Citizens’ trust in government is weakened when public officials allow personal bias to pervade their decision making. At a time when the interface between public and private sectors has significantly increased, measures for preventing and managing conflict of interest are crucial to ensure that the integrity of decision making is not compromised by public officials’ private interests.

The risk of corruption is significantly heightened in a secretive environment. Facilitating the reporting of misconduct can substantially help monitor compliance and detect misconduct. OECD member countries are increasingly providing procedures for public officials to “blow the whistle” or raise concerns about suspected misconduct of other public officials and the violation of laws. Whistle-blowing is seen as a manifestation of an open organisational culture where public officials are aware of and have confidence in procedures to report their concerns. It is also seen as a solution to safeguard the public interest in order to maintain confidence in public organisations. Although whistle-blowing has remained a bona fide action to defend the public interest, a few countries, for example Korea, have also introduced financial incentives to facilitate whistle-blowing.

Knowing about the main sources and forms of corruption helps decision makers to focus anti-corruption efforts and disburse resources to establish effective countermeasures. A survey of international business executives conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2006 identified public procurement as the government activity most vulnerable to corruption in OECD member countries and beyond.