As in other countries in the world and the region, corruption is one of the main concerns of citizens and businesses in Ecuador. At the same time, distrust in public institutions has continued to increase, according to the results of the 2018 and 2021 Latinobarómetro surveys. Promoting public integrity is a necessary and urgent condition to reverse this decline in public trust, as well as an essential element for economic and social well-being across society. Public integrity is the consistent alignment of, and adherence to, shared ethical values, principles and norms for upholding and prioritising the public interest over private interests in the public sector. Promoting a culture of integrity requires the public sector and individuals, businesses, civil society organisations, and academia to work together.
To strengthen the sense of co-responsibility of the private sector, civil society and citizens in the promotion of public integrity, Ecuador has been taking actions addressed at the whole of society, including developing guidelines to support integrity practices in private companies and awareness-raising campaigns aimed at citizens, particularly youth. However, high levels of distrust in public sector institutions and the increasing perception of corruption show that further steps are needed, including improving co-ordination among public institutions and co-operation between the public sector and other actors, further strengthening stakeholders’ participation in policymaking and better communicating to citizens about public integrity.
This report, funded by the German Technical Cooperation in Ecuador, analyses Ecuador’s efforts to foster the co-responsibility of the private sector, academia, civil society organisations and citizens in promoting a culture of public integrity, in line with Principle 5 “Society” of the 2017 OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity. Based on this analysis, the report provides concrete recommendations to support the Ecuadorian public sector in promoting a culture of integrity across society.
This report supports countries in effectively implementing the OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity. It also complements the analysis in the OECD 2021 report Public Integrity in Ecuador: Towards a National Integrity System, which analyses institutional arrangements for integrity in Ecuador and provides recommendations for institutionalising corruption prevention.
The report was approved by the Public Governance Committee on 27 September 2023 and prepared for publication by the Secretariat.