On 12 May 2014, the Government of Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and several business associations, addressing bribery and promoting transparency and accountability.

Mandated by the EBRD to develop a mechanism to address unfair business practices and bribery for the purpose of improving the overall business climate in Ukraine, including prospects for foreign investment, the Basel Institute assisted in the set up of this MoU.

In an effort to increase understanding and interest in Collective Action as a tool to prevent and combat corruption through business and business-public partnerships, the ICCA trained representatives from the private and public sectors from Thailand, including Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, on available Collective Action tools and methodologies, in the course of an information session held at the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Vienna.

In mid 2014, Ms Gemma Aiofli, Head of Compliance and Corporate Governance was elected board member of Ethics and Compliance Switzerland (ECS). This newly established organisation is the first cross-industry and cross-sectorial association in Switzerland promoting ethical leadership and organizational integrity.

To date the ECS counts 14 organisational and 40 individual members. On 2 October 2014, the Basel Institute will be hosting the ECS’s kick-off meeting to discuss the development of the SME Compliance Tool Kit. The meeting is open for all interested parties.

In mid 2014, Fairtrade International appointed Dr Claudia Baez-Camargo, Head of Public Governance Research at the Basel Institute, as member of Fairtrade International’s Governance Committee.

Fairtrade International is an international non-profit, multi-stakeholder body responsible for the strategic direction for Fairtrade, setting Fairtrade standards and supporting producers. The Governance Committee oversees the governance of the association and its members with a view to making structural and procedural recommendations.

In the context of a series of capacity building workshops by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) to strengthen governance in Central Africa’s extractive sector, the Basel Institute contributed to a 4-day seminar on good governance in the extractive industries in the Central African Monetary Community (CEMAC), held in Douala, Cameroon, in December 2014.

In mid June the ICCA of the Basel Institute hosted the third session of the Africa Roundtable. Companies from a variety of industries discussed the options that Bilateral Investment Treaties present for the private sector and the pros and cons of using arbitration to address the unfair treatment of business in certain countries.

The next meeting will be scheduled in the third quarter of 2015.

The ICCA was invited to take part in an OSCE seminar on "fostering co-operation in corruption prevention between government and the private sector" in Chisinau, Moldova from 28-30 April.

The event brought together over 50 senior and mid-level anti-corruption professionals from Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, experts from international organizations, Europe and the United States, to address co-operation in corruption prevention between government and the private sector. 

The Basel Institute supported the 5th International Ethics Summit ‘Understanding Today, Inspiring Tomorrow’, hosted by the Turkish organisation TEID in Istanbul on 17 June 2015.

The conference was dedicated to discussing how concepts such as responsible citizenship, sustainable production, innovation, ethics and reputation can be integrated into a successful company alongside making profits for shareholders.

The ICCA was represented in panel discussions during two Game Changer sessions at the September 2015 edition of the International Anti- Corruption Conference (IACC) in Malaysia.

The first session addressed efforts from the private sector to promote transparency and integrity, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. The High Level Reporting Mechanism experiences in Colombia were highlighted in this regard.

The Basel Institute on Governance and Blomeyer & Sanz have been commissioned by Transparency International (TI) to conduct a Learning Review of Integrity Pacts (IP), a tool used in many countries for preventing corruption in public contracting.