Why do people set up offshore shell companies? Some preliminary findings from the Panama and Paradise Papers
GI ACE researcher Dan Haberly analyses the structure behind offshore shell company formation.
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“A transparent system, run by people without integrity, is equally corrupt”: Municipal officials dissect issues of corruption and integrity in South Africa’s urban development processes
GI-ACE researcher Christian Alexander shares learnings from the Cities of Integrity conference that is spearheading research on integrity in urban planners.
From Lab to Online Research: a Transition Full of Challenges
GI-ACE researcher Thorsten Chmura discussed focus of research on transnational corruption in international business, pushing the boundaries of citizen science.
Anti-corruption in Aid-funded Procurement: Whacking the Mole is Not Enough
GI-ACE researchers Liz Dávid-Barrett and Mihály Fazekas use big data analysis from a recent World Bank procurement reform dataset to show how corruption is a moving target.
Ethics Codes: How they can curb corruption in public service if part of a smart anti-corruption infrastructure
Researcher Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling discusses how the interaction of ethics codes and disciplinary codes affects corruption in public service.
Are Promised Changes to Nigeria’s Anti-corruption Architecture Built On Sand?
GI ACE researcher Jackie Harvey discusses commitments that appeared to address two recent criticisms made of Nigeria’s anti-corruption regime – overlapping mandates and lack of inter-agency cooperation – that had been identified by various authors in recent years
From a Surrey mansion to an Uzbek prison: Revisiting the case of Gulnara Karimova
GI-ACE researcher Tom Mayne discusses project investigating laundering of monies and reputations by professional enablers for African and Central Asian elites.
The Gendered Nature of Corruption: A Case Study on Small-Scale Cross Border Trade in Kenya
One year further into its GI ACE-supported research concerning the role of integrity and corruption within the planning profession in Zambia and South Africa, the African Centre for Cities’ “Cities of Integrity” (COI) research team has hit new milestones and made progress in achieving its research objectives.
Marking milestones in understanding the presence of corruption and the role of integrity among South African and Zambian urban planning professionals
One year further into its GI ACE-supported research concerning the role of integrity and corruption within the planning profession in Zambia and South Africa, the African Centre for Cities’ “Cities of Integrity” (COI) research team has hit new milestones and made progress in achieving its research objectives.
ACE: Exploring New Ways to develop effective anti-corruption interventions
ACE is an interdisciplinary program, encompassing political science, economics, business, anthropology, sociology, law, public health, and urban studies. ACE’s research questions require a combination of methodologies and substantial fieldwork to generate new data, as well as a range of experimental methods.
Join the GI-ACE team: Research Fellow/Associate – based out of the University of Nottingham in the UK
We are inviting applicants to apply for the position of Research Associate/Fellow within the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, one of our partner institutions.
Mapping Politically Exposed Person (PEP)-linked shell companies in the Panama and Paradise Papers
GI ACE researcher Dan Haberly analyses the changing international regulatory landscape has impacted shell company use since the turn of the millennium.
COVID-19 Impacts Cross Border Traders in East Africa
GI ACE researchers Jacqueline Klopp, Alissa Krueger, and Melissa Trimble highlight the implications of COVID-19 on small scale cross-border trading in Kenya and Uganda.
Bribery, gift-giving and social norms: understanding corruption in the Tanzanian health sector
GI ACE researcher Claudia Baez Camargo investigates the social norm of gift-giving in the Tanzanian health sector.
Making records open does not always make them useful
GI ACE researcher Jackie Harvey discusses the issue of increasing the transparency of beneficial ownership, with Nigeria as a prime example.
What we have learnt from the UK’s unexplained Wealth Order legal cases
GI ACE researcher Tom Mayne explores the consequences of recent Unexplained Wealth Order cases in the UK
The flipside of corruption: State comparisons in India using public service delivery measures
GI-ACE researcher Amrita Dhillon explores compositie indicators across Indian states and what insights might exist for greater service delivery and curbing corruption.
India’s federal procurement data infrastructure
In a new report Liz David-Barrett, Mihaly Fazekas, Agnes Czibik, Bence Toth, and Isabelle Adam make observations and offer recommendations around their experience trying to gather procurement data in India.
Is positive recognition an incentive to fight corruption?
Highlights from an ethnographic study in revenue-sharing projects in Bwindi National Park–Uganda One reason that corruption is difficult to address is because it manifests differently depending on social expectations in different economic, political, administrative, social, and cultural contexts. In Uganda, corruption remains widespread and represents a major obstacle to the country’s development. Robust anti-corruption legislation…
Informal practices and informal (governing) networks
How might knowledge about the centrality of informal social networks be used to inform the design of innovative anti-corruption approaches?
Barriers for small-scale traders in Kenya: Exploring women’s challenges on International Women’s Day
GI-ACE researchers explore the multitude of ways traders interpret bribery on East African borders. Especially for small-scale traders with perishable goods, the cost and time involved drive traders to seek out shortcuts.
Fresh perspectives on the effectiveness of anti-corruption law enforcement in Nigeria
GI-ACE researcher Matthew T Page presents key takeaways from new policy-relevant research into effectiveness of anti-corruption law enforcement in Nigeria.
Cities of Integrity at the World Urban Forum
Project research assistant Dorothy Ndhlovu reports on the GI-ACE Cities of Integrity project’s networking panel at the tenth annual World Urban Forum.
Research insights into the causes of medicine theft in Malawi
GI-ACE researcher Ryan Jablonski explores findings from surveys exploring Malawians’ experiences with accessing their medicines and shares additional analysis that sheds light on why Malawians believe individuals are motivated to steal drugs.
Two problems of corruption research
The problems of corruption research can be properly addressed only through the coordinated use of different methodological approaches from different actors, including academia, civil society, and policymakers. A real multidisciplinary perspective on the phenomenon will require the coordination of politics, research, and advocacy.
Building public procurement integrity in Jamaica
Liz David-Barrett discusses importance of having the right teams in place to use the available data to fight corruption, as exemplified in recent workshop in Jamaica building on procurement work.
Social network interventions to tackle corruption
GI-ACE project aiming to harness the power of social networks to promote positive anti-corruption outcomes among health providers and users through behavioral interventions and dissemination of interventions through trusted and influential social networks.
Qualitative Action Experiment tackles professional integrity in the Zambian planning sector
GI-ACE researchers Dorothy Ndhlovu, Gilbert Siame, and Laura Nkula-Wenz reflect on the Qualitative Action Experiment (QAE) experiment conducted in Lusaka, Zambia, in partnership with the Centre for Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Zambia and the Zambian Institute of Planners.
Harnessing Informality (Pt. 2): What could a network intervention to tackle anti-corruption look like?
How might knowledge about the centrality of informal social networks be used to inform the design of innovative anti-corruption approaches?
From whistleblowing to community monitoring on East African borders
GI-ACE researchers explore the multitude of ways traders interpret bribery on East African borders. Especially for small-scale traders with perishable goods, the cost and time involved drive traders to seek out shortcuts.
African anti-corruption agencies and the problem of independence
GI-ACE project research in Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania shows that anti-corruption agencies’ independence has turned out to be a major impediment.
Statistical challenges and ‘cash for penguins’
GI-ACE project on beneficial ownership and corruption in Nigeria investigating financial data to try to locate something that is not apparently observable—laundering the proceeds of corruption through disguising the beneficial owner—by removing from the picture what might be explained legitimately.
How can top-down audits and social audits respond to the changing technology of service delivery in India?
Takeaways from GI-ACE workshop on ‘Audit and Anti-Corruption Measures in India.’
Where does pressure for public procurement transparency come from? Reflections from Uganda and Tanzania
Recent fieldwork in Tanzania and Uganda demonstrates the potential for data transparency to improve accountability will depend on commitment, not just to open data but also to pursue accompanying reforms that facilitate oversight and promote fair competition.
The challenges in researching enablers of the corrupt
Reseracher Tom Mayne discusses GI-ACE project aiming to look at possible enabling or complicit practices regarding money-laundering in three different but related areas: banking, real estate, and reputation management.
Harnessing informality for anti-corruption practice: Shifting the unit of analysis from individuals to networks
Researcher Claudia Baez Camargo writes about GI-ACE project, we adopt two perspectives to explore the question, “What would anti-corruption practice look like if we shift the unit of analysis from individuals to networks?”
Pairing field experimental and ethnographic methods to study anti-corruption
GI-ACE researcher Mark Buntaine’s team has pursued a fully paired ethnography and randomized field experiment to study anti-corruption strategies in the context of revenue-sharing for Bwindi National Park.
A new map of financial transparency reform: 2000-2015
GI-ACE researcher Daniel Haberly’s first project workshop, “Dark Architectures: Advancing Research on Global Wealth Chains,” provided an opportunity to present in detail on the preliminary version of the historical financial secrecy database compiled over the past several months, including a preliminary overview of how the world map (in 61 jurisdictions) of secrecy-related regulation evolved between the years of 2000-2015.
Why is collecting and analysing data about public procurement so damned difficult? Data scientists explain some common problems
In a new Red Flags Explainer, Liz David-Barrett, Mihaly Fazekas, Agnes Czibik, Bence Toth, and Isabelle Adam draw on their experience of building and analysing datasets of government procurement over the past ten years to answer some Frequently Asked Questions about their work.
Working with social norms to develop effective anti-corruption interventions
GI-ACE researcher Claudia Baez Camargo explores how we can diagnose whether there is a social norm that is underpinning observed behaviours.
From citizen science to global anti-corruption: Two sides of the same coin
GI-ACE researcher Thorsten Chmura discussed focus of research on transnational corruption in international business, pushing the boundaries of citizen science.
Effective or falling flat? A fresh look at high-level corruption prosecutions in three African jurisdictions
Researcher Gerhard Anders discusses GI-ACE research project spearheading the most systematic, comprehensive study to date of the legal frameworks, prosecutorial strategies, institutional constraints, and external influences shaping these countries’ anti-corruption efforts.
‘Usain Bolt’ meters: Reform successes in the electricity sector can be quick, but only the failures get reported
A new analysis of corruption and corruption reform in the electricity sectors of Ghana and Kenya suggests a new interpretation of how and why successes against corruption seem so elusive.
Does transparency bring cleanliness? Offshore financial secrecy reform and corruption control
Researcher Dan Haberly discusses GI-ACE project attempting to understand how years of specific offshore financial secrecy regulatory reform either have, or possibly have not, impacted the use and shape of illicit financial architectures.
Strengthening integrity within the urban planning profession to combat corruption in urban development
The scourge of corruption in urban development has corrosive and far-reaching effects that can hardwire injustice into the fabric of cities and undermine social cohesion and trust within communities.
Toward a more professional and ethical civil service in Nepal
Researcher Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling discusses GI-ACE project taking up the challenge of developing a state-of-the-art ethics training for civil servants in order to contribute to the ambition of building a more professional and ethical civil service in Nepal.
Identifying and preventing drug theft in Malawi
Researcher Ryan Jablonski discusses GI-ACE project focused on identifying and preventing drug theft in Malawi, a country where issues of medicine theft are particularly acute. The impact of drug theft is a matter of life and death, and falls particularly hard on the poorest who cannot afford commercial medicines.
Are top-down audits complements or substitutes to social audits?
Researcher Amrita Dhillon discusses GI-ACE project focusing on two major public works programmes in India, asking how corruption in these programmes relates to the frequency of past top-down audits and/or to the frequency and intensity of social audits.
Using ‘red flag’ indicators to identify corruption and analyse reform efforts in the procurement process
In this GI-ACE project, data is used to develop new proxy indicators of corruption risk, based on ‘red flags’ in the tendering process, and then used to test how patterns of corruption differ across contexts and whether anti-corruption efforts work.
Fighting corruption by recognizing integrity
Researcher Mark Buntaine discusses GI-ACE project testing a fundamentally different approach to anti-corruption — recognizing officials for properly managing public funds.
Hiding the beneficial owner and the proceeds of corruption
Researcher Jackie Harvey discusses GI-ACE project nvestigating how the current international anti-corruption frameworks function within Nigeria and how they can be better targeted to reduce opportunities for the proceeds of corruption to be moved across the globe while the beneficial owner remains hidden.
Realising the dream of Pan-African trade: Giving women voice in improving borders
GI-ACE research Jackie Klopp explores the wider transformation needed for more seamless and integrated borders to become a Pan-African reality, rather than simply a dream.
How effective are beneficial ownership checks?
GI-ACE researcher John Heathershaw discusses project investigating laundering of monies and reputations by professional enablers for African and Central Asian elites.
How to reduce corruption: Reflections, including from the Paris Integrity Forum
How do we – organizations and individuals working to strengthen transparency, accountability, and participation – more effectively fight corruption? For many of us, this is perhaps the perennial question.
Kicking off GI-ACE: Three Anti-Corruption Themes & 14 Projects
The Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI-ACE) programme supports 14 research partners around the world in generating actionable evidence that policy makers, practitioners, and advocates can use to design and implement more effective anti-corruption programmes.
Introducing the Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI-ACE) programme
We are delighted to announce a new partnership between Global Integrity (GI) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID): The Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme (GI-ACE).