Donor agencies’ anti-corruption training and capacity building

This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from a U4 Partner Agency. The U4 Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International in collaboration with the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre based at the Chr. Michelsen Institute.

Query

Please provide an overview of topics covered in donor agencies’ anti-corruption curricula, such as procurement, conflicts of interest, foreign bribery, background training on international conventions and so on.

Summary

International donor agencies are the principal actors responsible for delivering aid and executing development projects in aid-recipient countries. Their presence in corruption-prone environments, frequent interaction with local partners and contractors, as well as the overlapping oversight and regulatory jurisdictions are all factors that increase donor agencies’ vulnerability to corruption.

Many donor agencies have implemented anti-corruption training programmes centred on anti-fraud, as well as the identification of corruption risks and potential conflicts of interest. However, there is scant information in the public domain about aid agencies’ specific anti-corruption training curricula.

After surveying topics typically covered in donor agencies’ anti-corruption training programmes, this Helpdesk answer looks at training provided by the World Bank, AusAid, the Asian Development Bank and UN agencies, all of which stand out because of their comprehensive application of anti-corruption training in their operations.

Contents

1. Overview of anti-corruption training in donor agencies
2. Trends in donor agency anti-corruption training
3. References

Caveat

This Helpdesk Answer reviewed publicly available information on 72 different donor agencies’ anti-corruption and bribery training programmes. Unfortunately, in the large majority of cases, agencies provide very little information about the anti-corruption training they offer to staff: of the agencies reviewed, for instance, only five donors state that they provide training on whistleblowing and other channels to report corruption. It is worth noting, however, that many agencies may provide training but do not state so publicly.

Authors

Iñaki Albisu Ardigo

Reviewer:

Matthew Jenkins, Transparency International

Date

30/04/2020

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