The Workshops for the Digital Tool “Strong, Integral, and Transparent Organizations” Have Concluded

Montevideo, January 11, 2023.

The digital tool OFIT (Strong, Integral, and Transparent Organizations) allows Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to strengthen their capacities and competencies in integrity, accountability, and transparency. Additionally, it improves information management regarding integrity, provides guidelines for greater coordination with other actors and sectors of society, and creates or strengthens organizational culture.

Between November and December 2022, dissemination and presentation workshops for the digital tool OFIT were held, aimed at Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ecuador. The objective of this tool is to contribute to strengthening institutional capacities in accountability, transparency, and integrity mechanisms.

The project team conducted workshops to showcase OFIT’s functionalities, the content available, how participants can perform self-assessments, track their progress in the tool, contribute experiences to the best practices blog, and create an improvement plan.

Within the framework of the Ecuador SinCero Program – Prevention of Corruption, Transparency, and Citizen Participation, OFIT was designed, developed, and implemented as a product of collaboration between the German Cooperation GIZ and the Center for Research and Collective Action – FARO, with technical support from Sofis Solutions.

The development of this tool provides civil society institutions with an interactive guide to implement best practices, promoting integrity and enhancing organizational competencies. Users can perform self-assessments to identify institutional strengths and weaknesses, compare them with international standards, and create improvement plans to increase efficiency and effectiveness in management while systematizing institutional work and results.

This solution features an interactive, user-friendly design. The digital guide presents educational content on transparency, ethics, integrity, accountability, and more in an engaging format.

OFIT’s content centers around an Integrity Guide, which includes various concepts and topics to serve as a foundation for understanding. It also includes an Accountability Tool with a questionnaire for self-assessment, revealing the organization’s current status regarding strengths, opportunities, environmental care, human rights, and transparency.

This project has a significant societal impact due to its focus on transparency and accountability. Additionally, it aligns with and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, specifically SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, which aims to facilitate access to justice for all and create effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

OFIT was developed under the premise that CSOs play a fundamental role in combating corruption, acting as key change agents to promote a culture of integrity. Through their efforts, they proactively collaborate with other actors transparently and contribute within their sphere of influence to strengthening more participatory, inclusive, and democratic societies.