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180 183-2

Guidelines for assessing capacities

This function requires:

Capacities Main issues and sample questions
Enabling Environment 
Social, economic and political context: Capacity to receive complaints
  • In traditional and closely knit societies, people may be reluctant to report corruption to the ACA.
  • The accessibility of the ACA influences the number of complaints received. The ACA’s remoteness from rural populations, for example, may discourage them to report corruption.
  • Some complaints may not be related to corrupt activities, but simply venting out frustrations and not focusing on the actual corruption issues.
  • People may report wrong/inadequate information in their complaints.
Sample questions:
  • Are there any reasons (social, cultural, economic or political) for people not coming forward with complaints?
  • Have the number of complaints to the anti-corruption agency raised since the establishment of the anti-corruption agency?
  • What is the percentage of anonymous complaints?
  • Has the public been educated on how to file complaint, the types of complaint that can be filed?
  • Is any system in place to get back to complainants where information is wrong or missing?
Institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms: Capacity to share complaints among institutions
  • If the Auditor-General’s Office doesn’t share its corruption findings with the ACA prior to its audit report   being published, then the suspects may erase evidence upon the report’s publication.
  • Some ministries may not accept anonymous complaints. The non- recognition of anonymous complaints by other agencies may lead to overburdening the ACA.
  • MoUs or reporting templates may not be available to share information from the ACA to departments in the public administration
  • Other institutions, such as the Police, may be receiving complaints about corruption.
Sample questions:
  • Are Ministries allowed to receive anonymous complaints?
  • Are complaints being exchanged (formally or informally) between the Auditor-General’s Office and the anti-corruption agency?
  • Are the Police handling any complaints on corruption? Do they share any complaints on corruption with the anti-corruption agency?
  • Are any MoUs required to facilitate the exchange of complaints among institutions
  • Are any other institutions receiving corruption complaints?
Legal framework: Capacity to handle complaints The law may not explicitly provide the power to handle complaints to the ACA.
Sample questions:
  • Is the anti-corruption agency mandated by law to handle complaints?
Accountability: Capacity to report to oversight bodies on the number of complaints received and how they have been dealt with The ACA may not properly register and keep track of received complaints.
The ACA may not report on its complaints handling in its annual report.
Sample questions:
  • Are statistics on the number of complaints available and on their outcomes?
  • Have oversight bodies, such as the parliament, the public council or the centre of government, received any reports on complaints volume and outcomes?
Organizational level
Leadership: Capacity to take up cases ACA leadership may interfere inappropriately in processing some complaints.
Sample questions:
  • Is the leadership facilitating or obstructing the handling of complaints?
Strategic planning: Capacity to plan the necessary resources for the intake and handling of complaints The complaints handling unit may lack appropriate resources to adequately process complaints.
Sample questions:
  • What is the strategic guidance for the handling of complaints within the anti-corruption agency?
Organizational structure: Capacity to deal with the inflow of complaints The ACA will require staff capacity and procedures for complaints intake and processing.
Sample questions:
  • Are all incoming complaints recorded?
  • What is the procedure in place for reviewing complaints?
  • What are the possible outcomes of the review process (investigation, discreet enquiry, sharing with other institutions, dropping)?
  • What happens with the complaints that are dropped? Are they recorded and filed?
  • What are the criteria for selecting complaints for investigation?
  • Who is responsible for reviewing complaints and making follow-up recommendations
  • Who takes the final decision in terms of complaints processing?
  • Are those reviewing complaints required to sign any conflict of interest declarations prior to assessing complaints?
Human resource management: Capacity to register and review complaints The ACA will require trained staff to deal with all sorts of complaints, such as walk-in complaints, hotline complaints, and emailed complaints.
The ACA will require trained staff to assess complaints on their merits.
The ACA staff reviewing complaints should have no conflicts of interest in handling the complaints.
Sample questions:
  • How many staff are assigned to register and review complaints?
  • What are the main responsibilities of these staff?
  • Are there any conflict of interest provisions in place for complaints handling?
Knowledge and information management: Capacity to draw information from received complaints The ACA may not systematically archive its complaints.
Sample questions:
Does the anti-corruption agency have a computerized case management system?
Are all dismissed complaints kept in a database?
Communication: Capacity to communicate professionally about complaints handling
  • Complaints may comprise false allegations. Every complaint needs to be handled with sensitivity and discretion.
  • The public needs to be aware about the number and types of complaints received by the ACA.
  • Rights to privacy and presumption of innocence need to be balanced with access to information and right to information on ACA’s activities.
Sample questions:
  • Does the anti-corruption agency communicate regularly to the public about the volume and the types of complaints?
  • What means are used to communicate about complaints?
  • Does the anti-corruption agency protect the privacy of the whistle-blower and the suspect? What measures are in place to ensure this?
Monitoring and evaluation: Capacity to monitor and evaluate the volume, nature and quality of complaints, as well as their handling ACA’s may streamline complaints handling processes by monitoring and evaluating them, and progressively improving the procedures.
Sample questions:
  • Does the anti-corruption agency monitor and evaluate the volume, nature and quality of complaints?
  • How does it achieve this?
  • Have the procedures for handling complaints ever been evaluated?
Monitoring and evaluation: Capacity to monitor and evaluate the volume, nature and quality of complaints, as well as their handling ACA’s may streamline the complaints handling processes by monitoring and evaluating them, and progressively improving the procedures.
Sample questions:
  • Does the anti-corruption agency monitor and evaluate the volume, nature and quality of complaints?
  • How does it achieve this?
  • Have the procedures for handling complaints ever been evaluated?
Training and mentoring: Capacity to follow complaints management procedures All steps in the complaints handling process will require trained staff?
Sample questions:
  • Are those staff handling complaints properly trained on the procedures for doing so?
  • Have staff been trained to receive complaints?
Individual level
Technical capacities:
  • Good analytical skills to assess complaints
  • Ability to write clear motivations for taking up, dropping or sharing complaints
  • Legal knowledge about all possible corruption offences
  • IT skills
  • Ability to operate computerized