COGEL Mission

COGEL’s mission is to support and improve democratically-elected, accountable governments worldwide by enhancing the professional development of its membership through education, knowledge sharing, and thought leadership in governmental ethics, including campaign finance, lobbying regulation, election administration, and open government among its members.

Who We Are

The Council on Governmental Ethics Laws, popularly known as COGEL, is the foremost international non-governmental organization dedicated to good government. COGEL’s primary purpose is to facilitate and promote the exchange and dissemination of information on governmental ethics, campaign finance, lobbying regulation, election administration, and open government. COGEL’s membership, which includes around 200 organizations, primarily consists of national and sub-national governmental agencies and commissions from the United States and Canada, and several from Asia, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Africa. 

COGEL grew out of an annual meeting of an ad hoc collection of newly formed ethics-related agencies established in the U.S. in the wake of the Watergate scandal, who gathered to share resources and ideas on how to address common challenges. Since then, COGEL has grown considerably. Now, COGEL’s annual meeting is a multi-day conference attended by hundreds. COGEL also offers year-round online programming to its membership and publishes The Guardian (commentary and reporting on current ethics issues) and the Blue Books (compendia of the law, budgets, and personnel relevant to our membership). There is no other place to access this breadth of information in COGEL’s covered fields. 

COGEL is led by an elected, volunteer board comprised of individuals from member agencies and organizations. Much of the work of COGEL is accomplished in committees that are also staffed with individuals from our membership. Overall, COGEL’s strength – as it always has - resides in its membership. 

Ultimately, our members benefit immensely through the exchange of information and ideas.  It is from this exchange that COGEL’s members positively affect the administration of good government and public trust all over the world. COGEL’s committed membership, and the hours they put in to furthering the organization, is how membership costs stay modest.