Research & Analytics


ANNUAL REPORT 2023


Contents

Research is one of the central elements of IACA’s mandate and helps support the organization’s programmes, activities, and technical assistance around the world. By making our research outputs available to a broad audience, IACA intends to position itself as a centre of innovative thinking in anti-corruption, compliance, and collective action.

IACA presented outcomes of its research and analytical activities in statements for the sessions of the Second, Third and Sixth Committees of the UN GA, the Global Summit for Democracy, BRICS Anti-Corruption Workshop, General Assembly of EPAC/EACN, and many other international events, organized by UNODC, OSCE, OECD, Interpol, NAUSS in cooperation with CEPOL and the Union of Arab Banks. These statements covered a broad range of topics, such as corruption and the implementation of SDGs, corruption and the rule of law, combating money laundering and illicit financial flows, interagency cooperation and coordination, asset recovery and whistleblowers protection.

The book chapter "Strengthening the Rule of Law, Fighting Corruption" was published in the book Sustainable Development Goals 16 and the Global Governance of Violence by Routledge publishing, UK, 2023.

The “Fighting Criminality and Corruption” Project in Romania

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In November 2022, IACA signed a project agreement with the Public Ministry of Romania. The project funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism aims to develop methodology, conduct a comprehensive assessment of the overall resources allocated to conduct financial investigations and of the results achieved by the Public Ministry of Romania (Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice), National Anti-corruption Directorate, and Directorate for Investigation Organized Crime and Terrorism in 2018-2020, and to develop a training curriculum on financial investigations. The amount of funding is EUR 300.000.

Throughout 2023, IACA conducted analysis of laws, regulations, statistics, and financial reports, and interviewed prosecutors from the Romanian authorities. The draft Project Report and the Training Curriculum on Financial Investigations were submitted to the Public Ministry of Romania for review on 30 October.

Research on Typologies of Corruption Offences in the Business Sector

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Reports on typologies can help companies to assess the risk of corruption and implement policies on due diligence, risk management, conflict of interest, gifts and hospitality and internal investigations. The outcomes of this study, which took place in 2022, have been implemented in new lectures in IACA’s academic programmes and trainings.

The book chapter entitled “The Role of Ethics and Compliance in Preventing Typical Corrupt Practices” was published in the Yearbook 2023 for Global Ethics, Compliance and Integrity by Peter Lang publishing.

Integrity and Anti-Corruption Compliance in Sport and Integrity and Anti-Corruption Compliance in the Humanitarian Aid Sector

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IACA designed and initiated research projects on Integrity and Anti-Corruption Compliance in the Humanitarian Aid Sector and in Sports. The aim of these projects is to contribute to safeguarding these two sectors from corrupt practices and address gaps in anti-corruption and compliance research. The projects focus on typologies of corruption offences, types of relationships vulnerable for corrupt practices, analysis of codes of conduct, integrity and compliance programmes and whistleblowers hotlines of sports and humanitarian aid organizations, respectively. The studies shall establish a solid background for the future certification programmes, and training and capacity-building activities of the Academy.

In September 2023, IACA published the Research Paper “Integrity and Anti-Corruption Compliance in Sport” that presents the first results of the study and defines the research framework. Some outcomes of the study were presented in the Anti-Corruption and Compliance in Sport Forum and in the side event “Integrity and Anti-Corruption in Sport” organized by IACA and the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) during the 10th session of the Conference of the States Parties (COSP) to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

Global Programme on Measuring Corruption

In response to the international call for improved measures of corruption, IACA and the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a funding agreement in November 2021, that laid the groundwork for the development of the Global Programme on Measuring Corruption (GPMC).

The first phase of GPMC, launched in May 2022, has two research workstreams: consultation and innovation. Consultation with practitioners is necessary to better understand their needs, e.g., in tracking progress, seeking intelligence to inform investment decisions, or building an evidence base to hold governments to account. Through the innovation workstream, GPMC seeks to further research thematic areas that are viewed as a priority and have been insufficiently addressed in the corruption measurement space.

During the period of January to December 2023, GPMC achieved the following results:

Research outcomes

  • Two country research visits were completed, and Insights Brief published – Indonesia (Mar 2023) and South Africa (Apr 2023). Over 30 stakeholder entities were consulted from the government, private sector, academia, and civil society. Emerging findings suggest that Governments and Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) wish for indicators that enable them to monitor and evaluate progress – this is often related to national Anti-Corruption strategy, as well as making a business case for investment in AC efforts or tracking administrative reform.
  • Two Expert ‘Think-ins’ were completed, and Insights Briefs published – seeding innovation to develop tools for Measuring State Capture and the Effectiveness of Anti-Corruption Agencies - convening 24 scholars and practitioners from leading international, academic and civil-society organizations with a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
  • A review of existing corruption measurement methods was also completed. It involved constructing a database of 55 existing corruption-related measures launched between 1972 and 2023, detailing geographic coverage; thematic area; measurement target; time span; components and indicators; scale; data sources; analysis strategy; weighting; gaps: and limitations. The review provides an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of such measures to inform the overall analysis.
  • Phase I Synthesis Research Brief was published in December 2023. It provides a foundation for the future development of new corruption indicators. It is intended for anti-corruption practitioners seeking to interpret and use indicators in their work or to design new indicators that suit their needs, as well as for academics interested in advancing corruption measurement methodologies.

Main partnerships and engagement activities

  • Co-organization of Joint Global Conference on Harnessing Data to Measure Corruption (Vienna, 31 Aug -1 Sep), leading to the publication of the Vienna Principles towards a Global Framework for the Measurement of Corruption.
  • Establishment of a solid working relationship with international organizations – including UNODC, UNDP, OECD, and the World Bank.
  • Engagement with and co-organization of a Roundtable Event on Measurement at the G20 ACWG (India, Aug).
  • Participation in seven international events to raise awareness of the programme and secure engagement.