The importance of measurements and monitoring in the fight against corruption

On December 9, within the framework of the commemorative event of the International Day against Corruption in Mexico City, the high level panel “Good practices and challenges for the measurement, monitoring and evaluation of corruption cases and anti-corruption policies” was held, with the participation of Ms. Kenia Godínez of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), Mr. Roberto Salcedo of the Ministry of Public Service (SFP), Mr. Pablo Montes of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), Mr. Roberto Moreno of the Executive Secretariat of the National Anti-Corruption System (SESNA) and Mrs. Salomé Flores of the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence.

The specialists presented different efforts to estimate corruption in Mexico, in addition to discussing the importance of having rigorous measurements on trends, characteristics and types of corruption, since the fight against this phenomenon requires a better understanding of it. In its participation, Kenia Godínez of INEGI highlighted advances in the measurement of cases of corruption and Pablo Montes of IMCO showed how the use of big data can help to know patterns of corruption. For his part, Roberto Moreno showed examples of the design of integral policies and coordination at different levels of government in the fight against corruption.

The need for further development of measurements in the areas of implementation and evaluation of anti-corruption policies was highlighted, so that actions to fight the phenomenon are accompanied by monitoring its implementation and effectiveness. In conclusion, the experts agreed on how strategic it is to use reliable information to fight corruption, at all stages of anti-corruption policies.