Zero tolerance for corruption is the fundamental principle of Norwegian Church Aid's work. This principle has also been adopted by the Norwegian Parliament, (Stortinget).
Our organization's vision is a just world for all. Corruption primarily affects the poor, marginalized and most vulnerable groups in many countries. These are the target groups for our work. We see Anti-corruption as a central part of our work and the fight against corruption as fundamentally a fight for justice.
Unfortunately, the scale of corruption on a global basis is large. Transparency International is a global civil society organization in the forefront of the fight against corruption. (www.transparency.no). Norwegian Church Aid is a member of Transparency International.
The organization publishes an annual corruption index. Of the 24 countries in which Norwegian Church Aid works, most are on the lower part of this index, that is countries with high levels of corruption. Examples of such countries are Syria, Sudan, DRC and South Sudan. The challenges of working in such contexts are many. NCA works according to strict procedures and work continuously with financial monitoring, follow-up and control.
Our procedures and internal routines for control are stated in our Operations Manual. All our staff are trained in our procedures and are responsible for implementing these in all their work. Furthermore, all employees must undergo an annual training in our ethical guidelines. (Code of conduct).
In the field of Anti-corruption, we work on four levels: prevention, detection, handling and learning.
With regards to prevention, we work with Anti-corruption and accountability at every stage of the development chain: head office, country offices and local partners.
NCA has strict requirements for the management of funds. We work actively to build competence and raise awareness of these requirements and the principle of zero tolerance for corruption. This work involves Anti-corruption training, ensuring that partners have adequate Anti-corruption and alert procedures, building expertise in the areas of finance and control, and close monitoring of projects and partners.
Corruption is most often detected through these channels: Analysis of financial reports, audits, project / partner evaluations, and through whistle-blowers. We have a globally available and effective alert system which receives and processes all alerts.
Financial reports and audits from our country offices and local partners are analysed by local auditors, NCA finance staff, international auditors /Norwegian auditors.
All cases are treated confidentially. The information is recorded in our system and processed according to our established procedures for alerts and suspicions of corruption. The case will be handled in close cooperation with the relevant back-donor. We work closely with our back- donors.
After our initial briefing on suspicions of fraud, the back-donor establishes a preliminary alert. Subsequently, the head office and the relevant country office work to obtain the facts of the case, in a preliminary investigation. In collaboration with the back-donor, it is assessed whether it is likely that corruption has taken place.
If it is likely that corruption has occurred and further investigation is required, the case changes status, from being a preliminary alert to becoming an alert case. The examination is expanded, and in some cases external expertise will be required. A TOR (Terms of Reference) is established for the assignment and the relevant back-donor is asked for their input on this. The conclusion and report are sent to the back-donor. In some cases, the conclusion will result in a repayment of the embezzled funds to the donor.
Learning and transparency are important parts of the fight against corruption. This gives us the opportunity to adjust practices with regards to weaknesses that are uncovered and to promote learning throughout the development chain. We see this as a win-win situation which creates the opportunity for more coordination among the actors and to develop common standards in the Anti-corruption work.
ACT Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy (English)
ACT Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy (French)
ACT Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy (Spansk)
ACT Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy (Arabic)
United Nations Convention Against Corruption (pdf)
Completed corruption cases
March/April 2022 - Four cases Mali
As part of our ongoing work to combat corruption, we publish an anti-corruption report each year. In 2013 we published this report for the first time in English.
Download our Anti-Corruption Report for 2022 here (pdf)
Download our Anti-Corruption Report for 2021 here (pdf)
Download our Anti-Corruption Report for 2020 here (pdf)
Download our Anti-Corruption Report for 2019 here (pdf)
Download our Anti-Corruption Report for 2018 here (pdf)
Download our Anti-Corruption Report for 2017 here (pdf)