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 examples of good practice in donors’ anti-corruption strategies, highlighting challenges and lessons learned both in terms of contents and development process.
Purpose
The German Government is seeking to update the anti-corruption strategy for Germany’s development cooperation operations. Before embarking on this process, we would like to learn from other donors’ experience in that area.
Content
1. Coverage of donor anti-corruption strategies
2. Examples of donor anti-corruption strategies
3. Challenges for and lessons learned from developing anti-corruption strategies
4. References
Summary
In the last decade, several bilateral and multilateral donors have developed and revised agency wide anti-corruption strategies. Yet, there is no blueprint that emerged as the one optimal approach.
The strategies emphasise to different degrees two overall goals: i) to ensure the appropriate use of donor funds and resources; and ii) to contribute to national anti-corruption efforts in their partner countries. To achieve this, measures have to address corruption risks within the donor’s organisational structure, its programme partners and the broader programme environment. Such efforts require mainstreaming anti-corruption throughout the whole programme portfolio, as well as setting up specific initiatives to support national efforts to prevent and counter corruption (both internally and externally).
While USAID considers anti-corruption measures as part of broader foreign policy and security objectives, other donors like SIDA solely dedicate their strategy to counter-acting corruption risks involved in delivering its development cooperation activities. As pronounced very explicitly by the World Bank Group and AusAID in their anti-corruption strategies, any related anti-corruption programmes and measures must be tailored to local contexts.
Despite the increase in donor strategies on corruption, more efforts are needed to better evaluate and analyse the lessons learned from those currently in place.
Authors
Craig Fagan, Transparency International, [email protected] and Felix Weth, Transparency International, [email protected]Reviewers
Dieter Zinnbauer, Ph.D., Transparency International, [email protected]Date
27/10/2010
