Corruption Prevention and Public Governance

Developing smarter ways to prevent corruption and strengthen governance

Preventing corruption is vital to achieving better outcomes for people – from health and education to environmental protection and sustainable development. When corruption undermines public institutions, it weakens their ability to deliver essential services and respond effectively to crises and external threats.

The Basel Institute on Governance draws on global standards, best practices and cutting-edge research to develop practical solutions to strengthen public governance and prevent corruption in different contexts.

We work directly with government and civil society partners across a dozen countries to assess corruption risks and build inclusive, effective anti-corruption systems in key sectors like health, energy and defence.

Our dedicated Prevention, Research and Innovation team is central to this work. In addition to conducting fundamental research, their expertise also supports anti-corruption initiatives across our other programmes and areas of work.

How we support corruption prevention

Our approach to preventing corruption is built on three pillars:

Research-based solutions: We analyse how corruption operates in a specific context, who benefits from it and what barriers exist to change. This helps us design interventions that work in practice, not just in theory.

Innovative prevention methods: We develop cutting-edge approaches, like using behavioural science to “nudge” social norms and beliefs about corruption and integrity.

Building lasting systems: We help partners to not just implement cut-and-paste anti-corruption measures, but to embed integrity and accountability into their governance systems.

These three elements allow us to address both the institutional weaknesses and social factors that allow corruption to persist.

Conducting research on corruption and anti-corruption

Research and evidence are the foundation of our technical assistance and policy work. We conduct hands-on studies that reveal how corruption operates and develop evidence-based tools that work in real-world conditions. Our research spans multiple areas, such as:

analysing patterns of corruption to design more effective enforcement strategies, such as our work on border corruption for the EU-funded FALCON project;
using advanced techniques like social network analysis to reveal how corrupt and criminal networks operate across borders;
exploring how corruption undermines security or becomes a tool of state interference;
investigating environmental corruption, from forestry governance to energy transition challenges.

We bridge the gap between academia and practice by incorporating research findings into our technical assistance and sharing knowledge through university programmes and open-access publications.

"FALCON benefits from the Institute's on-the-ground insights about what's really driving corruption and organised crime, and the challenges faced by law enforcement. At the same time, the project… will help the Basel Institute incorporate advancements in AI, data analytics and machine learning into their technical assistance projects with agencies worldwide."

Project Coordinator, Project FALCON (Fight Against Large-scale Corruption and Organised Crime Networks)

Preventing corruption affecting development programmes

Development and humanitarian assistance programmes can be vulnerable to corruption, which reduces their impact and wastes precious resources. We help development agencies and donors target corruption risks by:

conducting political economy analysis to identify corruption risks and their causes;
integrating systematic prevention measures across development portfolios;
applying behavioural science approaches to shift attitudes towards integrity and transparency;
providing strategic support, from designing anti-corruption strategies to developing monitoring frameworks.

This integrated approach increases the effectiveness of development programmes and protects donor investments.

Helping assess and manage corruption risks

Critical sectors like forestry, transport and minerals face significant corruption risks that can undermine their smooth functioning and negatively impact others. We support government agencies and state-owned enterprises to identify and manage these risks by:

conducting corruption risk assessments to identify priority risks;
helping to design and implement mitigation measures that are effective in practice, not just on paper;
building lasting capacity for corruption risk management through staff training and institutional reforms;
supporting partners to adapt their risk assessment approaches to changing conditions, such as conflict or crisis.

This comprehensive approach helps partners build lasting resilience against corruption while maintaining operational effectiveness.

"In Latin America, our Green Corruption team helped forestry agencies in three countries develop and implement risk management plans for the timber trade. This is now helping to protect Amazon forests from corruption-enabled deforestation."

Raising standards of public finance management

Effective and transparent management of public finances is essential for preventing corruption and ensuring public funds reach their intended purpose. We help government partners strengthen their financial systems and build capacity for long-term improvements by:

providing hands-on training and mentoring to build technical skills within government departments;
delivering targeted technical assistance to improve financial controls and management systems;
supporting digitalisation initiatives that increase efficiency and reduce opportunities for corruption.

Our decade-long work with Peru’s local and regional governments under the Swiss-funded Subnational Public Finance Management Programme demonstrates the impact of this approach. Results include improved efficiency in public services like education, healthcare and infrastructure, stronger internal controls and increased property tax collection.

This comprehensive approach helps establish a culture of transparency and integrity in public administration. The ultimate aim: strengthening public trust and supporting broader development goals.