​The COVID-19 pandemic has brought chaos, uncertainty and supply chain disruptions to the global economy, impacted lives and livelihoods, and tested the resilience of governance systems, institutions and mechanisms in responding to the crisis. As the technical lead for the socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UN system, UNDP and its Country Offices worldwide are working to assess the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies and communities to develop and implement effective strategies for COVID-19 response and recovery. Yet, there is a lack of knowledge and guidance on how to integrate transparency, accountability and anti-corruption in socio-economic impact analysis, and most socio-economic analyses do not assess the impact of COVID-19 from a governance and anti-corruption perspective. In addition, there is a lack of coordination between anti-corruption institutions and the institutions focusing on socio-economic aspects.

This guidance note provides a practical methodology, including checklist questions, on how to integrate transparency, accountability and anti-corruption in social and economic needs assessment and response in the context of COVID-19. It elaborates on the following three steps to be taken: (1) Assess the overall impact of transparency, accountability and anti-corruption on policies/processes, institutions and the overall enabling environment for transparency, accountability and openness; (2) Assess the corruption risks in procurement processes, service delivery, health and emergency funds, and social safety nets and economic stimulus packages; (3) Integrate transparency, accountability and anti-corruption in socio-economic response.