Studies are an integral part of our work. They give our team an understanding of the depth of problems in the field of anti-corruption, and thus the basis for further work: finding solutions, advocacy, and more.

In 2021, we published many studies on procurement, the anti-corruption ecosystem, privatization and lease of public property, the transparency of cities, and so on, so let’s take a look at them in this digest.

Anti-corruption infrastructure

 

Corruption Perceptions Index

The most important study of TI Ukraine is the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). This indicator has been calculated by Transparency International since 1995 based on 13 studies by reputable international institutions and think tanks. The CPI reflects the opinion of business representatives, investors, market researchers, etc. This means that the CPI reflects the opinion of the private sector and its perception of corruption in the public sector.

In 2020, Ukraine’s indicators in the CPI increased by 3 points. With 33 points out of 100 possible, we ranked 117th out of 180 countries in the CPI list. We already have recently published a new study in 2022.

Monitoring of the HACC’s work

In January 2020, we presented the results of a six-month comprehensive study of the work of the High Anti-Corruption Court. The HACC is a unique judicial institution in the court system of Ukraine. It is constantly in the focus of attention of society, law enforcement agencies, and political leadership of the country. Our team of lawyers monitored the processual and procedural work of the HACC, analyzed the case law and found out whether the work of the Anti-Corruption Court meets the standards of criminal procedure.

And in six months, a new study analyzed in detail how the HACC overcomes barriers to justice.

Effectiveness of lifestyle monitoring of officials

Lifestyle Monitoring of Officials (LSM) is a new procedure for Ukraine. It is used to establish the compliance of the declarants’ standard of living with their property and income, according to the e-declaration. We investigated the effectiveness of this procedure and referred recommendations to the NACP.

One of the important requirements during the monitoring is the observance of the right to private and family life, guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Under this law, public authorities generally cannot interfere in the private lives of citizens, but there are exceptions. Therefore, our lawyers analyzed the case law of the European Court of Human Rights to correlate it with the procedure of monitoring the lifestyle of declarants in Ukraine.

Assessment of the implementation of recommendations on the capacity and effectiveness of the NACP

In October 2020, TI Ukraine presented its first study on the capacity, management, and interaction of anti-corruption infrastructure bodies. Based on the results of this study, we have provided several recommendations for improving the work and efficiency of the bodies. In the fall of 2021, TI Ukraine experts analyzed the level of implementation of these recommendations by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention and other stakeholders.

How is the anti-corruption policy implemented in Ukraine?

At the end of the year, we presented an alternative report assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the national anti-corruption policy. The experts assessed the real state of corruption in Ukraine and the measures taken by the country to combat it, made conclusions about the effectiveness of such measures, and offered their recommendations. The document was prepared based on a methodology developed by TI Ukraine for a comprehensive internal assessment of the country’s progress in anti-corruption, and our legal advisor Oleksandr Kalitenko took an active part in drafting the Report.

 

Transparency and accountability of cities

 

Transparency and Accountability Rankings of Ukrainian cities

The main goal of these annual studies is to overcome corruption risks locally through the implementation of legal requirements and best practices for public information disclosure. The Rankings also contribute to the city’s development, and investors and international support programs are increasingly relying on it.

According to both studies, in 2020, the level of accountability was four times lower than the level of transparency.

Why did we decide to study accountability at all? The fact is that not all cities are showing integrity “in practice,” and the Accountability Rating confirms the data with facts about the changes in the regions, so we see the whole picture more comprehensively.

Moreover, in 2021, we updated the methodologies for ranking the transparency and accountability of Ukrainian cities. Why are we doing this? First, they must comply with current changes in legislation. Second, they must provide a real basis for cities to implement best practices of transparency and accountability.

Dynamics of transparency: how Ukrainian cities have changed in four years

Why are some cities actively implementing changes while others remain passive? What motivates them, and what challenges hinder progress? Every year, we look at the dynamics of transparency of 100 Ukrainian cities. This made it possible to find out whether city councils comply with regulatory requirements in the field of municipal transparency and accountability, as well as whether residents have a real opportunity to get involved and influence the processes of urban policymaking.

One year after the election: how Ukrainian cities have changed

Before the local elections on October 25, 2020, we presented the “Transparent Government Code” for candidates for MPs of local councils and candidates for mayor. Candidates undertook to comply with the provisions in case of obtaining positions. A year later, we examined how city councils are implementing the provisions of the Code, which challenges are preventing cities from moving forward, and which one of the cities has done best to comply with the provisions.

 

Procurement

 

Non-price criteria in Prozorro: What the government is willing to pay more for?

DOZORRO analysts studied how the system of non-price criteria in public procurement works. Non-price criteria are the functionality of Prozorro, which allows to consider not only the price when choosing the winner of a competitive procurement transaction. The procuring entity can determine what they are willing to pay a little more for. They specify these criteria in the system, and also determine what advantage will be given to the participants with the most profitable bid for them (maximum weight of non-price criteria is 30%). The system then lists the prices offered by suppliers and ranks them based on non-price criteria.

Protect your rights: how appeals against procurement work under the new rules

If the participant believes that the procuring entity has violated their rights, they may apply to the AMCU Board. Business has had this opportunity for more than five years, but on April 19, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada changed the rules of appeal and introduced some innovations. These changes were intended to facilitate participation in the appeal process and make the process more efficient. To assess what has been achieved, we studied appeals from 2018 to the end of February 2021, analyzing 33,316 unique complaints in 24,975 tenders.

24-hour functionality in Prozorro: was the participant saved?

If the participant’s documents do not meet the requirements of the tender documentation, the procuring entity is obliged to reject the bid. Such a decision is not only legal, but also expected. However, from April 19, 2020, procuring entities are required to provide participants with 24 hours to eliminate minor inconsistencies in the documents. DOZORRO analysts studied 30,293 cases of giving participants 24 hours to correct inconsistencies.

 

Public property management

 

Lease of public property in Ukraine

How have e-auctions changed the lease of public property? Experts of Transparency International Ukraine compared the effectiveness of public property lease before and after the introduction of the new legislation. To this end, we analyzed more than 27,000 contracts concluded under the old procedure, and all contracts concluded under the new rules in 2020.

Methodology for monitoring violations in the field of privatization and lease of public and municipal property

Public and municipal property is no less important part of the economy than, for example, public procurement. Therefore, we sought to provide civil society with guides on how to control small-scale privatization and lease of public and municipal property procedures through the Prozorro.Sale electronic trading system. With its help, activists and specialists will be able to identify violations of the law in the privatization and lease of public and municipal property.