New ANZSOG research highlights promising practices for building a pro-integrity culture

A new report from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) presents a catalogue of practical actions that public sector agencies are undertaking to embed integrity into their everyday work, and that other agencies might adopt.

Building a Pro-Integrity Culture in the Public Sector: A Review of Promising Practices, by Dr Assel Mussagulova and Professor Susan Goodwin from the University of Sydney, is the initial publication from a project commissioned by ANZSOG and the Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) that aims to support the development of a more consistent and intentional approach to public sector integrity. As previously announced, the project is deploying an innovative action research methodology: the researchers, with the support of the VPSC, are supporting the establishment of communities of practice in 4 Victorian Government agencies, each of which will trial a pro-integrity intervention.

This report was originally developed to support the communities of practice in choosing and designing their interventions. The research team built a database of promising practices drawn from recommendations from government reports, public sector guidance and existing practices, and insights from informal interviews with practitioners. The database is a representative snapshot of what is currently being done across the public sector to promote integrity and identifies a broad range of actions that support cultural change.

Consistent with this intent, the researchers frame the action research approach by arguing for a more comprehensive and practical understanding of integrity. The academic literature identifies two approaches to integrity: compliance-based approaches that set and enforce expectations and values-based approaches that emphasise the importance of leadership and shared organisational values. But the researchers suggest that a pro-integrity culture should use a mix of both approaches, and both are reflected in the selection of promising practices captured in the report.

These practices are grouped into nine categories:

• Formal rules and procedures: codified expectations for ethical conduct.
• Training: initiatives to develop awareness and capacity to act with integrity.
• Recruitment: hiring practices that take ethical conduct into account.
• Rewards: formal and informal recognition of ethical behaviour.
• “Safe to speak”: mechanisms to ensure employees can raise concerns safely.
• Leadership: integrity demonstrated and supported by those in leadership and management positions.
• Relational practices: initiatives that build a shared understanding of integrity and enable open dialogue.
• Communication with the public: efforts to educate citizens and manage expectations.
• Data: the use of measurement and evidence to inform integrity strategies.

The report includes selected examples in each category, providing practitioners with concrete ideas for how to build a pro-integrity culture at work.

The report has provided a platform for the next phase of the project: an action research program currently underway in 4 Victorian public sector agencies. These agencies are each trialling a new integrity practice, with researchers observing implementation, tracking outcomes, and developing case studies for wider dissemination.

To follow the project and access findings as they become available, visit here.

Download Building a Pro-Integrity Culture in the Public Sector here.