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COGEL Considers Certification Programs for Government Ethics Practitioners
Friday, May 30th, 2014
Robert Wechsler
The Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), an association of
American and Canadian practitioners in the areas of conflicts of
interest, campaign finance, transparency, elections, and lobbying,
is looking into the possibility of offering certification programs
in these areas. I assume the courses would be both about the topics
and about administering programs in these areas. It might involve giving credits for attending sessions at the annual COGEL conference (it's in Pittsburgh this year, December 7-10) which, if it didn't attract additional participants, would add nothing but a certificate to the current knowledge base of these fields.
As it is now, anyone can say she is a specialist in any of these fields. There are many courses in election law and campaign finance, corruption, and administrative ethics, but as far as I know, there are no courses in administering programs in these areas, not to mention majors or certificates (although an internet search did bring up a Freedom of Information Act practitioner certification course in the U.K., offered by the Chartered Institute for IT).
With respect to conflicts of interest, there isn't even much in the way of courses about it. You're pretty much on your own.
So there is definitely a hole to fill. But whether there is demand is another question. And this is one of the questions that COGEL is asking its members in a survey. However, the focus is on members, that is, those who already have jobs. Their experience gives them something that no certification can provide.
However, a certification program might be a good way to institutionalize the training of new hirees in these fields. But would someone get a certificate before applying for a job, the way they do in other fields? Would such a certificate become a requirement?
At the local level, I don't think it would, because most of those who administer local ethics programs do it as only a small part of their job. The great majority are city and county attorneys, who might take a local or online course if it provided CLE points, but would have little interest in a certificate. The others are clerks and other officials who would not be likely even to take a course, unless it were required. And, of course, there are the thousands of ethics commission members, who need more training, but not certification.
If I were considering offering courses in administering government ethics programs, I would focus on ethics commission members and local government attorneys. The question is, would anyone be willing to pay for such courses or even pay travel expenses for free courses? It's not likely, although some EC members might be interested enough, and have sufficient income, to pay their own way, and CLE credits could lure some government attorneys.
But of course, one of the first things a city or county attorney would (or should) be told at such a course, especially with respect to administering a conflicts of interest program, is that they themselves have a conflict of interest when it comes to advising government officials who are wearing two hats in a matter, and when it comes to overseeing and enforcing against people who otherwise wear the hat of their client. Would they simply walk out of the course, or rethink their involvement in their government's ethics program?
In other words, should government attorneys even be given such training, since they shouldn't be involved in the first place (although they are)? This issue shows how much more complex conflicts of interest is than even practitioners think, which is why we need more courses. But at the local level, what is needed most is the understanding necessary to change the way things function, so that there would be a strong demand for the very sort of independent government ethics practitioners who would profit from, and fill the seats of, a COGEL certification program. But seeking change is something COGEL will not consider doing.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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As it is now, anyone can say she is a specialist in any of these fields. There are many courses in election law and campaign finance, corruption, and administrative ethics, but as far as I know, there are no courses in administering programs in these areas, not to mention majors or certificates (although an internet search did bring up a Freedom of Information Act practitioner certification course in the U.K., offered by the Chartered Institute for IT).
With respect to conflicts of interest, there isn't even much in the way of courses about it. You're pretty much on your own.
So there is definitely a hole to fill. But whether there is demand is another question. And this is one of the questions that COGEL is asking its members in a survey. However, the focus is on members, that is, those who already have jobs. Their experience gives them something that no certification can provide.
However, a certification program might be a good way to institutionalize the training of new hirees in these fields. But would someone get a certificate before applying for a job, the way they do in other fields? Would such a certificate become a requirement?
At the local level, I don't think it would, because most of those who administer local ethics programs do it as only a small part of their job. The great majority are city and county attorneys, who might take a local or online course if it provided CLE points, but would have little interest in a certificate. The others are clerks and other officials who would not be likely even to take a course, unless it were required. And, of course, there are the thousands of ethics commission members, who need more training, but not certification.
If I were considering offering courses in administering government ethics programs, I would focus on ethics commission members and local government attorneys. The question is, would anyone be willing to pay for such courses or even pay travel expenses for free courses? It's not likely, although some EC members might be interested enough, and have sufficient income, to pay their own way, and CLE credits could lure some government attorneys.
But of course, one of the first things a city or county attorney would (or should) be told at such a course, especially with respect to administering a conflicts of interest program, is that they themselves have a conflict of interest when it comes to advising government officials who are wearing two hats in a matter, and when it comes to overseeing and enforcing against people who otherwise wear the hat of their client. Would they simply walk out of the course, or rethink their involvement in their government's ethics program?
In other words, should government attorneys even be given such training, since they shouldn't be involved in the first place (although they are)? This issue shows how much more complex conflicts of interest is than even practitioners think, which is why we need more courses. But at the local level, what is needed most is the understanding necessary to change the way things function, so that there would be a strong demand for the very sort of independent government ethics practitioners who would profit from, and fill the seats of, a COGEL certification program. But seeking change is something COGEL will not consider doing.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
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