WHO WE ARE
CurbingCorruption was founded in 2018 by Mark Pyman. From his experience of working in three tough environments for corruption – in the military and Defence Ministries worldwide; in Afghanistan, as one of the three international Anti-Corruption Commissioners; and as the Chief Financial Officer in a large corporation based in several endemically corrupt countries – he realised that much more progress against corruption was possible by those leading such organisations; whether as politicians, leaders or managers. CurbingCorruption shows how you can formulate practical, useful and implementable anti-corruption strategies.
Mark Pyman collaborates in developing the ideas behind CurbingCorruption with Professor Paul Heywood. Paul Heywood holds the Sir Francis Hill Chair of European Politics at the University of Nottingham, UK. His research focuses on political corruption, institutional design and state capacity, and he is author, co-author or editor of eighteen books and more than eighty journal articles and book chapters. He is leader of the $7m Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence programme (GI-ACE), funded by DFID, which follows an earlier British Academy/DFID programme that he also led. He is a Trustee of Transparency International UK, where he chairs the Advocacy and Research Committee.
We work with a wide network of contributors and supporters; people in government, business, academia, multilateral organisations, the professions, civil society and citizens. Those who have contributed text to the website are listed below.
TARGET AUDIENCE
We have developed this website to appeal widely to people who want to take action to reduce corruption within their sector of society, and/or within their organisation. This includes Members of Parliament, the private sector, civil society organisations, professional associations, the media and the judiciary. The website is nonetheless oriented towards two groups more than others: public officials within government or related agencies who wish to develop initiatives, or who have been charged with doing this, and are not sure how to proceed; and politicians, whether in government or in opposition, looking how to develop and implement anti-corruption initiatives within their sphere of responsibility.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Mark Pyman is working with a group of editors led by Prof. Paul Heywood, together with Michell man and Ton Shipley. Besides the editorial team, CurbingCorruption develops its research and knowledge through volunteer collaboration with academics, researchers, grad students, practitioners, public officials, company execs and others. Join us!
Mark Pyman is an experienced anti-corruption professional. From 2015 through 2017, he was one of three International Committee Members on the Afghanistan independent Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee. Established by the President of Afghanistan, the Committee – known as the ‘MEC’ – comprises 6 people, three well-respected Afghans and three internationally known anti-corruption experts, supported by a supporting secretariat of 25 professionals in Kabul. They monitor what is going right and wrong in anti-corruption efforts in the country, carry out detailed analyses of the corruption issues, and press for change. Mark was astonished at how some of the most imaginative anti-corruption solutions – impressive even by developed world standards – were emerging out of this unpromising Afghan soil. But at the same time he was horrified to discover that the world’s anti-corruption knowledge in almost every sector – from education to telecommunications – was poorly organised and, where it even existed, difficult to access. Worse, he found that many international sector specialists avoided the subject of corruption, perhaps because of the risk that they would lose funding.More detail can be found here.
From 2004 to 2015, he founded and then led the global Defence and Security programme at the NGO Transparency International. This large, ground-breaking programme works on tackling the ways that corruption undermines security and military forces in countries. He led the team’s field work in over 30 countries, including Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, UK and the USA; and pioneered detailed, comparative analyses of the defence corruption risks of some 130 countries.
His work was instrumental in shaping the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (2013), in influencing NATO policy and operations in respect of counter-corruption, in shaping the military doctrine of several countries, and in policy forums such as the Munich Security Conference.
Working with militaries and Defence Ministries in country after country from 2004 to 2015, Mark was struck how senior officials and senior officers were open about their participation in corrupt or questionable practice. They knew very well the political constraints on what they could do, but many were nonetheless taking small actions to reduce the corruption. They knew how deeply corruption went against the ethos of military leadership, and many were ashamed. Their question – almost every time – was ‘What do you suggest I could best do, and where do I find the necessary knowledge?’ For many, finding that defence-specific anti-corruption knowledge existed was like finding water in the desert.
From 1985 to 2003, he was a senior executive at Shell International. He was Chief Financial Officer of Shell companies in West Africa (Gabon), China, Taiwan and South Korea. Other senior roles included Director of major change programmes for Shell across Europe, leading a transformation team of 700, and manager of Shell’s investor relations with the City of London.Mark developed a detailed understanding of how the corporate community more broadly can do to be more honest and more engaged.
From 1981-1985, he was one of the founders of the market-leading technical risk consultancy ‘Technica’.
He holds a PhD from the University of Western Australia, an MSc from Bath University and a first-class honours degree from Birmingham University. He has authored or supervised many blogs and some seventy publications on tackling corruption.
Paul Heywood
Paul Heywood PhD, FRSA, FAcSS holds the Sir Francis Hill Chair of European Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, UK. Prior to taking up his Chair in 1995, he taught at the University of Glasgow and Queen Mary College, London. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and did his doctorate at the London School of Economics.
His research focuses on political corruption, institutional design and state capacity, and he is author, co-author or editor of eighteen books and more than eighty journal articles and book chapters. Recent funded research includes an ESRC/Hong Kong project on Integrity Management in the UK, HK and China; an EU FP7 project, ANTICORRP, on anti-corruption policies; and TACOD ,an EU project on tackling corruption through open data. He served at the EU DG Home Affairs UK expert on corruption (2012-16), contributing to the 2014 EU Anti-Corruption Report.
Professor Heywood is leader of the $7m Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence programme (GI-ACE), funded by DFID (2018-21), which follows an earlier British Academy/DFID programme (2015-18) that he also led. He is a Trustee of Transparency International UK, where he chairs the Advocacy and Research Committee. Professor Heywood is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2002), a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (2012), and a Fellow of Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (2013).
Michelle Man is a strategy consultant working in the third sector. Her experience spans the public, private and third sectors, and she has specific expertise in international financial crime risk, electoral policy and democratic processes, education policy, and social mobility. She has a master’s degree in international relations and anti-corruption strategies, and previously led Transparency International’s work on corruption in the defence industry.
Tom Shipley is a PhD researcher at the Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption, where he is undertaking a comparative study of anti-corruption reforms and strategies in four states in Nigeria. He began his career in anti-corruption with the Transparency International defence and security programme. He subsequently held positions focused on anti-corruption in the private sector, at the consultancy Control Risks and then at CDC Group, the UK development finance institute. He is an expert contributor to the Transparency International U4 Helpdesk and the Global Integrity Africa Integrity Index.
AUTHORS & CONTRIBUTORS
Mat Tromme | Fisheries
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Taryn Vian | Health
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Tehmina Abbas | Defence
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Andrea Shaw | Mining oil & gas
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Eleonore Vidal Shipping
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Paulo Costa | Policing services
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Sarah Steingrüber Health
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Ian Kaplan | School Education
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Festus Boamah Electricity
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Agata Slota | Reform-Approaches
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Phil Wheatley | Prison Services
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Heesu Chung | Local Government
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Tom Shipley | Private Sector, Land
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Michael Johnston | Reform strategies
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Wilf Dunne | Policing
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Monica Kirya | Health
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Birgitta Nygren | Telecoms
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Faith Muniale PhD | Agriculture
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Mike Boisvenue USA
|
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SECTOR EXPERIENCE REVIEWS
The originating author for each of the sector experience reviews are noted in the table below, together with people who have made additional contributions.
|
Sector |
Originating author and Co-authors |
Organisation |
Contributors |
1 |
Agriculture |
In progress |
CurbingCorruption |
Dr Faith Muniale |
2 |
Climate & Environment |
in progress |
CurbingCorruption |
|
3 |
Construction, public works and infrastructure |
Mark Pyman |
CurbingCorruption |
Peter Mathews; Neill Stansbury, Hamish Goldie-Scott; John Bray. |
4 |
Defence |
Mark Pyman |
CurbingCorruption |
Tehmina Abbas |
5 |
Education |
Mark Pyman |
CurbingCorruption |
Ian Kaplan |
6 |
Electricity & Power |
in progress |
|
Dr. Festus Boamah |
7 |
Fisheries |
Mat Tromme |
Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law |
Mark Pyman |
8 |
Health |
Mark Pyman |
CurbingCorruption |
Rich Feely; Sarah Steingrüber; Taryn Vian; Aneta Wierzynska |
9 |
Higher Education |
Monica Kirya |
Senior analyst at U4 |
|
10 |
Land |
Tom Shipley |
PhD Candidate |
|
11 |
Police Services and Law Enforcement |
Mark Pyman |
CurbingCorruption |
Paulo Costa; Wilf Dunne; Matt Gardner |
12 |
Prison services |
Katie Fish |
|
Mark Pyman; Phil Wheatley. |
13 |
Private Sector |
Tom Shipley |
PhD Candidate |
Mark Pyman; John Bray |
14 |
Shipping |
Mark Pyman |
CurbingCorruption |
Eléonore de la Bache |
15 |
Sub-National Government |
Mark Pyman |
CurbingCorruption |
Heesu Chung, Alan Doig; Dessi Hristova |
16 |
Telecommunications |
in progress |
CurbingCorruption |
Birgitta Nygren |
|
Website
The website has been designed and built by Matt Goodall of website designers Arnold and Pearn. After going live, the website hosting and management was transferred to Quality Web Design Ltd.
Original artwork is by Simon Young of Saltash, UK.
Funding and links to organisations
This website has been established on a pro-bono basis. By working without external funders or income at this stage we have been able to develop the site and its direction in the way that we believe is best. We are open to ideas on funding, whilst remaining independent, as the website becomes more established
We (Mark Pyman, editors and originating authors, contributors) all have other responsibilities and/or jobs with other organisations. We do not believe that there are any conflicts of interest.
Do contribute
For each sector review we have an originating author. He or she is probably someone working professionally in that sector, an academic, a civil society activist, or a company executive. The author seeks out all articles and reports that discuss constructive approaches and experience in seeking to address or reduce corruption in that sector. This is quite a task because most published material is about the problems of corruption, rather than reports of active reform experience. The author is encouraged to engage with people worldwide who are known for their knowledge and/or efforts on tackling corruption in the sector. The author agrees to work in the style of this website, especially being constructive, writing in accessible language and giving multiple reform examples. One or more of our editors reviews the draft, edits it where required, and we send it to others in the sector for review.
Once the review is public on CurbingCorruption, we ask readers to improve and expand the content. We ask that readers notify us of good material that they know of that is not on the site, comment on the current material, and add reports of their own experience. We do not require academic standards or smart language. If necessary, you can submit in your own language with an English summary. Our editors review all the material for content and to ensure some consistency of style. All those making additional contributions are credited by name, unless they have reason to request anonymity. We update the sector material regularly to include comments and additional contributions.
Contact us
You can contact us anytime at editor@curbingcorruption.com