Anti-Bribery Principles and Guidelines for NGOs
Bribery and corruption continue to be some of the biggest obstacles to development, poverty alleviation and good governance. Corruption can also prevent NGOs from achieving their objectives, especially when they are working in countries where there are high levels of corruption.
The reputational impact for an NGO that is linked to a bribery prosecution, or even just an investigation, could be very damaging. It may deter potential donors and may jeopardise the NGO’s ability to influence policy makers in the UK and overseas. In addition, public concern about the impact of bribery and corruption is a critical issue in building broad public support for aid and development.
NGOs need to act in a way that is honest and transparent, and must be clear that they will not tolerate bribery and corruption. The UK Bribery Act has reinforced the need for NGOs to have in place effective measures for preventing bribery. Failure to do so increases the risk of prosecution under the Act. It is important, therefore, that NGOs have in place robust anti-bribery policies.
Bond established a Working Group of UK NGOs to develop a set simple, clear and practical principles and guidance on putting effective anti-bribery measures in place. The guidance will help NGOs ensure that they are complying with legal requirements, including the UK Bribery Act.
Read the Bond Anti-Bribery Principles and Guidelines for NGOs
We welcome feedback on organisations’ experience of using and adapting these principles and guidelines.
Transparency International's best practice online training (launched in January 2012) is a useful complement to our earlier anti-bribery guidance in so far as it enables companies and NGOs to benchmark their own training programmes. The course starts with an overview of bribery, followed by a set of in-depth realistic scenarios that require the participant to make decisions in familiar situations, and ends with a summary of bribery laws and offences.
