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Home page  About CSIS Programs Hills Program on Governance Goals
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Goals
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The Hills Program on Governance, founded by former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Roderick Hills, is one of the most vibrant programs at the Washington-based, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a non-partisan think tank focused on international policy.
Building on CSIS’s 40-year commitment to international strategic problem solving, the Hills Program on Governance focuses on a central problem raised by the process of economic globalization – the need for multinational companies and governments to work jointly to promote sound governance practices, particularly in emerging markets. In this age of economic interdependence, America’s economic health, national security and prosperity are increasingly connected to parallel developments around the world. At CSIS, we recognize that the strength of governing institutions, both private and public, rests upon their degree of leadership in combating international corruption and in providing accountability to their respective constituencies.
Since the end of the Cold War, the breadth of democratization and international economic interdependence has accelerated, concomitantly widening the economic impact of corruption. The pervasiveness of corruption impedes direct foreign investment, deters multilateral foreign assistance and slows pro-democracy reforms focused on improving transparency and accountability. The objective of the Hills Governance Program is to focus on the substance of these issues and how they should be improved vis-à-vis globalization, international trade, direct foreign investment and foreign assistance policies through a network of regional Governance Centers.
The Hills Governance Center at the Asian Institute of Management (Manila) and the Hills Governance Center at Yonsei University (Seoul) are the first Governance Centers to open, with two additional Centers set to debut in 2006 within regional, academic institutions at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China and IPADE University, Mexico City, Mexico. The overall work and exchanges of these Centers will raise awareness on comparative governance issues vis-à-vis international trade and direct foreign investment; engage in research analyzing the impact of corruption in the context of local and regional challenges; and, strengthen transparency across public, private and civic sectors through conferences and educational training programs within each country.
To improve governance in emerging markets, the Hills Program will pursue the establishment of Governance Centers in East Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, developed in cooperation with local leadership and existing institutions in each country. These Governance Centers are charged with defining root issues of corruption in their local economies and researching ways to combat these problems. By encouraging more effective models of governance for the international business and policy environment, the Hills Program seeks to ensure more equitable participation in the benefits of globalization, at home and abroad. The Hills Program hopes to support several such centers in the years ahead.
Strong linkages have already been built with prominent U.S. institutions dedicated to sound governance through the Hills Program. The Hills Governance Program’s Advisory Board and Academic Council includes leading academics and practitioners in the field of governance and anti-corruption, drawn from government, business, and graduate schools like Harvard Business School, Yale Law School, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. As the work of the Hills Program develops, we intend to collaborate closely with other institutions dedicated to this mission.
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| Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K Street, NW, Washington DC, 20006 | Tel: 202-887-0200 | Fax: 202-775-3199 |
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