Detailed Information :

Russia

Year of Establishment: 2002

Project Phase: Implementation; expanding to new regions

Participants: 200 local business associations, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), United States Agency for International Developemnt (USAID), Russian Union of Business Associations–Opora, Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Scope:

• Influencing policies and regulation of business at local and national levels
• Combating corruption and reducing administrative barriers to doing business

Key Facts:

Description

• The Regional Business Coalitions for Reform in Russia were formed by 200 local business associations, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), USAID, Russian Union of Business Associations–Opora and the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• The Coalitions represent local businesses and seek to influence policies and regulations of business at local and national level by making legislative recommendations, publicizing abuses by officials, educating entrepreneurs, and undertaking legal defense.

Objectives

• Regulation of inspections to reduce corruption
• Improvements in the legal framework governing business
• Expanded access to information
• Improvements in local democratic governance and public-private dialogue facilitated anti-corruption efforts

Key Learning:

• Through Collective Action, small businesses can fight corruption and defend themselves against arbitrary government action.
• Streamlining of regulations reduces administrative discretion while improving the business environment.
• Legal reforms require input from the private sector and must be backed by monitoring and enforcement.

Mechanisms:

• The coalitions created regional business agendas articulating unified business recommendations, developed with grassroots input from businesses.
• Some coalitions established hotlines to provide entrepreneurs with advice and information, as well as mediated between entrepreneurs and authorities.
• Some coalitions brought abuse cases to court or publicized unfair, corrupt actions by local officials.

Benefits:

• The coalition in Primorsk collectively defended entrepreneurs when it learned that 90 percent of small business inspections uncovered “violations,” often leading to bribes. Approximately 80 percent of the cases were resolved to the satisfaction of entrepreneurs through the legal system.
• Legal hotlines set up by the Krasnodar coalition have helped solve over 800 conflicts between business people and inspectors. Similarly in Irkutsk, over 450 entrepreneurs who received consultations managed to prevent illegal inspections and penalties.
• The Saratov coalition led a campaign against the adoption of weak laws with the potential to create corruption. The local government recognized the problem and formed an official advisory board, including members of the coalition, to review laws for vulnerabilities to corruption.

Links:

• CIPE Eurasia
• CIPE Russia (in Russian only)
• Strengthening Local Democracy in Russia: The Case for Business Associations, CIPE 2008

Source:

• CIPE Russia
  

Graph of stakeholder relationship: