Digni grassroots training on anti-corruption

Introduction

• Why this TRAINING is important

  Corruption takes many forms and is a major problem worldwide. The consequences are devastating for individuals, local communities, and countries. It has been said that corruption is more dangerous than terrorism because it leads to the loss of values, financial assets, and trust.  In addition, it creates inefficiency, insecurity, and fear. 

  This training material was initially developed by Wycliffe Norway together with Digni. It is a tool to raise awareness about corruption and how we can mobilise the people around us to join the important fight against it. Together we can make a difference!

• Who IS This TRAINING FOR?

  About the facilitator

  You don’t need to be a financial expert to run and facilitate this training. It is sufficient that you have basic facilitation skills to guide the course participants through a process of mutual learning and reflection. The facilitator needs the ability to be sensitive to the context, to judge if and how the material needs to be adapted, and to manage group dynamics when sensitivities or tensions arise.

  About the participants 

  The training is designed to be practical and can be given to people representing the grassroots level such as:

  • Leaders and boards of local NGOs.
  • Project and finance staff, but also other workers like drivers, guards, cooks, cleaners, animators, communication officers etc.
  • Project participants.
  • Local religious leaders.
  • Local authorities, politicians, and civil servants.

  The training is interactive with a focus on group exercises and plenary discussions. It is therefore important that the number of participants is not too large. We recommend a maximum of 25 participants per training.

  Other languages Wycliffe Norway has translated the version of the course from 2016 to several languages, such as French, Spanish and Urdu. These translations are available on their webpage.

• The structure of the TRAINING

  The course is divided into six sessions/parts, which can be held over a period of 2-3 days or divided into 1-2 sessions per week over a longer period of time. The facilitator can adjust the training according to the time available and the needs of the participants. 

  • Opening session. . In the opening session the facilitator and participants are introduced, and expectations are clarified. In this way you create a safe learning environment and set the tone for the entire training. All participants should attend this session.
  • Part 1: Raising awareness. The aim of part one is to raise awareness and stimulate reflection on what corruption is and what its consequences might be. Participants are encouraged to think about their own context and examples that they have encountered themselves. This section should be open to everyone regardless of their position. 
  • Part 2: Avoiding corruption. This session is relatively short and should also be open to everyone. It encourages reflection on how factors such as personal characteristics, attributes and behaviour, organisational structures, and policies/procedures can prevent corruption.
  • Part 3: You can fight corruption. This third part focuses on how ordinary people, just like the participants themselves, can actively fight corruption in their role and together with others. The content of this session is more practical and focuses on individual action. The leaders can in principle skip this session and either take a break or go straight to part four if you have enough facilitators to run the two sessions in parallel.
  • Part 4: Corruption and leadership. This part is specifically for people in leadership positions such as board members, executive directors, heads of departments, management teams, and project leaders. The session deals with the development and implementation of policies and procedures. If you have not run the part three and four in parallel, the other participants can take a break during this session. 
  • Closing the training. Closing the training in a constructive way is just as important as opening it in a positive way. In this part, all the participants, including the leaders, are brought together and reflect together on what they have learned and how they will apply it. 

  In order to allow enough time for reflection, exercises, and discussion, we recommend that you spend three days for the whole course, for example:  

  • Day 1: Opening session and Part 1
  • Day 2: Part 2 and Part 3
  • Day 3: Part 4 and Closing session

  Beyond this general recommendation, the time required for each session will depend on what you choose to emphasise, which cases studies/exercises you choose to include, and the number of participants.