Data for the Fight Against Corruption (BR0124)

Brief description of the commitment

Identify and promote the openness, use, and quality improvement of strategic data for preventing, detecting, and fighting corruption, with the participation of society.

Problem Definition

1. What problem does the commitment aim to solve?

Tackling corruption must be a constant action and this concern is reflected in its high perception among the population. Brazil ranks 94th in the Corruption Perception Index measure by International Transparency. The fight against corruption in Brazil involves various institutions and initiatives in different sectors. For the fight to be effective, inter-institutional coordination is crucial, since the association between poor public services and corruption highlights the importance of working for effective public management. Although we have seen progress in public transparency and social control, the perception of distrust in governments is still very present. For this reason, properly making data and information available is crucial to strengthening the fight against corruption, and increasing its quality and interoperability. Currently, the treatment of data produced for the prevention, detection and fight against corruption lacks actions to improve the processes of prioritization, standardization, cataloging, harmonization, and availability. This problem affects both public institutions and agents in society, including the private sector. In the case of the former, the lack of data and evidence weakens the evaluation and more effective design of public policies on the issue. From society’s perspective, there is damage to the implementation of social control and the joint construction of solutions for the prevention, detection, and fight against corruption, as well as the harmonious understanding of the implementation of compliance mechanisms in the private sector. If, on the one hand, the weaknesses related to anti-corruption data are made explicit, on the other hand, we also identified difficulties in implementing the Anti-Corruption Law that contribute to the problem. From this perspective, the integrity agenda is weakened when anti-corruption action is centered on rules and controls, underestimating non-explicit conflicts of interest. Weaknesses in the control of small municipalities, the environmental impact of corruption, and the high costs of implementing compliance in smaller companies complicate the scenario. During these challenges, the integration of systems, with adequate data availability, and the strengthening of values such as integrity and ethics are essential to building a solid path toward a more honest society.

2. What causes the problem?

During the process of co-creating the commitment, the participating experts noted the need to improve the availability and use of data to fight corruption. In this process, the main obstacles that hinder the promotion of a culture of transparency and participation were identified, to build a fairer and more honest society. 1. Insufficient standardization and interoperability between available data: The lack of standardization in data creates significant obstacles, making it difficult to cross-reference and carry out efficient analyses. This scenario often results in institutional isolation, making this information inaccessible or incomprehensible to interested parties. 2. Difficulties in accessing and understanding the data: This point is directly related to the first, as lack of standardization hinders access and transparency. In order to move forward, it is crucial to simplify access and promote understanding of this information, allowing for a more comprehensive analysis. 3. Data governance needs to be improved: Institutional insulation is reinforced by the lack of instruments for managing and monitoring important data for tackling corruption. Establishing data governance and availability mechanisms is fundamental to evaluating the effectiveness of the policies implemented. 4. Limitations in social participation and control: The lack of knowledge and awareness about the impacts of corruption weakens the support base for anti-corruption policies, and even hinders the implementation of compliance policies in the private sector. It is imperative to promote a broader understanding of these impacts in order to mobilize society’s engagement. 5. Use of evidence to build anti-corruption policies: Promoting data-informed practices will contribute to more effective and adaptable policies.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem?

Corruption is an issue of great concern to Brazilian society, directly and indirectly affecting services and public policies for the entire population. Since the first action plan, Brazil has been working on this issue, and in the Sixth Plan, it was also prioritized by society. Brazil has opened up a wide range of data in this area, on spending, civil servants, revenues, invoices, tenders, purchases, public policies, and much more. Almost 30 trillion reais in spending, more than 283,000 suppliers, and around 19 billion beneficiaries are available on the Transparency Portal. In recent decades, significant changes have also been made to the national and international legal framework for tackling corruption. At the national level, we would highlight the creation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy more than 20 years ago, as an important inter-institutional forum for pooling efforts and standardizing understandings, as well as the enactment of the Anti- Corruption Law 10 years ago. This set of laws established important instruments such as leniency agreements, the strict liability of legal entities, and encouraging companies to adopt compliance systems. However, despite the recognized progress, some challenges need to be faced, such as the dissemination of the Anti-Corruption Law regulations by states and municipalities and the expansion of transparency of information, especially about the final beneficiary of the funds. The responsibility for building a safe and reliable environment for public and private management necessarily involves making data and information available in a qualified and appropriate manner to meet the needs of preventing and punishing corruption. This commitment aims to bring together different actors in coordinated actions to improve governance on the opening up and availability of data.

2. What solution are you proposing?

Through the implementation of this commitment, an integrated set of initiatives will be carried out aimed at strengthening governance and transparency to contribute to the effective fight against corruption. Among the actions planned, we highlight the development of tools for mapping and identifying the necessary databases and the quality and standardization requirements to ensure interoperability. Likewise, diagnoses will be made of the quality of the data available to generate measurable instruments that guarantee the availability of reliable and relevant information for the fight against corruption, enshrined in a Plan for opening up and improving the federal government’s strategic data. This commitment is also based on actions to disseminate the use of available data, reduce institutional isolation, and promote responsible and transparent sharing. All the players involved in this issue must be committed to improving transparency and making available data and information to promote an environment of integrity. Therefore, dissemination, training, and awareness-raising actions will be developed to involve society and the private sector, as well as actions to sensitize and make public managers aware of how to effectively manage data.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment?

Through the implementation of the commitment, the aim is to enable the identification of data considered strategic by the anti-corruption ecosystem; to make available at least 60% of the public data demanded, and to improve the quality assessment of the data already published.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency? This commitment is directly related to the principle of transparency, as it promotes better availability, use as well as quality of data on the prevention, detection and fight against corruption.

2. How commitment will help promote accountability? This commitment is related to accountability because it will facilitate the detection of illegal acts, and to the principle of responsiveness insofar as better prioritization, standardization, availability and use of data will consequently generate more responsive government actions and strategies, since it will facilitate the follow-up and monitoring of interested actors (citizens, society entities, the private sector, the academic community, etc).

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions? Better informed and evidence-based citizens can participate more actively in the processes of defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions for that. In addition, access to data tends to generate greater trust and engagement among citizens in the participatory processes proposed by the government. The increase and quality of data and information also enables greater engagement in the search for innovative solutions to the issue. In addition, the commitment will have the participation of society in prioritizing the bases considered critical for tackling corruption.

Commitment Planning (Milestone | Expected Results | Expected Completion Date)

Milestone 1 – Mapping demands: 1) Identify relevant agents/stakeholders from society/government and their roles; 2) Ask questions that the agents want to answer; 3) Prioritize questions; 4) Identify existing and necessary data and information (to answer the prioritized questions) Document(s) produced containing the identification of agents; the questions; the prioritization of the questions; the identification of the data October/2024

Milestone 2 - Cataloging strategic data to fight corruption | Document(s) produced cataloging the data | December /2025

Milestone 3 - Carry out and disseminate periodic diagnoses of data quality mapped and prioritized as strategic data that is available | Document(s) produced (or link provided) with the diagnoses | June/2025; and June/2027

Milestone 4 - Plan to open up and improve the federal government's strategic data to fight corruption | Document(s) produced detailing the Plan | December /2025

Milestone 5 - Program to disseminate, train, and increase awareness of strategic data among society and the private sector | Capacity building | June/2027

Milestone 6 - Training and increase awareness program for public administration managers in data management | Training carried out | June/2027

Milestone 7 - Action to encourage registration and data reuse | Event/action held (or link available) | December/2024; December /2025; and December /2026