This Guide will give you important information about possible areas vulnerable to corruption, as well as, provide ways in which to address those integrity challenges. It is intended to be used by public officials working in the local administrations, UNDP staff, development organizations, experts, academics and civic activists to support integrity risk assessment, integrity planning and integrity management in local governments.

Corruption risks pose a threat to the universal access to basic services, sustainable cities and local development. This can significantly impede implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, especially in reaching the most vulnerable population segments. According to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption ‘corruption hurts the poor disproportionately…[as it feeds] inequality and injustice…and is a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development.’ In fact, substantially reducing corruption and bribery, and developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels are targets of SDG 16 on peaceful, just and inclusive societies. These targets are considered key enablers for reaching targets across all the SDGs, including SDG 11 on sustainable cities.

The objectives are to provide a platform for understanding and navigating the corruption risk assessment, integrity planning and integrity management systems processes, focusing on particular issues, such as:

      • how to plan and prepare an integrity project;

• how to conduct a corruption risk assessment;

• how to design rigorous and risk sensitive integrity plans;

• how to ensure implementation, monitoring and reassessment of integrity plans;

• how to address problems of effectiveness and sustainability by moving from risk assessment and integrity planning towards

• development, maintaining and improving an integrity management system.

The Guide has been developed based on a review of numerous methodologies and standards, as well as, on practical experience and results of the “Corruption-Free Cities of the Future” regional seminar held in Tirana, Albania on 7-8 December 2017. While the tools and standards used are generic and are meant to cover all types of political systems and levels of decentralization, inevitably a large degree of adaptation will be necessary when implementing them.