About the State Integrity Investigation

Introduction

The State Integrity Investigation is a first-of-its kind, data-driven assessment of transparency, accountability and anti-corruption mechanisms in the states. The result is a grade and score for each, and a ranking of all 50 states, along with analytical pieces about every state.

Unlike previous government rankings, this months-long effort does not rely on a simple tally of scandals. Rather, it measures the strength of laws and practices that encourage openness and deter corruption.

Reporters in each state researched 330 “Corruption Risk Indicators” (read more about our methodology here) across 14 categories of government: access to information, campaign finance, executive accountability, legislative accountability, judicial accountability, budgeting, civil service management, procurement, internal auditing, lobbying disclosure, pension fund management, ethics enforcement, insurance commission operations and redistricting. In addition to the overall rankings, states are also ranked in every category.

The State Integrity Investigation is a collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International.

The project received major funding from the Omidyar Network and the Rita Allen Foundation, with additional support from the Rockefeller Family Fund.