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Development cooperation

Corruption and anti-corruption efforts in international development cooperation

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Corruption risk management and integrity

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Featured content

Artificial intelligence in anti-corruption – a timely update on AI technology

With recent and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, it’s time to check in on AI’s headway – and the hype – and revisit how the technology can be used in anti-corruption work.

Whistleblowing in aid organisations: Successful approaches for reporting and protection

Explore the nuances of whistleblowing in aid organisations. Tailor reporting channels, professionalise investigations, prioritise gender considerations, and foster local engagement for transparency.

Anti-corruption and integrity training: learning how to resist corruption

Innovative metrics and methodologies offer promising avenues for enhancing the effectiveness of integrity training.

3 December 2023

Breaking the vicious cycle: Entry points for anti-corruption in inclusive peace processes

Corruption and violent conflict feed off each other in a vicious cycle. Peacebuilders can learn how to reinforce transitions from war to peace with a focus on promoting integrity and accountability.

Cooperation with Chinese actors on anti-corruption: Environmental governance as a pilot area

Environmental governance is the field where the overlap between Chinese and Western interests appears highest and the potential for cooperation most encouraging.

24 January 2022

From the blog

Blog
Corruption and climate finance
Climate finance is funding our energy transition to net zero. But the increased funds are attracting corruption to climate mitigation projects. Anti-corruption professionals and climate activists must work together to make sure that programmes funded by climate finance succeed.
5 February 2025
Climate change
Development cooperation
Blog
Four ways to embed anti-corruption in Ukraine’s Donor Coordination Platform
Much of the international aid for Ukraine’s reconstruction flows through the Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform (DCP). We outline four principles that DCP donors should follow to enhance corruption risk management approaches.
12 February 2024
Ukraine
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation
Blog
Anti-corruption games: Learning how to face corruption challenges
Anti-corruption games provide opportunities to raise awareness and refine skills for addressing corruption-related issues. Here, we take a look at how games can be used for serious purposes, how we developed our simulation, and how you can develop your own.
23 November 2023
Anti-corruption basics
Evaluation and measurement
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation
Private sector
Civil society
Social norms and networks
Blog
Corruption risk management in the aid sector: past, present, and the path ahead
Corruption risk management has not been the ‘cure-all’ for corruption that many hoped for. However, combined with integrity management approaches, it can have enormous benefits for the aid sector.
13 September 2023
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation
Blog
The role of technology in anti-corruption: dystopian reflections
Techno-optimism has grown in the past 20 years, and technology will certainly be used to solve even more corruption issues over the coming 20. However, it needs to be used with care and consideration to avoid unintended consequences.
5 July 2023
Anti-corruption basics
Development cooperation
Blog
Five ways to prevent anti-corruption from ‘thinning’ over time: taking a ‘bold’ approach in Ukraine's reconstruction
Enthusiasm for anti-corruption at the start of any reconstruction effort can slide into chaos and apathy in time. But this is not inevitable. Here we present five important ways to build in boldness.
15 June 2023
Ukraine
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation
Blog
Managing corruption risks when partnering with multilateral organisations
Bilateral donors and multilateral organisations must improve their responses to fraud and corruption. Here we give several recommendations to support more effective anti-corruption policies and procedures.
21 September 2022
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation
Blog
Goodbye government, hello corruption
Bad politics and corruption are ideally addressed together. Doing so is not expensive compared to the budgets wasted if these problems go unchecked.
1 September 2022
Politics of anti-corruption
Development cooperation
Blog
Biometric data: putting people at risk in the name of anti-corruption
Databases of biometric information are increasingly used to identify citizens and improve services. But here we discuss the real risks to privacy, safety and equity.
7 August 2022
Public service delivery
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation

Latest publications

U4 Issue
Climate governance in a fast-changing world: Evolving patterns of corruption risks
New corruption risks in climate finance, such as organised criminal networks, are jeopardising the energy transition. Anti-corruption activists and climate programmes must work together to maintain the integrity controls essential for climate action programmes to succeed.
5 February 2025
Climate change
Development cooperation
U4 Issue
Sustainability reporting and anti-corruption provisions: unlocking the potential for impact
Sustainability reporting can reduce corruption and enhance corporate transparency. Development cooperation organisations and sector-wide anti-corruption initiatives provide examples of how this can be done.
15 January 2025
Development cooperation
Corruption risk management and integrity
Private sector
U4 Brief
Artificial intelligence in anti-corruption – a timely update on AI technology
With recent and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, it’s time to check in on AI’s headway – and the hype – and revisit how the technology can be used in anti-corruption work.
7 January 2025
Development cooperation
U4 Issue
Including civil society perspectives in UNCAC: Lessons from other international treaties
A review mechanism without meaningful participation reduces credibility and impact. Strengthening the involvement of civil society organisations will help the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) meet its standards in reducing corruption.
20 December 2024
Civil society
Development cooperation
U4 Issue
Anti-corruption in peacebuilding practice
36% of peace processes between 1990 and 2023 included anti-corruption measures. Agreements that attempt to redetermine the future of the state more commonly include anti-corruption initiatives. But secondary mediation and other underused channels can be used to incorporate anti-corruption reforms.
22 November 2024
Development cooperation
Human rights
U4 Helpdesk Answer
Corruption and the financing for development agenda
Corruption disrupts business, undermines development assistance, and leads to unsustainable trade and borrowing, underscoring the need for anti-corruption measures in the Financing for Development agenda
12 June 2024
Development cooperation
U4 Helpdesk Answer
Corruption in humanitarian assistance in conflict settings
In conflict settings, aid agencies operating cross-border face challenges to monitor aid use and impact, thus needing strategies to handle the inherent political, fiduciary, and human risks.
26 April 2024
Development cooperation
U4 Issue
Whistleblowing in aid organisations: Successful approaches for reporting and protection
Explore the nuances of whistleblowing in aid organisations. Tailor reporting channels, professionalise investigations, prioritise gender considerations, and foster local engagement for transparency.
26 April 2024
Development cooperation
Corruption risk management and integrity
Gender
U4 Helpdesk Answer
The effectiveness of illicit-finance related conditionality in IMF and World Bank arrangements
The IMF and World Bank provide financial assistance with conditions, including targeting illicit financial flows, though the effectiveness of such conditionalities remains uncertain.
7 March 2024
Illicit financial flows
Development cooperation

Further Resources

Lessons learned
Twenty years of anti-corruption – A ten part series
Lessons learned about anti-corruption work as seen from experiences at DFID; valuable innovations and the challenges that remain.
12 August 2020
Resource from U4 partners
Pressure to change: a new donor approach to anti-corruption?
Donor programmes need to re-think their strategy, which also means working much more in conjunction with other levers available to their governments.
21 October 2018
Guide
Rapid reactions to corruption: coordinating donor responses
Operational guidance on how to develop immediate and adequate joint donor responses to allegations of significant corruption affecting development co-operation.
24 May 2020
Workshop
Roundtable on the ISO 37001 anti-bribery standard: A donor agency opportunity to boost effectiveness?

Topic Experts

Hilde Selbervik

Hilde Selbervik

U4 Director

Related topics

Corruption risk management and integrity

Procedures for development aid agencies to identify, assess, and mitigate corruption risks

Updated 15 January 2025

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The U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre works to reduce the harmful impact of corruption on society. U4 is a permanent centre at Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway.

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