This chapter analyses the actions by the Government of Ecuador to encourage citizen participation in the development, updating, implementation and evaluation of the public integrity system and its different elements. In addition, it offers recommendations for strengthening citizen participation processes as a first step towards a culture of public integrity in the whole-of-society.
Promoting Public Integrity across Ecuadorian Society
Towards a National Integrity System
OECD Public Governance Reviews
2. Strengthening citizen participation in the design of integrity policies in Ecuador
Abstract
2.1. Introduction
As part of promoting a whole-of-society approach to public integrity, governments should involve citizens, CSOs and the private sector in the development, updating and implementation of the public integrity system and its elements (OECD, 2020[1]). In this sense, the OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity states that adherents should “encourage transparency and stakeholders’ engagement at all stages of the political process and policy cycle to promote accountability and the public interest” (OECD, 2017[2]) including through actions that give all stakeholders - in particular the private sector, civil society and citizens - access to the development and implementation of public policies related to public integrity and its elements.
Involving stakeholders in the development, updating, implementation and evaluation of public integrity systems and their elements offers several benefits. First, it helps to ensure that policymakers have a clear, concise and informed understanding of the integrity challenges facing society in a rapidly evolving context. Secondly, it helps to develop up-to-date and customised solutions based on evidence and information rather than impressions. Thirdly, it helps to avoid unintended impacts and avoids practical implementation problems associated with integrity policies. Finally, it can lead to greater compliance with and acceptance of regulations and standards, particularly when stakeholders feel that their views and comments have been taken into account.
2.2. Strengthening participatory practices to develop and implement the Ecuadorian public integrity system and its elements
2.2.1. Actors with responsibilities for integrity could strengthen citizen engagement processes as a first step towards a whole-of-society culture of public integrity
The participation of all key stakeholders, including citizens, CSOs and the private sector, is a key success factor in the process of developing, updating and implementing the public integrity system and its elements as it brings to this process information about the issues and challenges rather than assumptions. It also contributes to raising awareness of public integrity, to building ownership and a sense of co-responsibility among citizens and other relevant actors, and to creating a platform for dialogue on the issue of corruption.
The OECD Recommendation on Open Government (2017) distinguishes between three levels of citizen and stakeholder engagement, which differ according to the level of involvement (Figure 2.1). First, information, an initial level of participation characterised by a one-way relationship in which government produces and delivers information to citizens and stakeholders. Second, consultation, a more advanced level of participation that entails a two-way relationship in which citizens and stakeholders provide feedback to government and vice-versa. Third, engagement, when citizens and stakeholders are given the opportunity and necessary resources (e.g. information, data, and digital tools) to collaborate during all phases of the policy cycle and in the design and delivery of services.
Figure 2.1. OECD ladder of participation
Source: (OECD, 2022[16]).
Aware of the benefits of participatory processes, the Government of Ecuador has encouraged the involvement of citizens, CSOs and the private sector in the development and implementation of several of the new elements of the public integrity system. For example, for the design of the ENA, comments were gathered from different sectors of society, including national and local public sector bodies, political parties and civil society, comprising non-governmental organisations, academia, the media, employers' and workers' associations (Presidency of Ecuador, 2022[10]). In this sense, the ENA was elaborated based on the General Guidelines of the National Anti-Corruption Policy and the inputs generated during the public consultation process carried out between January and February 2023, which included workshops, interviews and surveys in which representatives of the different levels of society participated. As part of this process, the Presidency of the Republic led workshops in different cities of the country and conducted interviews with various public entities belonging to the different State functions and government levels (Box 2.1). The inputs collected during this consultation process were used in a general way in the diagnosis and in the 9 strategic lines of the ENA.
Box 2.1. Details of the public consultation process for the development of the ENA
During the development process of the ENA, the Ecuadorian government sought the participation of different stakeholders. In this sense, the Presidency of the Republic led workshops in different cities of the country in which more than 380 people participated including 80 representatives of 31 academic institutions, 32 people from 26 workers' unions, 32 people from 28 productive and industrial unions, 8 representatives of local media, 103 people representing 78 civil society organisations and 132 officials from 72 public entities. Additionally, the government held interviews with 43 prioritised public entities belonging to different State functions and organised spaces for dialogue with political organisations and legislative benches.
Source: Interviews during the socialisation stage of the preliminary recommendations.
Moreover, once the ENA was drafted, a socialisation event was held in July 2022, in which around 300 people participated, including authorities from all State functions and levels of government, as well as representatives from society. Finally, the SPPA also held workshops and dialogue spaces in several cities of the country with multiple stakeholders to socialise the ENA and gather additional inputs for its action plan.
Additionally, to strengthen the co-ordination of entities with integrity-related responsibilities and to support the implementation of the ENA, an inter-institutional co-ordination body for the prevention of corruption was created, which brings together not only representatives of all relevant public sector institutions - including entities from all State functions and from different levels of government - but also civil society, academia, the media and the private sector as observers (Presidency of Ecuador, 2022[10]).
Without disregarding the efforts of the Presidency of the Republic and the SPPA to promote citizen and stakeholder participation in the development of the ENA, interviews during the fact-finding mission evidenced some weaknesses that could be addressed to strengthen citizen and stakeholder participation as a first step towards a whole-of-society culture of public integrity, in line with the OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity and the OECD Recommendation on Open Government:
First, different actors interviewed argue that the methodology used for the development of the ENA did not allow for the participatory creation of the strategy nor for an active citizen participation beyond the first level of the OECD ladder of participation (i.e. “information”). Indeed, despite providing inputs and sharing concerns about the strategy, different stakeholders interviewed argued that these were not considered, and stakeholders were informed about a strategy that had already been finalised and adopted.
Second, stakeholders were not informed about how the inputs obtained during the public consultation were used in the final version of the ENA. Indeed, while not all inputs received during a participatory process need to be incorporated into the final document, it is necessary to report on how comments and feedback provided by citizens, CSOs and the private sector were considered in the final version of the strategy, including explanations regarding those comments that were not taken into account. This is essential to ensure the transparency of the process, to foster dialogue with citizens and to demonstrate that the participation exercise goes beyond mere formality and transcends the first level of the OECD ladder of participation.
Moreover, the Government of Ecuador could also improve the participation of relevant public sector stakeholders in the development of the elements of the integrity system. As mentioned above, the ENA 2022-2025 action plan contains actions exclusively under the control of the SPPA to be developed in co-ordination with relevant public and private sector entities. Although it was initially foreseen that this action plan would be elaborated jointly by all public entities with responsibilities within the national integrity system and include activities to be implemented by all relevant actors, due to the political context and resource constraints the final document was elaborated by the SPPA. While this document was elaborated within the framework of the SPPA's functions and sets out activities consistent with the nine strategic lines of the ENA, the lack of participation of other relevant actors undermines the opportunity to create synergies and strengthen the commitment of the public sector and the-whole-of-society to public integrity.
Aware of this, the SPPA has stated that it seeks to strengthen the inter-institutional co-ordination body for the prevention of corruption in order to generate commitments that will lead to the definition of a more inclusive action plan. In this regard, it is important to highlight that for this process to be successful, it requires not only the design and implementation of methodologies that motivate participation, but also the commitment, interest and active engagement of the different institutional actors that are part of the Ecuadorian public integrity system.
Considering the above, actors with responsibilities for integrity, and in particular the SPPA, could consider strengthening citizen and other stakeholder engagement processes as a first step towards a whole-of-society culture of public integrity. Table 2.1 provides some elements that can be considered when designing and implementing methodologies for stakeholders’ engagement in the development, updating and implementation of the public integrity system and its elements.
Furthermore, considering Ecuador's great diversity in cultural, ethnic and geographic terms, it is necessary to strengthen and diversify the mechanisms and channels for citizen participation in order to incorporate the needs, perceptions and visions of all relevant groups in Ecuadorian society. For example, new mechanisms and channels can be used to promote the participation of Ecuador's indigenous peoples and nationalities (pueblos y nacionalidades indígenas ecuatorianos), including the publication of the supporting documents and the document resulting from the consultation in the languages of the indigenous peoples and nationalities - this is the case of the Second National Open Government Plan of Ecuador (Segundo Plan de Acción Gobierno Abierto Ecuador) 2022-2024, which is published on the Open Government Ecuador website in Kichwa. In this sense, actors with responsibilities for integrity could consider going beyond traditional consultation processes in order to involve social groups that would normally not participate in these processes due to lack of knowledge, poor training in participation, information overload, among others. In some countries, governments are working with civil society groups to gain access to the hardest-to-reach societal groups (OECD, 2017[17]).
Other actors with responsibilities for public integrity in other State functions could also consider strengthening the consultation and co-ordination processes with stakeholders for the development, updating, implementation and evaluation of the different elements of the public integrity system. For example, the Transparency and Social Control Function could ensure the development and use of a participatory methodology in the design and implementation of its new National Public Integrity and Anti-Corruption Plan. This is particularly relevant considering the difficulties of implementing the current PNIPLCC as a consequence of a low sense of ownership by relevant actors in other public authority functions and low public awareness (OECD, 2021[13]). To this end, the Transparency and Social Control Function could draw inspiration from successful inclusive practices and methodologies used in other countries to formulate its integrity and anti-corruption strategies, as detailed in the OECD report Public Integrity in Ecuador: Towards a National Integrity System (2021[13]) and at Box 2.2. Similarly, the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control could play a key role considering its responsibilities in terms of citizen participation established in article 208 of the 2008 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, in particular that of “promoting citizen participation, stimulating processes of public deliberation and fostering training in citizenship, values, transparency and the fight against corruption” (Constituent Congress, 2008[18]).
Box 2.2. Good participatory practices for developing integrity and anti-corruption plans, policies and strategies
Chile’s National Public Integrity Strategy (Estrategia Nacional de Integridad Pública, ENIP)
The Presidential Advisory Commission for Public Integrity and Transparency (Comisión Asesora Presidencial para la Integridad Pública y Transparencia) promoted a public consultation process to build, together with citizens, Chile’s first national anti-corruption strategy. This strategy, which sets goals for the next 10 years, aims to establish an anti-corruption culture and promote ethical values aimed at protecting the public interest and strengthening democracy. In this regard, citizens were invited to participate in the public consultation between 20 October and 10 November 2022 on the website https://consultaintegridad.gob.cl,where the proposed objectives and axes of the ENIP were available. In order to ensure the transparency of this process, the details and conclusions of the results of the voluntary and anonymous public consultation were presented in aggregated form and are published on the consultation website.
In addition to the public consultation, the Presidential Advisory Commission for Public Integrity and Transparency carried out a series of activities aimed at fostering the participation of relevant stakeholders in the ENIP’s formulation process:
Activity with academics and representatives of civil society organisations.
Workshop with technical counterparts from ministries, services and other state bodies with responsibilities for public integrity.
An event with high-level authorities, called “State Commitment for a National Strategy on Public Integrity” (Compromiso de Estado para una Estrategia Nacional de Integridad Pública), which concretised the conviction of these authorities to advance in a strategic, comprehensive and preventive approach, from the entire State.
Five regional participatory workshops on public integrity, called “Let’s Talk about Integrity” (Hablemos de Integridad).
Meeting with chambers of commerce from different regions.
Working day with the gender officers of all ministries to promote the gender approach in the implementation of the ENIP.
Costa Rica’s National Integrity and Corruption Prevention Strategy (Estrategia Nacional de Integridad y Prevención de la Corrupción, ENIPC)
For the elaboration of the ENIPC, a multi-sectoral group called the “ENIPC Working Group” was formed. Such working group consisted of control bodies – including the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) and the Public Ethics Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (Procuraduría de la Ética Pública de la Procuraduría General de la República), representatives of the Executive Branch – from six ministries, representatives of the judiciary, representatives of the Ethics and Values Commission (Comisión de Ética y Valores), the private sector, civil society and academia. The Working Group defined a basic set of rules for decision making, meeting schedules and next steps.
Five working groups were established to develop the content of the ENIPC, comprising not only members of the ENIPC Working Group but also specialists from other ministries and civil society organisations. In addition, a wider public consultation process took place between 17 February and 2 March 2020 to receive feedback on a draft ENIPC document.
2.2.2. The Anti-Corruption Public Policy Secretariat could co-operate with the Transparency and Social Control Function to support capacity building for citizen participation
Promoting citizen participation in the development and implementation of public integrity systems and their elements not only requires the design of appropriate participation methodologies, but also citizens who understand their rights and responsibilities in the framework of these processes, are aware of the available participation mechanisms and have the skills required to participate in the participatory development process of public policies, strategies and plans. In this regard, countries can strengthen citizen participation by helping citizens understand their rights and responsibilities within this process and fostering capacity building for participation.
Aware of the above, the SPPA and the Transparency and Social Control Function have planned actions to strengthen citizens' knowledge and skills for effective citizen participation. For example, under the strategic line “Responsibility with shared competence among multiple actors in the prevention and fight against corruption”, the ENA's action plan provides for the establishment of thematic working groups with civil society, academia, the media and international co-operation to build bridges of support among civil society actors and to build pillars in civil society to create capacities for the fight against corruption. Additionally, the PNIPLCC 2019-2023 foresees actions that seek to promote the effective implementation of mechanisms for citizen participation and control, such as citizen training on the use of participation mechanisms of the empty chair (silla vacía) and the activation of citizen oversight bodies (veedurías) (Transparency and Social Control Function, 2019[12]).
Considering that the SPPA and the Transparency and Social Control Function, specifically the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control, have the common objective of strengthening citizen participation, these institutions could consider strengthening their co-operation efforts in the design and implementation of actions for the development of capacities for citizen participation. This would ensure coherence and would allow the exploitation of synergies to achieve the expected results in less time and broaden the scope and impact of planned activities, while ensuring a more efficient use of resources.