The influence of integrity on public trust

Corruption and mismanagement in the public sector are usually cited as among the most important sources of mistrust as such, policy action to strengthen integrity will have an important influence on trust. This chapter identifies four key policy levers to fight corruption and reuild trust: aligning integrity values closely with evolving concepts of acting in the public interest (i.e. transparency, inclusion, courtesy, quality services, etc.) making the most of mega events and large investments to both strengthen and affirm the governments’ commitment to acting with integrity ensuring that political and senior leaders lead by example and strengthening local integrity systems where citizens’ levels of trust are often forged through public services and more frequent and direct interactions.