UNIC with the support of CIPE Ukraine organised a one-day offline intensive for businesses on implementing integrity tools

The training ‘Moving to the Next Level: Implementing Integrity Tools’ was held on 25 June in Kyiv.

To participate in the intensive training, 25 representatives of Ukrainian business who have just started or are planning to implement a compliance system in their companies and intend to participate in Ukraine's recovery projects, mainly from small and medium-sized businesses, were selected.

The event brought together experts from UNIC, CIPE Ukraine, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), Prozorro, DREAM, the Anti-Corruption Centre MEZHA, independent compliance experts, etc.

As a result of the training, business representatives received:

• starting tools and basic knowledge to start working with the compliance system;
• useful insights into the requirements of grantors and investors;
• a crash course on using digital tools to participate in PROZORRO public procurement and monitor the DREAM recovery management ecosystem;
• consultations on minimising corruption risks in business communication with local authorities;
• the opportunity to ask personal questions to experts and receive qualified answers.

‘Today, in Ukraine, the implementation of corporate business integrity standards is typical for large and international businesses, while representatives of Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses are just starting this journey. At the same time, it is small and medium-sized businesses that are already playing a fundamental role in reconstruction projects and will become the backbone of Ukraine's post-war recovery. Therefore, an important area for UNIC is to promote the principles of integrity for this business audience, in particular by providing the necessary knowledge and tools for implementing compliance. The high interest of the participants in ethics issues shows that Ukrainian business is ready to learn, develop and prioritise responsible business conduct and integrity in order to meet international standards,’ said Yulia Vrublevska, UNIC Project Coordinator.

This intensive course was the second event within the project launched by UNIC together with CIPE to strengthen the capacity of small and medium-sized businesses that are planning or already involved in the recovery process, infrastructure development and production of essential goods and services. The course is aimed at supporting motivated Ukrainian businesses that are not afraid of change and are ready to open up new opportunities for development through the systematisation of processes and the implementation of the best international standards.

The curriculum was developed based on the recommendations of the RISE Coalition's working group, facilitated by CIPE, on the role of the private sector in recovery using best anti-corruption standards and practices. UNIC and CIPE are members of the RISE Ukraine Coalition.

UNIC sincerely thanks the speakers for their interesting and informative speeches, practical recommendations, participants for their initiative, co-organiser CIPE Ukraine for their assistance in organising the event and partners for their support!