Preventing corruption in water: strengthening transparency, integrity and accountability

Updated - Wednesday 10 December 2008

The Hague, The Netherlands, 09 Mar 09 - 11 Mar 09

A training course organised by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre 9 - 11 March 2009

A lack of transparency in decision making and poor accountability between consumers, service providers and regulators are weak links in the governance of the water and environmental sanitation sector in many countries , opening the door to corruption. Available research suggests that a large proportion of investments are wasted as a result, with severe negative impacts on the equity and sustainability of services. Conditions of scarcity (a lack of access to services), monopoly (a limited number of providers) and institutional complexity in a fragmented sector present ideal opportunities for corruption to proliferate. Problems span public and private institutions and large and small projects at international and local levels. Building stronger systems of accountability and integrity is key to preventing corruption, and also to improving local water governance and delivering better services.

Course programme

  1. Introduction to water sector governance issues. The first module will provide an introduction to governance issues generally and specifically within the water sector. It will introduce international and national conventions, legislation and institutional issues that provide the enabling environment for effective actions to improve transparency, integrity and accountability within the sector.
  2. How serious is corruption in water? Measurement of levels of corruption is notoriously difficult. This module will review the latest available research and the use of indirect evidence or proxies that can be used to infer levels of corruption in the water sector. Different types of corruption will be unpacked and key definitions and concepts introduced.
  3. Corruption risk mapping. Prevention is likely to be the focus of most sector initiated action. Understanding where corruption may occur is the key to design of successful programmes to prevent it. This module will introduce frameworks to understand where different types of corruption may develop, and methodologies to map corruption risks.
  4. Taking action and mitigating risks (double module). Participants will learn about specific strategies and tools to improve access to information, transparency and accountability that are suited to sector-focused corruption prevention programmes. These will include, for example, Integrity Pacts in procurement processes, and civil society engagement and Citizens Reports Cards for more social accountability. This module will cover specific methods to target the poor and to mitigate potentially harmful impacts of anti-corruption initiatives on the most vulnerable users of water services. It will also address how to mitigate risks in initiating anti-corruption actions in the sector including: how to initiate and facilitate processes to manage conflicts, the advantages of acting in partnership, and how to ensure that anti-corruption activities do not simply shift corruption to other areas and harden its nature.

Who should attend?

The course is targeted at government, donor, embassy and bank officials responsible for management of projects within the water sector, consultants, non-governmental organisation staff and other professionals involved in the execution of development-related water projects, and journalists and legal professionals interested to learn about issues in preventing water corruption.

Learning objectives and methods
Participants attending the course will be able to plan anti-corruption initiatives in the water sector on the basis of the latest available research and evidence. They will be equipped with tools to use to understand the complexity of corruption in the sector, and tools and approaches to take positive, prevention-focused actions to improve systems of integrity and accountability.

The course is organised by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (www.irc.nl), one of the founder members of the Water Integrity Network (www.waterintegritynetwork.net). The main trainers will be:

  • Peter Ryan: Peter has a background in engineering consultancy, and prior to joining IRC, led WaterAid’s programme in local accountability known as Citizens Action.
  • Alana Potter: Alana has extensive southern African experience and previously worked for Mvula Trust, one of South Africa’s most respected water sector NGOs. Currently she is advising on the implementation of citizen’s reports cards and other social accountability tools to improve service performance in East Africa.
  • John Butterworth: John is an active member of the Water Integrity Network, and was a contributor to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Report in 2008 on water. He has a water resources management background.
    Invited experts will provide additional examples and experience.

The course will combine expert presentations from key resource persons combined with discussion, exercises and group work based upon the participants own experiences and other examples. These interactive sessions will be based on adult-learning principles and will emphasise analysis of cases, and real life examples. Participants will be provided with a range of learning and resource materials for use in their follow up activities.

Fees and further information

The course fee will be €950 (€475 for organisations in the south) to be paid at least 1 month before the start of the course (by 9 March). The course will be restricted to a maximum of 20 participants on a first-come-first-served basis. Participants should plan to arrive in the Hague on Sunday 8 March in time for dinner, and to depart on Thursday 12 March. Participants need to cover their own travel, visa, accommodation costs and meals (except for lunches and one course dinner included in the fee). Standard accommodation in the Hague hotels costs around €90 per night but may cost more unless bookings are made well in advance. Participants are recommended to budget around €140 per day to cover all normal expenses. Hotel bookings will be made for participants if requested when completing the registration form with fee payment.

For further information and to register for the course please contact: preventingcorruption@irc.nl

- Location:
The Hague, The Netherlands
- Date:
09 Mar 09 - 11 Mar 09