# Step by step – government agencies are making progress in their work against corruption. Final report.

Since December 2020, Statskontoret (the Swedish Agency for Public Management) has been assigned by the Government to promote anti-corruption work in government agencies. Statskontoret's work has consisted of providing two status reports describing the agencies’ anti-corruption efforts.

This work has also consisted of providing support for structured anti-corruption work as well as creating a forum for collaboration between agencies working with these issues. With this final report, we provide a status report of agencies’ anti-corruption work as of 2023. We also make proposals to the Government and recommendations to the agencies regarding how to develop their anti-corruption work.

Statskontoret's assessment is that the agencies’ anti-corruption work is progressing, but at a slow pace. Between 2021 and 2023, changes have occurred in the anti-corruption work. The changes are in most cases small, but for the better.

Swedish laws and regulations stipulate that all agencies must work to prevent corruption. But these rules are scattered, and sometimes unclear. Statskontoret therefore finds that agencies require clearer guidance from the Government in their work against corruption.

According to the Government, agencies must work in an informed and structured way against corruption. Statskontoret has identified four areas that are central to the ability of agencies to work in an informed and structured manner. These are:

* management and organisation
* knowledge and awareness
* risks and risk assessments
* anti-corruption measures.

When working with preventing corruption it is central that agencies apply a broad definition of corruption, which means exploiting a public position to achieve improper gain for oneself or others.

No agency has the overall responsibility for corruption issues in the Swedish civil service. However, several agencies with expertise in the field of corruption offer support to other agencies. Between 2021 and 2023, Statskontoret has been tasked with gathering the experiences of these authorities. We find that by developing the co-operation between these agencies as well as tasking them with producing joint status reports, the Government can obtain a broader basis for decision-making and the agencies will receive better support in their anti-corruption work.

In this report, Statskontoret makes proposals to the Government and a number of recommendations to the agencies. The proposals to the Government aim to encompass the entire chain of governance. The first part of the proposals therefore concerns how the Government can clarify the governance and its expectations on the agencies. The second part of the proposals aims to ensure that agencies receive the necessary support on an ongoing basis. The third part is that the Government should ensure regular follow-up of anti-corruption work by the agencies. Finally, we propose that a group of agencies with expertise in corruption issues collaborate in order to strengthen anti-corruption work in administration.

## Swedish version

[Read the swedish version](/uppdrag-och-rapporter/rapporter/2023/steg-for-steg--myndigheternas-arbete-mot-korruption-ar-under-utveckling-slutrapport/)

Last updated: 2023-12-12