The power of dialogue in public integrity and curriculum development — lessons learned from the training of integrity advisers in Hungary

Abstract

In recent years, both in the public and private sector, the integrity-based approach to corruption prevention, which combines active and integrated rule-based and value-based strategies, has gained importance because it proved to be more effective than traditional anti-corruption strategies built mainly on regulatory and legal compliance instruments. In the field of law enforcement the integrity approach is new. Only a very few countries and agencies employ integrity officers or include a strong value-building component in their anti-corruption strategies. The expectation is that this will change in the future.
In this paper we claim that the introduction of a local integrity development practice should not be based on the simple adoption of best practices but should aim to develop contextualised solutions. We propose that, in each new context, interdisciplinary work is necessary that involves a diverse group of professionals. We also present a highly innovative collaborative model for developing a localised integrity method that has already been tested in the Hungarian public administration. The process we present has produced a contextualised method, a profile for integrity professionals and a curriculum for their education. While the process engendered locally applicable methods for anti-corruption practice, through the collaboration a committed community of practice also evolved that is key for the sustainable application of the results. We propose that a similar approach should be applied by law enforcement agencies if they decide to introduce the new role of integrity officers in order to enhance police integrity and strengthen public trust in law enforcement agencies.