administration and Civil Service: Civil Service Regulations; Whistle-Blowing Measures; Procurement; Privatization.
- Oversight and Regulatory Mechanisms: National Ombudsman; Supreme Audit Institution; Taxes and Customs; Financial Sector Regulation.
- Anti-Corruption Mechanisms and Rule of Law: Anti-Corruption Law; Anti-Corruption Agency; Anti-Corruption Agency; Rule of Law and Access to Justice; Law Enforcement.
12. How were the Integrity Indicators scored?
The Integrity Indicators were initially scored by the lead social scientist in each country. The indicators were divided into two general types: "in law" and "in practice." The "in law" questions provide an objective assessment of legal code, case law and regulations. These were scored with a simple "yes" or "no." The "in practice" indicators address implementation issues and were scored with a five-point sliding scale. All scores range between 0 and 100, with 0 the worst possible score and 100 the best. There were a number of review processes that resulted in the final indicator scores and index for which the Center for Public Integrity takes full responsibility.
13. How does the Public Integrity Index differ from and compare to the Corruption Perception Index produced by Transparency International?
The indices measure two related, yet different, concepts. The Public Integrity Index is a unique instrument applied by in-country experts to assess the existence and effectiveness of mechanisms that prevent abuse of power and promote public integrity, and citizen access to them. By contrast, the Corruption Perception Index is a composite index, a "poll of polls" that ranks countries based on the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.
14. What time period does the Global Integrity Report cover?
The field research for the Public Integrity Index, Integrity Assessments and Corruption Notebooks took place from June to September 2003, with information updated through the end of 2003. The Corruption Timelines span the early 1990s through to December 2003.
15. Who funded the study?
The Center for Public Integrity accepts no government, political party, business, labor union or anonymous contributions, and is supported by foundations and individual members and the sale of its publications. The Global Integrity Report is funded by Open Society Institute and the McCormick Tribune Foundation.
16. Will the study be repeated?
The Center for Public Integrity hopes to extend the study to include more countries, contingent on additional funding, of course.