Anti-Corruption, Transparency, and Accountability in Developing Countries
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This section of the website focuses on research efforts undertaken between 1996 and 2024 by analysts at Management Systems International (MSI), an international development assistance contractor based in the Washington, DC area. The Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability team at MSI conducted extensive research and assessments of the levels and sources of corruption in many countries, and then assisted in testing and implementing new laws, policies, institutions, and activities to curb corrupt practices – working directly with governments and nongovernmental organizations in over 40 developing countries around the world.
Working primarily with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Department of State, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and UKAID, MSI also collaborated directly with international organizations, such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the OSCE, the OECD, and Transparency International on many anti-corruption programs.
We invested much of our efforts in designing methods and assessment tools for researchers and practitioners to better understand the nature and extent of corruption in developing countries, its underlying causes, and how best to address the problems. In doing so, we produced many handbooks and guidebooks, along with compilations of lessons learned, to assist government officials and nongovernmental activists fight the corruption problem effectively and achieve positive results.
We worked closely with government and civil society, the media, and business groups to control corruption by implementing legal and procedural reforms, sectoral programs, advocacy efforts, and watchdog initiatives, among others. The projects focused on a range of areas and sectors where corruption needed to be addressed, starting with country-specific assessments and then designing and implementing targeted governance reforms. We implemented a wide range of anti-corruption programs, including:
- ADMINISTRATIVE AND REGULATORY REFORMS. Helping governments streamline and simplify institutions and bureaucratic procedures, using institutional strengthening, business process redesign, and e-governance applications.
- LEGAL AND JUDICIAL REFORMS. Supporting legal drafting, court administration, and investigative and prosecutorial training and practices.
- PUBLIC FINANCE REFORMS. Strengthening performance and financial auditing practices, and accountable budget and procurement procedures.
- LOCAL GOVERNANCE REFORMS. Implementing programs to improve the quality and predictability of public service delivery – in health and education, among others – at the local and regional levels.
- CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND PRIVATE SECTOR REFORMS. Working with businesses and associations to implement codes of conduct, and advocating for deregulation and legal/procedural reforms.
- MULTI-SECTOR PROGRAMS. Conducting targeted programs in health, education, environment, energy, and extractive industries.
- CIVIL SOCIETY AND MASS MEDIA ADVOCACY. Building advocacy and watchdog skills, and strengthening coalitions, public-private partnerships, public awareness campaigns, and investigative journalism.
- POLICY AND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT. Facilitating the development of program strategies for governments and donors based upon international best fit solutions and lessons learned.
- ASSESSMENTS, MONITORING, AND EVALUATIONS. Conducting many countrywide, sector-specific, and institution-based corruption risk assessments and surveys, and developing valuable assessment tools that have been adopted by USAID, such as the Corruption Assessment Handbook.
We also became a thought leader in the anti-corruption field, authoring four frequently referenced books: Fighting Corruption in Developing Countries (Kumarian Press, 2005), Negotiating Peace and Confronting Corruption: Challenges for Post-Conflict Societies (U.S. Institute of Peace Press, 2011), Detecting Corruption in Developing Countries (Kumarian Press, 2012), and Curbing Corruption: Practical Strategies for Sustainable Change (Routledge, 2022), as well as many articles in academic journals and technical note series that highlight innovative approaches and “what works.”
