Speaker
Description
The UN Agenda 2030 highlights how corruption is one of the factors hindering sustainable development. However, to prevent and combat corruption, it is essential to deeply understand this latent phenomenon, which is not easy to measure. A step forward has been made by the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority, which provides the public with 70 indicators capable of measuring the risk of corruption across territories. Specifically, the methodology involves also the organization into pillars and the use of composite indicators that simplify the interpretation of the complexity arising from multiple dimensions by reducing it to a single number. But some methodological approaches have also been experimentally developed that contemplate the use of sociale network analysis, with particular reference to public tenders. The presence of information on individuals who have assumed top positions in organizations allows us to address, among other things, the issue of conflict of interest, revolving doors, as well as identify the awards presumably characterized by a higher risk of corruption. In particular, one in-depth analysis focused on the creation of a database comprising public tenders issued by healthcare organizations, the companies awarded the contracts, and the individuals holding senior positions in both types of entities. Based on this data, a network was constructed to capture the full set of individuals and organizations involved in the issuance and awarding of public tenders within the Italian healthcare sector, along with the relationships among them. In light of the relationships thus identified, it becomes possible to flag a number of contract awards that are presumably associated with a higher risk of corruption. Finally, a general methodology has been developed that is functional for mapping the shareholdings, family ties and economic interests of individuals with public positions or other individuals subject to a declaration of absence of conflict of interest.
Keywords/Topics
Social Network Analysis
Corruption
Indicators
Public Procurement
Conflict of interest
