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Corruption risk management and integrity

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

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Development cooperation

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Basic guide

Read our introduction to corruption and anti-corruption efforts in corruption risk management and integrity.

Featured content

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

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.

Fostering integrity at work: Leveraging social theory to strengthen ISO 37001

The recent update to ISO 37001 – the standard for anti-bribery management systems – places ‘anti-bribery culture’ at centre stage. This is a welcome addition to the standard, and a great opportunity to explore what truly drives an organisation’s culture of integrity.

27 September 2024

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

Strengthening the ethics framework within aid organisations

Values based approaches can be used to help tackle implicit biases and informal norms, such as gender discrimination. They shift focus from the individual to the network in the design of anti-corruption policies, considering social factors related to corruption.

14 September 2022

From the blog

Blog
Unlocking AI’s potential in anti-corruption: Hype vs. reality
We can learn from AI’s successes in protecting public money and predicting corruption. But we must also examine its challenges. With human oversight and intervention, we can unlock AI’s potential in anti-corruption work.
7 January 2025
Anti-corruption agencies
Corruption risk management and integrity
Politics of anti-corruption
Tax and revenue collection
Procurement
Public financial management
Blog
Decoding corruption: The DATACORR database for better survey questions
Policymakers need to decode which types of corruption raise public concern and where intervention is urgent. The DATACORR database of 3,000+ survey questions can help develop innovative, appropriate techniques for mapping corruption.
25 November 2024
Evaluation and measurement
Corruption risk management and integrity
Blog
Measuring progress on Sustainable Development Goal 16.5
Precious few countries provide the necessary data on corruption and bribery. Furthermore, Sustainable Development Goal 16.5 is too vague and the indicators are too narrow. However, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has developed materials to help countries collect and report data on bribery incidence.
1 October 2024
Evaluation and measurement
Corruption risk management and integrity
Blog
Fostering integrity at work: Leveraging social theory to strengthen ISO 37001
The recent update to ISO 37001 – the standard for anti-bribery management systems – places ‘anti-bribery culture’ at centre stage. This is a welcome addition to the standard, and a great opportunity to explore what truly drives an organisation’s culture of integrity.
27 September 2024
Corruption risk management and integrity
Public service delivery
Private sector
Blog
One year on: The Vienna Principles for the measurement of corruption
There has been a surge of corruption indicators and methodologies in the past decade, and the Vienna Principles now provide a welcome underpinning to those developing or using these metrics.
2 September 2024
Evaluation and measurement
Corruption risk management and integrity
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
Three waves of (anti-)corruption measurement: The role of civil society in driving innovation and progress
Civil society has been behind much of the development in how we measure corruption – reflecting the evolution of the entire anti-corruption field over the past 30 years.
20 December 2023
Evaluation and measurement
Civil society
Corruption risk management and integrity
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

Featured courses

Facilitated course

Corruption risk management

2-week, expert-led course. Learn basic principles of corruption risk management. This course equips development practitioners with knowledge on how to identify and act on corruption risks in their work.

5 May 2025

Self-paced course

Managing ethical misconduct and low-level corruption cases

Short, self-paced module for getting insights on managing trade-offs and consequences of ethical dilemmas in development aid projects.

Start any time

Latest publications

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 Helpdesk Answer
The relationship between electoral integrity and corruption
Evidence suggests that enhanced electoral integrity, coupled with accountability-enabling conditions, can effectively constrain corruption.
15 July 2024
Politics of anti-corruption
Corruption risk management and integrity
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
Caractéristiques des systèmes de récompenses et de sanctions efficaces dans le secteur douanier
Les systèmes de récompense et de sanction des agents publics devraient également prendre en compte des facteurs non matériels tels que les influences morales et sociales, et des éléments organisationnels tels que le leadership éthique et l'implication des participants afin d'en renforcer l'efficacité.
6 February 2024
Corruption risk management and integrity
U4 Helpdesk Answer
Characteristics of effective reward and sanction schemes in the customs sector
Reward and sanction schemes for public officials should also consider non-material factors like moral and social influences, with organisational elements such as ethical leadership and participant involvement enhancing their effectiveness.
6 February 2024
Corruption risk management and integrity
U4 Brief
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
Corruption risk management and integrity
Evaluation and measurement
Civil society
Private sector
Development cooperation
U4 Helpdesk Answer
Corruption cases within multilateral organisations
Despite having anti-corruption measures in place, multilateral organisations grapple with corruption cases involving collusion, bribery, and sextortion, that can have dire consequences on their intended outcomes and marginalised populations.
5 November 2023
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation
U4 Brief
Doing reconstruction funding well: International lessons for Ukraine’s energy sector
Ukraine is not the first country to require urgent reconstruction of its energy sector. Other countries’ efforts can provide some valuable lessons – especially in mitigating procurement corruption.
1 October 2023
Ukraine
Natural resources and energy
Procurement
Corruption risk management and integrity
Development cooperation
U4 Issue
Corruption risk assessments: country case studies highlight advantages and challenges of diverse approaches
Corruption risk assessments often apply either centralised, decentralised, or transparency-oriented methodologies. It is advisable to consider data quality, institutional resources, need to include recommendations, and more.
7 May 2023
Corruption risk management and integrity
Evaluation and measurement
Anti-corruption courts

Further Resources

Resource from others
Integrity and integrity management in public life

Topic Experts

Guillaume Nicaise

Guillaume Nicaise

Senior Adviser

Related topics

Development cooperation

Corruption and anti-corruption efforts in international development cooperation

Updated 31 March 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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