 Tom Fox, the extraordinarily prolific and knowledgeable host of the popular FCPA Compliance Report, talks about the link between two hot topics in the corporate compliance world - anti-corruption and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), in the latest episode of the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast. Drawing on almost 20 years as an anti-corruption lawyer, Fox discusses the rise of anti-bribery enforcement around the world and explains why an increasing number of regulators, investors, and consumers are pressuring companies to make greater disclosures of anti-bribery standards, labor practices, and environmental impact. Fox also shares why the adoption of higher standards has accelerated dramatically during COVID-19 and how businesses can take meaningful steps towards ESG compliance by using the practices they already have in place. Fox is joined by hosts Ken Jaques, CIPE’s Communications Director, and ACGC Program Officer Michele Crymes. 

Democracy That Delivers

Democracy That Delivers #291: Why Business Standards Lept “3-5 Years...in 1 Year” with Tom Fox, Compliance Lawyer

 Democracy that Delivers picks up the "Women and Girls Empowered" (WAGE) mini-series where the opening episode left off, spotlighting the women's empowerment projects of the core partners of WAGE. In the second of these four episodes, our host Ken Jaques is joined by Grameen Foundation representatives Bobbi Gray, Research Director, and Amelia Kuklewicz, Regional Director for Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. They bring us updates on Grameen's projects like the Reducing Barriers Initiative (RBI) and the Resilient Life Resilient Business (RLRB) Curriculum, which address women's needs as entrepreneurs but also as holistic individuals facing broad systems of legal barriers, social norms, corruption, and gender based violence. 

Democracy That Delivers #290: Women and Girls Empowered – Grameen Foundation

 This two-part mini-series of Democracy that Delivers celebrates the winners of CIPE Africa's Women Economic Empowerment Contest. The first episode features the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (KNCCI) West Pokot Chapter, a shining example of the impact associations can have in support of women in business. KNCCI-West Pokot CEO I. M. Seth joins program host Ken Jaques and co-hosting Program Officer Ryan Musser to shed light on the unique barriers that women in this rural county face at every turn of entrepreneurship, from ownership rights, financial assistance, and market access, to safety, education, technology, and networks. Listen to how KNCCI-West Pokot and CIPE partner in advocating for businesswomen with local government and the business community, empower them with trainings, loans, infrastructure, and policy, as well as highlight their achievements.

Democracy That Delivers #289: African Women’s Economic Empowerment with KNCCI-West Pokot

Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) expert and ELEVATE Limited CEO Ian Spaulding joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) podcast this week to discuss the interplay between anti-corruption and new ESG approaches to managing global supply chains. Spaulding explains that ESG is ultimately about raising standards - for workers, for the environment, and for how companies are managed. When standards are low and companies underperform corruption and fraud can become pervasive as business leaders try to create shortcuts or hide poor results. Listen now to how ELEVATE helps supply chains establish and enforce high standards that support ESG and reduce corruption, and how governments, civil society, and international organizations are essential to supporting better outcomes in the private sector. Spaulding is joined by hosts Ken Jaques, CIPE’s Communications Director, and Michele Crymes, Program Officer with CIPE’s ACGC.

Democracy That Delivers #288: ESG & Anti-Corruption with ELEVATE CEO Ian Spaulding

To report on Poland's democracy, host Ken Jaques is joined by native Poles Anna Kompanek, Director of CIPE's Global Programs, and Marek Tatala. Marek is the the newest member of CIPE’s Free Enterprise and Democracy Network (FEDN), Vice President and Economist at the Civil Development Forum (FOR), and co-founder of both the Rule of Law and the new Economic Freedom Foundation in Warsaw, Poland. Despite their home country's previously exemplary economic and democratic transition, our guests tell of Poland's recently renewed struggles with rule of law, independence of the media, and political corruption. Listen to find out how civil society, businesses, intergovernmental institutions, and non-governmental coalitions such as Marek's Economic Freedom Foundation are working to protect this democracy in jeopardy.

Democracy that Delivers #287: Supporting Democracy and Economic Freedom in Poland

Democracy that Delivers "COVID and Corruption In Latin America" mini-series cohosts Ken Jaques and Elena Padbury wrap up this recap of our recently released report. Last but not least of its country case studies is Brasil, presented by Laís Piasentini Oliva, Advocacy Analyst at the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC). Laís offers recommendations to reduce pre-existing corruption risks and, importantly, the perception thereof, as both intensify from pandemic-related legislative changes.

Democracy that Delivers #286: COVID and Corruption in Latin America – Risks of Structural Corruption in Brazil

The latest episode in the Anti-Corruption and Governance Center’s Rapid Response podcast mini-series features Haykuhi Harutyunyan, the chair of Armenia’s Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC), and Matthew Murray, an anti-corruption expert with decades of field experience. The CPC was founded following Armenia’s 2018 Velvet Revolution, in which peaceful protests ushered in a new reformist government. Murray and CIPE were part of a team that supported the CPC in its first year. The podcast is hosted by CIPE Program Officer Peter Glover, who leads the discussion through the excitement and challenges of the early days of the CPC. With USAID’s recent announcement of a multi-year anti-corruption program in Armenia, this episode is a timely reflection on what it took to get to this new phase of anti-corruption reform in Armenia.

Democracy that Delivers #285: Rapid Response – Armenia's Window of Opportunity w/ Anti-Corruption Experts Haykuhi Harutyunyan & Matthew Murray

In the latest episode of our Anti-Corruption Rapid Response podcast mini-series, Suliman Baldo, a Senior Advisor at The Sentry and a long-time peace and democracy advocate, shares his experiences and perspectives working to advance democracy in Sudan. At the moment, Sudan is undergoing a once-in-a-generation political transition following a massive--and peaceful--grassroots movement in 2019. Baldo analyzes the current window of opportunity in Sudan, the challenges facing the transitional government, the newly announced anti-corruption commission, and speaks to the big social changes affecting the country. Baldo is joined by CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques and Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Program Officer Peter Glover.

Democracy that Delivers #284: Rapid Response – Suliman Baldo’s Report from Sudan’s Historic Transition

In this continuation of the Democracy that Delivers mini-series on "COVID and Corruption In Latin America", we take a closer look at our recently released report's second of three country case studies: Argentina. Cohosts Ken Jaques and Elena Padbury are joined by Demian González Chmielewski, Public Management Program Coordinator at CIPPEC, a CIPE partner organization that promotes democratic public policies in Argentina. Their research reveals that behind Argentina's strong legal framework lies a gap between institutions and practice which, in the current economic and health emergency context, can be an opportunity for either transparency or corruption. Listen to Demian's recommendations for bridging the gap to transparency.

Democracy that Delivers #283: COVID and Corruption in Latin America – Transparency Opportunities in Argentina

Tariq Fancy, Founder and CEO of The Rumie Initiative, joins the latest podcast from CIPE's Anti-Corruption & Governance Center (ACGC) to take a hard look at the perverse incentives poisoning the growth of ESG (or Environment, Social, and Governance) investing. Fancy, who is the former Chief Investment Officer for Sustainable Investing at Blackrock, gives an insider's look at the rapidly growing world of sustainable corporate finance and the unhealthy placebo effect that unregulated "ESG" labels are having on global markets. Listen now to hear Tariq lay out what government regulators and civil society organizations can do about it and why better rules and referees are needed for ESG to encourage businesses to do the right thing. Fancy is joined by Europe & Eurasia Deputy Regional Director Eric Hontz and ACGC Program Officer Michele Crymes.

Democracy that Delivers #282: Greenwashing or ESG? Making Business Ethics More than Marketing with Tariq Fancy, CEO of The Rumie Initiative

 Democracy That Delivers host Ken Jaques partners with CIPE's Latin America and the Caribbean Program Officer Elena Padbury in a new mini-series behind the scenes of the recently released report on the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and corruption risks in Latin America. Cracking open the first of its three country case studies, Viviana Patiño from the Regulation and Economic Competition Program of Mexico Evalúa shares her findings on corruption in the Mexican electricity sector during the pandemic.

Democracy that Delivers #281: COVID and Corruption in Latin America – Corruption Behind a Pro-Carbonization Policy in Mexico

 Democracy that Delivers kicks off a new mini-series spotlighting women's empowerment projects of the core partners of Women and Girls Empowered (WAGE), a global programming consortium to advance the status of women and girls. In this first of four episodes, our host Ken Jaques is joined by Center for International Private Enterprise colleagues Barbara Langley, Director of the Center for Women's Economic Empowerment, and Elena Ratoi, Program Officer in Moldova. They bring updates on the goals, accomplishments, pandemic challenges, and lessons learned from "Reducing Barriers to Women’s Economic Empowerment", a multi-disciplinary program aimed at building an alliance of Moldovan women’s business and civil society organizations.

Democracy that Delivers #280: Women and Girls Empowered – Center for International Private Enterprise

The 6th episode of CIPE’s anti-corruption rapid response podcast mini-series features governance consultant Florencia Guerzovich and Open CoLab founder Dave Algoso. Listen now to hear Guerzovich and Algoso break down their recent groundbreaking report on political windows of opportunity for anti-corruption reform. According to Guerzovich and Algoso, these windows of opportunity often follow the overthrow of a dictator or corrupt leader, or the election of a reformist government. However, they can arise and dissipate so quickly that slow-moving observers can miss them entirely; instead, reformers both in and outside these countries must begin preparing before they occur. The guests are joined by Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Program Officer Peter Glover. For more of their analysis and recommendations, check out the full episode here.

Democracy that Delivers #279: Rapid Response – What are Anti-Corruption Windows of Opportunity? - with Florencia Guerzovich and Dave Algoso

On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques is joined by co-host Adam Sachs from CIPE’s Global Team and Thomas Dewaranu, a researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS). CIPE partnered with CIPS to engage in a digital economy advocacy pilot that examines the country’s digital economy environment via interviews, public-private dialogues, and other awareness-raising activities. Thomas Dewaranu shares research recommendations that are captured in a policy paper titled, “Co-regulating the Indonesian Digital Economy”. One key takeaway from the report is to follow a co-regulation approach that relies on collaboration between government and private sector actors to foster a cooperative approach to regulatory design, implementation, and enforcement of digital laws.

Democracy That Delivers #278: Co-regulating the Indonesian Digital Economy with Thomas Dewaranu, Researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS)

The 5th episode of CIPE's anti-corruption rapid response podcast mini-series features the National Democratic Institute's Program Director Frieda Arenos and Southern and East Africa Deputy Regional Director Gemima Barlow. Arenos and Barlow share their experiences working with new governments during political transitions and emphasize the human capacity challenges that can face new reformist governments. Arenos and Barlow describe how the transition of civil society leaders to roles within a new government can result in weakened civil society groups, making it difficult for CSOs to play larger roles in transitions. The guests are joined by CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques and Anti-Corruption & Governance Center Program Officer Peter Glover. Please read more about NDI’s Executive Transitions initiative here, here, and here.

Democracy That Delivers #277: Rapid Response – NDI's Experience Working through Transitions

The Democracy That Delivers podcast is about democratic and economic development and the intersection between the two. Through their personal stories, guests share how their work is helping build stronger democratic institutions in countries all over the world and how they are tackling some of the major governance challenges that many countries face today. The weekly discussion covers a wide range of topics including entrepreneurship, governance, rule of law, and the role of the private sector in democratic processes.

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Democracy That Delivers

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