Effective Speak-up arrangements for whistleblowers, funded by the International Association for Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) together with the UK ESRC, examined organizational best practice in designing and implementing effective speak-up arrangements for whistleblowers.

We found that trust, time and responsiveness were the three key dynamics underlying the successful implementation of effective whistleblowing systems. This framework we developed is novel because of its in-depth understanding of the experiences of organizational professionals; the majority of research into this question carried out to date is based on quantitative surveys allowing limited nuance and understanding.

We interviewed senior professionals in exemplar firms in healthcare (UK), government (Indonesia), banking (Ireland), and engineering (worldwide). We worked with stakeholders such as whistleblowing charities, regulators, unions, and professional bodies through workshops and conferences, both in designing this project and in disseminating the findings. 

This project was led by Professor Wim Vandekerckhove, University of Greenwich, with co-researchers Professor Kate Kenny and Professor Marianna Fotaki.

Our work yielded academic publications but also practitioner-focused outputs: a project report, animated video for social media (approx. 2 mins duration), a policy brief, and three guides for practitioners, all of which were distributed online and shared via project partners and www.whistleblowingimpact.org. We wrote a book published by Wiley Business aimed at practicing managers, HR and compliance professionals tasked with implementing speak-up systems. 

Impacts of our Research on Effective Speak-up Arrangements

Managers in organizations, HR and compliance professionals, can implement best practice in speak-up arrangements. 

• Global professional accountancy body ACCA with more than 188,000 fully qualified members and 480,000 students worldwide, used the findings to structure: an international series of roundtable discussions, a series of lectures at their Canadian chapter, and to develop their ‘Culture and Governance Tool’ in addition to disseminating the findings to all members via email/ website.

• The Indonesian Government’s internal auditing body BPKP adopted the project recommendations in their work ‘to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of governance, risk management and control processes at 86 agencies and ministries at the central level, 34 units at the province level and 508 at the municipal level’. 

• Sweden’s MSB Civil Contingencies Agency drew on our research in their report on ‘Whistleblower functions in Swedish public organizations: a national survey and inventory of questions and challenges’

• Transparency International Ireland used these resources to develop their ‘Integrity at Work Programme’ supporting organisations in establishing safe speak-up arrangements. Our research findings inform two training modules for staff responding to disclosures. By 2020, 38 of these training sessions had been delivered to 681 workers across 24 organisations, with more since.

• Organizations including ActionAid Ireland develop new whistleblowing policy tailored to the Irish legislation and different from ActionAid’s international policy with the help of our research via Transparency International Ireland’s training.

• Think-tank EuroCadres used our work in their Guide for Internal Whistleblowing Channels and Trade Unions’ role, for use by Trade Unions and Employers

• The UK’s Financial Regulator (FCA) published our co-authored discussion paper on ‘Transforming Culture in Financial Services’ focusing on how organisations can build effective speak-up cultures. The FCA regulates the financial conduct of nearly 50,000 businesses in the UK.

• United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment [UNPRI] invited Professor Kenny to consult on inclusion of whistleblowing metrics as indicators of healthy firms when investors are choosing firms for investment, and cited this the in resulting report on whistleblowing.

• Ireland’s Central Bank invited Professor Kenny to speak at their internal policy discussion series on the current financial and regulatory landscape, “Policy Bites”, on two occasions (May 2023 online and May 2019 in person).  Approximately 100 staff were registered for each.

Politicians, regulators and civil servants involved in developing new whistleblower legislation can implement infrastructures that better protect whistleblowers.

•    UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) report on Whistleblowing (2019), referred to this research on four occasions

•    Our research was referenced in the UK House of Commons Parliament debate on 3rd July 2019.

•    Our co-authored book chapter on the impacts of whistleblowing was cited in ICF’s EC-commissioned report (2017)

•    Citations in Scottish government public consultation submissions on changes to legal protections for whistleblowers

•    Research cited in public submission to UK House of Commons International Development Committee on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the Aid Sector - next steps

•    Our collaborative research on effective speak-up arrangements formed the basis of global accounting body ACCA’s submission to the European Commission’s (EC) public consultation on whistleblower protection.

•    The Parliament of Australia published advice from Professor AJ Brown citing our research in response to ‘Whistleblower Protection after the Australian Federal Police Raids’ in 2023

•    Transparency International (Global) cited our research in its assessment of “How well do EU countries protect whistleblowers? Assessing the transposition of the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive”

•    The EU Commission Director General for Justice and Consumers cited our work in its Proposal for a Directive on the Protection of Persons reporting on Breaches of Union Law in 2018

•    Professor Kenny was invited to give an Irish Parliament [Oireachtas] Briefing on changes ahead for whistleblowing in Irish and International organizations.

•    We were invited to submit to pre-legislative scrutiny of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill (2021) by Ireland's Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee

•    Our research was cited in Ireland's Oireachtas Joint Committee evidence (2021)

Our research continues to have impact in these areas, see latest news