Reducing Corruption Risk in Post-War Reconstruction: 2-day seminar in Ukraine

Reducing Corruption Risk in Post-War Reconstruction: 2-day seminar in Ukraine

Ukraine’s Міждисциплінарний науково-освітній центр протидії корупції НаУКМА hosted a 2-day virtual seminar On Reducing Corruption Risk in Post-War Reconstruction, February 14-15, 2023. The meeting was co-hosted with Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Societies Program and supported by the Міжнародний фонд “Відродження”.

Oksana Nesterenko, ACREC’s Executive Director, opened the meeting, which aimed to help ACREC develop new curricula to train Ukrainian compliance officers, civic groups, senior officials, and community members in corruption prevention.

Richard Messick, an adviser on corruption risk and anti-corruption innovation, led the discussion as ACREC`s senior expert. Drawing on his experience in the development of similar courses as a senior staff member at the World Bank and a consultant to the UN and the Council of Europe, he offered observations about how to monitor planning, prioritization, budgeting, procurement, and implementation. He pointed to key stakeholder analysis and case studies from other countries.

The virtual seminar drew 45 participants, including representatives from the Ministry of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure of Ukraine, Ukravtodor (the road agency), and the National Agency of Corruption Prevention (NACP), as well as experts from RISE, Transparency International Ukraine, the Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions program USAID_ВзаємоДія, the International Renaissance Foundation, OECD, World Bank Ukraine, and other organizations.

Participants had the opportunity to express their views on the substantive issues raised, as well as on curricular design.

In particular, the discussion highlighted the need for methodologies for assessing damage, setting priorities, and issuing permits.

ACREC will use the observations participants offered to refine curriculum design. It aims to roll out new training programs during the summer and autumn 2023.