Innovation and Technology
In recent years, significant resources have been dedicated by the Government, public bodies, and private organisations to advance the development of innovation and technology (I&T) in Hong Kong. With the increasing public and private funding support for I&T, the ecosystem has become more vibrant. However, the influx of capital also invites dishonest practitioners to exploit the system for personal gain. Corruption in the industry poses a grave threat to integrity, damages public confidence, and ultimately hinders I&T development. Therefore, it is essential for I&T practitioners to implement effective safeguards to ensure the integrity and fairness of the relevant processes and the fostering of a probity culture in the I&T sector.
The Private Sector Integrity Centre (PSIC) offers anti-corruption and integrity training to help I&T practitioners remain vigilant against corruption risks and uphold high integrity standards. We also provide corruption prevention advisory services and practical resources to assist organisations in strengthening safeguards and fostering an ethical culture.
Corruption Risks
- Compromised funding committee members / secretariat staff who have a conflict of interest with applicants and/or their consultants (e.g. personal relationship) fail to declare the conflict to the appropriate authorities and favour the applicants in the handling process.
- Unscrupulous funding committee members / secretariat staff soliciting / accepting advantages for favouring a particular applicant in its funding application (e.g. exerting undue influence over subordinates / other members to give favourable assessment to a particular applicant).
- Compromised funding committee members / secretariat staff disclosing confidential application / project information (e.g. procurement needs of grantees) to outsiders (e.g. potential suppliers) for personal gain.
- Dishonest funding committee members / secretariat staff soliciting / accepting advantages from grantees for conniving at the latter’s underperformance or malpractices, such as turning a blind eye to non-compliance with funding conditions or malpractices during site inspections.
- Colluded funding committee members / secretariat staff soliciting / accepting advantages from grantees for disbursing funds improperly, such as accepting reimbursement for ineligible items.
- Compromised staff accepting advantages from consultants for allowing the latter to apply for funding in the name of his employer.
- Dishonest applicants offering advantages to funding committee members / secretariat staff for favouring their applications.
- Compromised grantees offering advantages to technical experts to produce false report on the functionality of the invention / project deliverable.
- Corrupt staff accepting advantages from potential business partners to favour the latter in the collaboration process, such as understating the value of the commercialised technology.
I&T practitioners may also refer to the page of “SMEs and Start-ups” for the corruption risks in business operations.
Resources
Integrity Training
The Private Sector Integrity Centre (PSIC) offers free anti-corruption and integrity training to help IT professionals build an ethical corporate culture and prevent corruption and fraud.
PSIC organises webinars on the “PSIC Channel” for business practitioners across various sectors and industries. Click here to view details of the upcoming webinars and enroll now!
PSIC provides free, tailor-made training for IT professionals.
Please contact us if you wish to arrange integrity and corruption prevention training.
