Questions/Answers

The Integrity Promotion Plan (IPP) is a program that addresses integrity in the state of Minas Gerais, intending to strengthen the ethical and integrity culture and systematize such practices throughout the state. IPP aims to enhance the culture of integrity in the state executive branch of public administration and its institutional partners, in order to preserve their reputation and link their image to the sense of ethics, responsibility and integrity. IPP objectives are: • ensure the application of codes of ethical conduct, especially for public officials; • encourage communication and training actions in the integrity area; • promote integrity among the various actors which interact to the Executive Branch; • systematize risk management, internal controls and good governance practices; • encourage public transparency, social control and participation, accountability, and improved use of public resources; • support the adoption of preventive measures, accountability of individuals and entities that are not compliant with the law and other regulations.

Besides promoting transparency and accountability in the state public administration, IPP is in line with category 3 “Developing transparent and accountable public institutions”, once it engages the population in public policies, through several actions, such: • partnerships with private institutions, as a way to reach people and businesses outside the public administration; • public awareness-raising campaign regarding the ethics and integrity culture • incentive of monitoring and reporting of wrongdoings of public officials and entities through reporting channel; • increase of people’s access to information (eg: publication of governor and high administration’s agendas), allowing the population to monitor information and inhibits conflict of interests.

IPP supports SDG 16 in its core institutional principle, effectiveness of public institutions, since it provides the means so public administration succeeds at delivering its goals. IPP encourages the state executive organs to build and implement their own integrity programs, by offering awareness rising, conceptual and practical training, as well as guides and tools. It fosters the enhancement of the integrity culture. The integrity program is an aid in achieving the organ’s goals, once it helps organizing the institution processes within a framework that considers and proposes good governance, strategic planning, risk management, internal controls, whistleblowing, ethical conduct code, public transparency, conflict of interests, personnel management.

IPP is economically sustainable once it offers resources for public and private institutions to develop and implement their own integrity program, with no costs, avoiding unnecessary expenses such as consultancy services. The State General Controller helps several institutions in the process and later it monitors their works and results. Regarding social and environmental terms, IPP engages public and private institutions with ethical responsibilities, raising awareness as to their role within the community, the state as a whole, and considering the impact they have on internal and external stakeholders.

The State General Controller ran a research in 2017 and found out that no public organ within Minas Gerais State Executive Branch had implemented an integrity program before IPP was published. The IPP decree was published in May 2017, and it recommended the adoption of several measures, such as the implementation of integrity programs by public and private institutions in the state. Until November 2019, 2 guides were published by the General Controller about concepts and tools to implement integrity programs within the state public administration. Also 6 public organs have their programs implemented and other 13 organs are working on it.

Among IPP actions, there is a public campaign to promote an integrity and ethical culture. It features different people representing the public servants, in a way they can recognize themselves on the campaign pieces. So, one may see both a woman or a man, an elder person, or different ethnicities on the campaign. Once the initiative recommends the adoption and observance of ethical conduct codes, it addresses respectful relations, preventing harassment and valuing inclusion. It also encourages women to occupy leading positions, once it recommends recruitment processes based on merit.

IPP aims to develop Integrity culture in the state of Minas Gerais, therefore its target groups were the public state executive administration, the companies located in the state, especially those that have contracts with the State, and the population. In the public administration, IPP has caused 6 organs to implement integrity programs, reaching over 10,000 servants. Because of that the relations between public and private sectors have been regulated in such organs. Transparency and greater access to information were also encouraged, so the population can monitor information in a more direct way. Public councils’ information have been gathered in a portal, which guarantees access and a greater number of citizens are able to reach and monitor information on public expenses. After IPP, State Public Administration has answered 342 information requests overdue since 2017 and 2018. In 2019, over 5,235 requests for access to information were answered.

• The IPP decree was published on May 12th, 2017, indicating the State General Controller as the responsible for establishing the guidelines for the preparation, besides monitoring and evaluating the results of the initiative. • In October, 2017 the General Controller ran a research to find out about integrity, transparency and social control in the state executive branch of public administration. • The organs answered about governance, strategic planning, risk management, personnel management, ethical conduct code, internal controls, reporting channel, transparency and social control, and conflict of interests. It was found that not one of the 52 public entities considered in the research had integrity programs implemented. • In May, 2018, the General Controller published a Public Integrity Guide, with concepts and orientation about integrity and integrity programs, available as an e-book to the public administration and the general public. • From June, 2018, to August, 2019, 6 Integrity Programs were published. • In July, 2019, the second volume of the Public Integrity Guide was published. It offers practical guidelines and provides tools as spreadsheets, templates, and others, to implement an Integrity Program. • In August 2019, an Integrity kit was released, containing material and guidelines, such as regulations, open-source operating systems and aids to help public institutions to implementing their integrity program. • In October 2019, an Integrity Campaign was released, reaching over 17,000 people, among servants and the population that passes through the public administration spaces. • In early December, an Integrity Guide for the private sector will be released, in one of various events to disseminate the importance of public and private sectors working together for integrity in the state of Minas Gerais. • From the publishing of IPP, in 2017, up to now, communication actions have taken place, in order to disseminate, guide, rise awareness and enhance the integrity culture.

In a scenario where public institutions face population trust downsizing and frequent corruption news, it’s a challenge to change the reputation and relations involving public administration, their own servants and the community. The state territorial extension and its 853 municipalities present an obstacle to reach the whole target group and we overcame it with digital tools, especially the hot site, the virtual pieces of the campaign pieces, and e-books. Communication was key to reach people, appealing to their own hopes and desire for a better society, and calling them to join a collective effort for an integrity culture.

IPP is innovative because it is the first time the state administration is mobilized to promote the adoption of ethics and integrity as a preventive measure against corruption, as well as a governance strategy, to aid public services to be more effective. None of state public executive branch organs had integrity programs implemented to reach such goals, before IPP.

IPP was drafted in light of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, especially the prevention section directed at both the public and private sectors, which recommends the adoption of preventive policies. We’ve learned that traditional approaches based on the creation of more rules and stricter compliance have been of limited effectiveness against corruption. A strategic and sustainable response is public integrity. In that way, OECD Recommendation on Public integrity was also an inspiration, for it brings a concept of integrity as a means of making public sector more efficient, societies more inclusive and rebuild trust in public institutions and corporations.

IPP has been adapted to state companies, which are ruled by a specific legislation (Law 13.303/2016). They have adhered to IPP integrity campaign, and undertaken other measures stipulated by the project, such as adoption of code of integrity and ethical conduct, whistleblowing channel, training of servants in ethical conduct. Other organs that are not within the executive branch of public administration, such as State Court of Audit, have also adhered to IPP integrity campaign, and other measures recommended to promoting integrity, as joint actions to promote public transparency and ethics, awareness rising and training events and enhancing integrity culture.

The initiative has been adapted to other contexts. Please refer to the answer to question 7. a.

A team of 10 public servants (some have left the state and others arrived) from the integrity unit was dedicated to work on IPP Project, having no special budget for the initiative other than the regular budget of the unit. 4 people from the design and communication area worked on the Integrity Advertising Campaign. For the campaign there was a budget of about U$ 10,000 (R$ 50.000).

Each organ in the executive branch of public administration is encouraged and trained to apply IPP guidelines and actions considering their own reality, needs and potential. The decentralization of IPP actions makes the initiative sustainable. The same strategy applies to the private companies that wish to adhere to IPP proposals. Besides that, most of the materials – e.g. the integrity campaign and guides (e-books) – are in digital media, which allows easy and free access. The enhancing of an integrity culture will bring long-term results.

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IPP was evaluated at the 33rd Brazilian Congress of Administrative Law - Good Practice and Innovation Forum in Public Management, in 2019, by a panel of lawyers specialized in public law. Several works were presented from the whole country, in different categories. It was also evaluated internally, in a mid-term evaluation, in order to monitor the advances and results of IPP, by the team responsible by the initiative.

External evaluation: The Good Practice and Innovation Forum in Public Management was held to disseminate successful and innovative initiatives in public management, which contribute to deliver effective, efficient and transparent public services. The judging panel considered the following criteria for the awards: effects of innovation on problem solving in public management; efficiency and sustainability of resource use; effectiveness in achieving public purposes; promotion of social participation or social control in Public Administration. It was also required that the initiative articulated the modernization in management with observance of the principles and rules of Administrative Law.

External evaluation: IPP was awarded as best project in the category “innovative experiences and good practices”, being recognized as a management and governance instrument in public administration, and it can be replicated to other institutions. The award recognized IPP achievements, such: • Enhancing of democratic participation, with the creation of the Transparency and Corruption Fight Council, composed by 12 members from public sector and 12 from civil society; and the creation of Public Policies Councils Portal. • Increasing of transparency, with the publication of state high administration schedules, preventing conflict of interests, disclosure of the governor flights, allowing social control and of budgetary and financial information of the state. • Improvement of public service efficiency and reduction of bureaucracy, answering 342 information requests overdue since 2017 and 2018. • Modernization of management, by providing rules for turnover on the occupation of commissioned positions; and open recruitment processes based on merit. • Restructuring of the whistleblowing channel - centralization of complaints and reports at the State Ombudsman's Office and adoption of whistleblower protection and incentive procedures • Good governance, with 19 state executive organs having implemented integrity programs or integrity measures, reaching over 230,000 state servants.

IPP is a project conducted by the General Controller, but it is originally a decree signed by the governor. It aims to achieve the whole state of Minas Gerais, public administration, private sector and society. Horizontally, IPP reaches direct and indirect government bodies, once the government endorses the General Controller to propose IPP guidelines and actions. Vertically, IPP is reaching municipalities, which have manifested interest in adhering to IPP goals and the integrity campaign (such as the town of Sete Lagoas).

Besides the organs from the state executive branch, the private sector is engaged with IPP, through FIEMG, the federation of industries in the state of Minas Gerais. In 2018, FIEMG has signed a cooperation agreement with the controller general aiming at working together to promoting integrity in the companies in the state, developing actions in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supporting the adoption and observance of ethical conduct codes by the industry, enhancing transparency, internal controls, risk management and compliance, promoting integrity in the relations between public and private sectors.

Working across multiple areas requires efficient project management. The teamwork to accompany the production and release of the integrity campaign was key to the success of the initiative. We have learned to work in a positive and harmonious way with our stakeholders, once they too are interested in the success of the Integrity Promotion Plan. We have developed a positive and new way of working close to the private industry. During the process of implementation, we have learned how fostering integrity is an instrument that mitigates corruption. To improve IPP initiative, we are developing an electronic system for monitoring actions and indicators of the integrity programs implemented in the state executive branch. We are also expanding institutional partnerships to make IPP more scalable.