[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":281},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-behavioural-anti-corruption-interventions-in-tanzania-12":3,"news-behavioural-anti-corruption-interventions-in-tanzania-12-similar":28,"i-heroicons:arrow-left-20-solid":276},[4],{"id":5,"status":6,"date_created":7,"date_updated":8,"title":9,"type":10,"body":11,"date":12,"topic":13,"slug":14,"activity":15,"nid":16,"topics":17,"activities":18,"programme":19,"area":19,"websites":20,"language":19,"image":19,"translation_of":19,"countries":22,"tags":23,"authors":24,"images":25,"translations":26,"content":27},9918,"published","2022-05-26T22:57:26.000Z","2025-08-31T23:14:59.000Z","Behavioural anti-corruption interventions in Tanzania","","The Basel Institute will lead a project to develop a behavioural anti-corruption intervention for the Tanzanian health sector. \n\nThe two-year project, \"Addressing bribery and favouritism in the Tanzanian health sector: a behavioural approach\", will be launched in January 2019. The Basel Institute is the lead implementing institution, with Head of Governance Research Dr Claudia Baez Camargo acting as Principal Investigator. Co-investigators on the project are Dr Richard Sambaiga from the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr Antonio Silva from the UK Behavioural Insights Team, and Prof Tobias Stark from the University of Utrecht. \n\nThe project builds on the findings of previous research by the Basel Institute's Public Governance division on \"Corruption, social norms and behaviours in East Africa\". The goal is to develop and pilot a behavioural anti-corruption intervention to address bribery and favouritism in the Tanzanian health sector. The project will be funded by the DFID\u002FGlobal Integrity [Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.globalintegrity.org\u002F2018\u002F11\u002Fintroducing-the-global-integrity-anti-corruption-evidence-programme-gi-ace\u002F) and it is foreseen that the contract will be signed in December.\n\n### Related publications\n\nIf you are interested in learning more about behavioural approaches to anti-corruption interventions in East Africa, see:\n\n*   [Corruption, Social Norms and Behaviours: A comparative assessment of Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002F5667)\n*   [Behavioural influences on attitudes towards petty corruption A Study of Social Norms and Mental Models in Tanzania](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002F5669)\n*   [Drivers of Petty Corruption and Anti-Corruption Interventions in Developing Countries – a Semi-Systematic Review](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002F3623)\n*   [Between Condemnation and Resignation: A Study on Attitudes Towards Corruption in the Public Health Sector in Tanzania](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002F1686)","2018-11-27",[10],"behavioural-anti-corruption-interventions-in-tanzania-12",[10],12,[],[],null,[21],"Main page",[],[],[],[],[],[],[29,69,98,123,154,184,208,229,251],{"id":30,"body":31,"status":6,"type":32,"date":33,"slug":34,"title":35,"image":36,"countries":37,"topic":38,"activity":41,"tags":44,"nid":53,"topics":54,"activities":56,"authors":57,"images":59,"websites":60,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":61,"translations":62,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":64,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":66,"content":67,"link":68},10551,"_This article by Claudia Baez Camargo offers valuable insights into how behavioural science can inform more effective anti-corruption strategies and crime prevention efforts. By shedding light on key behavioural drivers and practical approaches, the piece provides a strong foundation for those seeking to better understand how human behaviour can be positively influenced to promote integrity and reduce crime._\n\n_It is republished with permission from the [7th Newsletter](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2025-05\u002FPNI%20Newsletter%207th%20edition.pdf) of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network of Institutes ([PNI](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unodc.org\u002Funodc\u002Fen\u002Fcommissions\u002FCCPCJ\u002FPNI\u002Finstitutes.html))._\n\nAt the end of the day, it’s not formal policies and regulations that prevent crime or make criminal justice systems work better – it’s people. And people’s behaviour is shaped not just by formal rules but by informal practices and deeply embedded social norms.\n\nThat’s why understanding what drives behaviour, and how we can shift it, is essential for achieving the goals of crime prevention and criminal justice. Behavioural science offers valuable insights here. It helps us identify practical, people-centred ways to encourage integrity, accountability and participation – both individually and collectively.\n\nThis article explores how behavioural science-based approaches can contribute to preventing crime and corruption. It reviews relevant international texts and shares early findings from the Basel Institute’s promising work in Tanzania and in relation to environmental crime. While our primary focus at the Basel Institute is on anti-corruption, the insights are relevant across the broader field of crime prevention and criminal justice.\n\n### Policies often miss the human dimension\n\nToo often, policies aimed at preventing corruption and crime look good on paper. They follow international best practices, tick all the boxes and appear technically sound. But in practice, they often fall short of delivering the desired results. This pattern is familiar across all the regions in which we work.\n\nOne reason is that many such efforts overlook the _people_ expected to put the policies into action. Specifically, not enough attention is paid to the incentives and contextual factors that shape their behaviour. Strong formal anti-corruption or crime prevention systems matter, but they aren’t sufficient on their own. Progress depends on how individuals within these systems behave – whether or not they choose to collaborate, share information report misconduct. And that cooperation is often blocked by low levels of trust or limited experience with collaboration.\n\nAnother issue is the widespread reliance on awareness-raising campaigns. While well-intentioned, these often assume that more knowledge will lead to better choices. Yet we know from behavioural research and experience that this doesn’t hold up, particularly when it comes to corruption. People usually understand that corruption is wrong. But they may still choose not to report or resist it due to a range of behavioural and social factors: the belief that “everyone does it,” fear of retaliation, risk aversion or personal biases.\n\nAdd to that bureaucratic \"sludge\" – unnecessary paperwork and other frictions that make doing the right thing harder – and even the best-designed policies can lose their bite.\n\nThe upshot? If we want crime prevention and justice reforms to work in the real world, we need to go beyond rules and awareness. We need to understand the behavioural drivers behind corruption and crime. And we need to use that understanding to design smarter, more human-centred interventions that nudge people toward integrity and collaboration.\n\n### International guidance on behavioural approaches\n\nInternational treaties and standards in areas like anti-corruption, crime prevention and broader development often focus on formal structures and high-level frameworks. That’s understandable: the realm of human behaviour is complex, unpredictable and deeply influenced by varying political, cultural and geographic contexts. As a result, behavioural dimensions are rarely given the attention they deserve.\n\nSome guidance documents, however, do take a behavioural lens – though this remains the exception rather than the rule. Notably, the World Bank’s 2015 [World Development Report: Mind, Society, and Behavior](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldbank.org\u002Fen\u002Fpublication\u002Fwdr2015) made a strong case for integrating behavioural insights into development work. While it didn’t focus specifically on crime or corruption, it offered valuable, practical advice on designing interventions that reflect how people actually think and behave, rather than how we assume they should.\n\nSince then, behavioural science has gained traction in public policy. Many governments have established specialised teams to apply behavioural insights to policy challenges – from tax compliance to public health. Recognising this shift, the OECD released its [Good Practice Principles for Ethical Behavioural Science in Public Policy](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.oecd.org\u002Fen\u002Fpublications\u002Fgood-practice-principles-for-ethical-behavioural-science-in-public-policy_e19a9be9-en.html) in 2022, offering guidance on using behavioural tools in an ethical and effective manner.\n\nYet despite these promising developments, behavioural approaches remain underused in anti-corruption and crime prevention efforts. This is a missed opportunity, since behavioural science offers a powerful lens for understanding and addressing the real-world challenges that undermine formal systems and laws.\n\n### Promising research\n\nTwo areas in particular – healthcare and environmental protection – illustrate how tailored interventions grounded in behavioural insights can help achieve corruption or crime prevention goals. Both arise from research led by the Basel Institute.\n\nPreventing corruption in healthcare\n\nOne of the few real-world behaviour change interventions in the anti-corruption space took place in a Tanzanian hospital. The aim of the [pilot project](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2023-03\u002F230306_Research-case-study-01b.pdf) was to curb bribery in the form of “gift giving” – i.e. small gifts to healthcare workers to generate a relationship of reciprocity and secure better or faster treatment. While framed as gestures of appreciation, such practices can create expectations and reinforce corrupt dynamics over time.\n\nThe intervention used a mix of behavioural tools: simple environmental cues like posters and desk signs reminded users of expectations around the giving of gifts, while respected staff members acted as “champions,” spreading the messages through their peer networks. In just eight weeks, the pilot recorded a 14–44 percent decrease in patients’ intentions to offer gifts, as well as more negative attitudes toward the practice and reduced beliefs in its acceptability.\n\nThe accompanying working paper, [Developing Anti-corruption Interventions Addressing Social Norms](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-40), offers practical guidance for practitioners. It outlines how to identify when a behaviour change approach is appropriate, develop a theory of change and design interventions that are context-sensitive and measurable.\n\nThis pilot adds to the growing evidence on why some behavioural approaches can be effective in preventing corruption while others fall short ([see more](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fresearch-case-5)). To give a taster, some of the strategies include:\n\n*   Using environmental cues tailored to the setting.\n*   Providing timely resources that support integrity under pressure.\n*   Building trust among stakeholders to foster cooperative social norms.\n*   Elevating role models and champions of integrity.\n\nTackling environmental corruption and crime\n\nThe adaptability of behavioural science also makes it a strong tool in the fight against _environmental_ corruption and crime. These offences often flourish in settings where red tape, weak enforcement and collusive practices are the norm. Behavioural interventions can be tailored to disrupt these patterns.\n\nUnder the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project, led by WWF, we produced a series of [practical guides](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldwildlife.org\u002Fpages\u002Ftnrc-guides-designing-social-norms-and-behavior-change-interventions-guidance-resources-for-conservation-practitioners) that translate behavioural insights into conservation and anti-corruption strategies. Topics include how to reduce corruption driven by excessive bureaucracy or “sludge”, how to reduce risks of collusion in community-managed forests and how to design interventions that resonate with frontline wildlife defenders such as rangers.\n\n### Other resources and activities\n\nAt the Basel Institute, we are deeply committed to advancing the use of behavioural science in anti-corruption and broader crime prevention efforts. Our aim is not just to test promising ideas, but to rigorously examine what works, what doesn’t and – crucially – why. By sharing these insights, we hope to support practitioners around the world in adapting evidence-based behaviour change approaches to their own contexts.\n\nIn this regard, an additional valuable contribution to the field is our [research report](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fbehavioural-insights-and-anti-corruption) synthesising lessons from a range of anti-corruption behaviour change interventions. It explores the reasons behind both successes and failures and extracts practical recommendations.\n\nIn a nutshell, we believe that effective anti-corruption and crime prevention systems must be rooted not only in solid laws and institutions, but also in the behavioural realities of those expected to implement them. Bridging the gap between formal policy and real-world practice requires a systematic focus on social norms, decision-making dynamics and local incentives.\n\nOur Prevention, Research and Innovation team leads this work. We support anti-corruption practitioners, development agencies and other donors across three main areas:\n\n*   Research: Conducting academically grounded studies to understand the behavioural drivers of corruption and identify promising points for interventions.\n*   Advisory support: Helping donors and international partners integrate behavioural insights into their anti-corruption and development programming.\n*   Practical guidance and mentoring: Working directly with implementers to design, test and refine behaviourally informed strategies that are tailored, measurable and feasible in the context.\n\nBy embedding behavioural science into anti-corruption and wider crime prevention efforts, we can help ensure that policies are not just well designed on paper, but embraced and enacted in practice – closing the gap between intention and impact.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\n_One of the key mandates of the PNI is to disseminate and enhance knowledge on crime prevention and criminal justice. This mission is carried out actively around the world by individual PNIs through various channels, including research, publications, and capacity-building activities. A notable example of such efforts was the creation of the Justice Knowledge Centre by Gary Hill_ –_one of the first web-based platforms dedicated to sharing information and resources on crime prevention and criminal justice._\n\n_Inspired by the spirit of such legacies and by the continuing efforts of PNIs around the world, the PNI Newsletter carries forward this knowledge-sharing mission by dedicating a section in each issue to a specific topic of relevance. Claudia's contribution is the first in this new series._","Blog","2025-05-15","bridging-the-gap-how-behavioural-science-can-strengthen-anti-corruption-and-crime-prevention-2809","Bridging the gap: How behavioural science can strengthen anti-corruption and crime prevention","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fa05b5d5d-c1b9-487e-970a-b0c611df17cc?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[39,40],"Prevention"," Research and Innovation",[42,43],"Research","Insights",[45,49],{"tags_id":46},{"id":47,"name":48},982,"Anti-corruption",{"tags_id":50},{"id":51,"name":52},848,"Behavioural science",2809,[55],"Prevention Research and Innovation",[42,43],[58],1340,[],[21],"English",[],"03bebfd8-0b40-4a2a-820d-b9d9c13b9de6","2025-05-15T10:01:34.000Z","3d9ff205-1640-4f34-b5b6-86977f51bbd6","2026-05-07T21:29:57.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fbridging-the-gap-how-behavioural-science-can-strengthen-anti-corruption-and-crime-prevention-2809",{"id":70,"body":71,"status":6,"type":32,"date":72,"slug":73,"title":74,"image":75,"countries":76,"topic":78,"activity":80,"tags":82,"nid":85,"topics":86,"activities":88,"authors":89,"images":91,"websites":92,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":93,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":94,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":95,"content":96,"link":97},9813,"_This quick guide draws on a [more comprehensive blog](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.globalintegrity.org\u002F2019\u002F09\u002F04\u002Fsocialnorms\u002F) by Claudia Baez Camargo published on the website of the Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI-ACE) research programme._ _Find more details on the GI-ACE anti-corruption research projects led by Dr Baez Camargo’s team at the Basel Institute on Governance, as well as other pioneering research on social norms and implications for anti-corruption practice, at the end of this guide._\n\n### What is a social norm?\n\nLike many abstract concepts it is slippery, but a good definition is that of Church and Chigas (2019): social norms are “mutual expectations held by members of a group about the right way to behave in a particular situation”. For an everyday example, think of your workplace. You and your colleagues expect each other to behave in a certain way in shared office spaces, at meetings, during joint projects, etc. These unspoken expectations are social norms, and you may not even realise that they exist – until somebody breaks them.\n\n### How do social norms drive and perpetuate corrupt behaviour?\n\nIf most people believe acts of corruption are accepted and expected by those around them, it is not difficult to see why corruption persists. Say you grew up and live in a community where public officials routinely demand bribes and your family and friends routinely pay them without questioning whether it is right or wrong to do so.  You would probably find it hard to even recognise that this behaviour might be corrupt and unfair, never mind stand up against it.\n\n### The case of health facilities in East Africa\n\nIn a [recent research project](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fcorruption-social-norms-and-behaviours-comparative-assessment-rwanda-tanzania-and) in East Africa, we found that users of public health facilities often offer unsolicited bribes and gifts in order to create a relationship with the provider. The expectation is that having a “provider friend” helps facilitate access to treatment. This is perhaps no surprise when you think about the queues, waiting times and shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies at many of these public health facilities. Now comes the first interesting question: is a social norm underpinning this behaviour?\n\n### How to identify social norms that drive corrupt behaviour\n\nFirst, let’s distinguish between four related concepts:*   Personal attitudes: What an individual believes is appropriate behaviour in a particular situation, e.g. a health worker believes that it is wrong to accept a gift from a patient.\n*   Descriptive social norms: Beliefs about what others do, e.g. the health worker believes that her colleagues routinely accept gifts from patients.\n*   Injunctive social norms: Beliefs about what behaviours others approve or disapprove of, e.g. the health worker believes that most of her colleagues think it is fine to accept gifts from patients.\n*   Behaviours: What people actually do when confronted with that situation, e.g. the health worker accepts or rejects a gift from a patient.\nYou can see that social norms (2 and 3) are different from both personal attitudes (1) and from actual behaviours (4). Which makes them difficult to measure. The trick is to look for an informal _enforcement_ component – i.e. when people who behave in a particular way are rewarded (e.g. reputation, friendships, smiles) and those who break the norm are punished (e.g. social isolation, gossiping, frowns). Back to our research project in East Africa: during field research in Tanzania, we found that bribery and gift-giving is widespread, expected and accepted in public health facilities by both patients and providers. Those who refuse to give or accept bribes and gifts suffer social costs such as gossiping and bad-mouthing. The exchange of gifts and bribes at public health facilities in Tanzania is therefore a social norm.\n\n### What are the implications for anti-corruption practice?\n\nIf social norms are driving corrupt behaviour, then anti-corruption measures that only target individual incentives and behaviours are unlikely to work. They ignore the overpowering social pressures generated by these collective beliefs. And they ignore the fact that social norms are often unconscious and not a result of deliberate cost-benefit calculations. The implications for anti-corruption practice are therefore huge.\n\n### The million-dollar question\n\n…is of course, how to design anti-corruption interventions to identify social norms that fuel and perpetuate corruption, measure them and tackle them. This is exactly what we are doing in the GI-ACE-funded project, [Addressing Bribery in the Tanzanian Health Sector: A Behavioural Approach](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.globalintegrity.org\u002Fproject\u002Fgi-ace-basel\u002F), together with co-investigators Dr. Richard Sambaiga (University of Dar es Salaam), Prof. Tobias Stark (University of Utrecht) and Ms Ruth Persian (UK Behavioural Insights Team). We hope that the results of our pilot intervention in Tanzania will be valuable in informing anti-corruption interventions in public health sectors worldwide. As well as – why not! – all cases of corrupt behaviour where social norms have a major role to play.\n\n### Find out more\n\n*   View Claudia Baez Camargo’s blog on the GI-ACE website: [_Working with social norms to develop effective anti-corruption interventions_](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.globalintegrity.org\u002F2019\u002F09\u002F04\u002Fsocialnorms\u002F)\n*   Learn about the Basel Institute’s recent [research projects and findings](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Fresearch-projects).\n*   See current projects and publications on [social norms and corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Fresearch-projects\u002Fsocial-norms).\n*   Read about a separate GI-ACE research project led by the Basel Institute on [Harnessing Informality: Designing Anti-Corruption Network Interventions and Strategic Use of Legal Instruments](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Fharnessing-informality-promote-integrity-and-design-better-anti-corruption-programmes-new).\n*   [Download a PDF of this quick guide.](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2020-08\u002Fqg10_social_norms.pdf)","2019-09-04","claudia-baez-camargos-quick-guide-to-social-norms-and-corruption-996","Claudia Baez Camargo’s quick guide to social norms and corruption","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Ff63ef44a-3aa7-4488-8ce4-ca57a40bbfd5?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[77],6528,[79],"Public Governance",[42,43,81],"Anti-corruption interventions",[83],{"tags_id":84},{"id":51,"name":52},996,[87],"Corruption Prevention and Public Governance",[42,43,81],[90],882,[],[21],[],"2022-05-26T22:56:02.000Z","2026-05-29T22:21:57.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fclaudia-baez-camargos-quick-guide-to-social-norms-and-corruption-996",{"id":99,"body":100,"status":6,"type":101,"date":102,"slug":103,"title":104,"image":105,"countries":106,"topic":108,"activity":109,"tags":111,"nid":112,"topics":113,"activities":114,"authors":115,"images":116,"websites":117,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":118,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":119,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":120,"content":121,"link":122},9896,"The Basel Institute's Head of Governance Research, Dr. Claudia Baez Camargo, was in London on 28-29 January for the launch of the DFID-funded [Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.globalintegrity.org\u002F2018\u002F11\u002F15\u002Fintroducing-the-global-integrity-anti-corruption-evidence-programme-gi-ace\u002F) (GI-ACE).\n\nOne of 14 research partners awarded a two-year grant from the programme, Claudia presented her plans for a pioneering project on [Addressing bribery and favouritism in the Tanzanian health sector: a behavioural approach](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Fbehavioural-anti-corruption-interventions-tanzania). She and her fellow researchers at the Basel Institute's Public Governance division will conduct the project in collaboration with co-investigators Dr Richard Sambaiga from the University of Dar es Salaam, Ms Ruth Persian from the UK Behavioural Insights Team, and Prof Tobias Stark from the University of Utrecht. \n\nThe GI-ACE programme is a partnership between Global Integrity (GI) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). At the launch event, the researchers engaged with each other's projects and aligned with the programme's goals: not only research to \"generate new and operationally relevant evidence on tackling corruption\" but outreach to \"help policy-makers, practitioners, and advocates design and implement more effective anti-corruption initiatives\".\n\nThe project, Addressing bribery and favouritism in the Tanzanian health sector, falls squarely into these goals with its hands-on approach. The aim to develop and pilot a new anti-corruption intervention for the Tanzanian health sector based on cutting-edge behavioural research. It follows from a previous research project on \"Corruption, social norms and behaviours in East Africa\", supported by the DFID's East Africa Research Fund. The findings from this initial research are on the [UK government website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fdfid-research-outputs\u002Fcorruption-social-norms-and-behaviours-a-comparative-assessment-of-rwanda-tanzania-and-uganda) as well as the [Basel Institute publications database](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fstudies).\n\nAfter the main launch event, Claudia met with DFID representatives and researchers working in the fields of governance and health to explore synergies and possible collaborations in this growing area of focus. Several of the academics involved will also participate in a consultation on health governance with the World Health Organisation at the end of February.","News","2019-02-07","launch-of-gi-ace-research-programme-amp-tanzanian-health-sector-project-561","Launch of GI-ACE research programme & Tanzanian health sector project","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fc67f862a-a0d3-47cb-a2bf-a26590b3904c?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[107],7503,[39,40],[42,81,110],"Events",[],561,[55],[42,81,110],[],[],[21],[],"2022-05-26T22:57:15.000Z","2026-05-07T21:29:46.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Flaunch-of-gi-ace-research-programme-amp-tanzanian-health-sector-project-561",{"id":124,"body":125,"status":6,"type":32,"date":126,"slug":127,"title":128,"image":129,"countries":130,"topic":132,"activity":133,"tags":135,"nid":142,"topics":143,"activities":144,"authors":145,"images":147,"websites":148,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":149,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":150,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":151,"content":152,"link":153},9609,"The following summary reflects key messages emerging from the [Harnessing the intangible: enhancing integrity during crises](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002F25-march-oecd-knowledge-partner-event-enhancing-integrity-during-crises) Knowledge Partner session on 25 March 2021 at the 2021 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum.\n\nHosted by the Basel Institute and moderated by Claudia Baez Camargo, Head of Public Governance, the event explored how practitioners could tailor approaches to strengthen integrity during an emergency response to counter recurrent social norms and informal practices.\n\nThe panel incorporated a wide range of perspectives from health, anti-corruption and behavioural research, featuring Dina Balabanova and Eleanor Hutchinson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, David Jackson of the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, and Ruth Persian of The Behavioural Insights Team.\n\n### Why aren’t traditional approaches to tackling corruption and promoting integrity working?\n\nA key takeaway from the session is that mainstream anti-corruption interventions focusing on accountability, transparency and law enforcement measures have not been as effective as we would like in combatting corruption.\n\nCould this be because we don’t make enough effort to understand the local context, social networks and power dynamics in the target countries as well as individual actors’ experience and motivation? A growing body of evidence suggests so.\n\nFor example, [recent research](https:\u002F\u002Fresearchonline.lshtm.ac.uk\u002Fid\u002Feprint\u002F4659908\u002F1\u002FACE-WorkingPaper014-NigeriaAbsenteeism-190916.pdf) carried out in Nigeria by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine reveals that the causes of absenteeism among Nigerian health workers are much more complex than one might expect. They encompass economic pressures, structural inefficacies and managerial\u002Forganisational dynamics, with the research also emphasising that these are shaped by sociocultural factors and political relationships.\n\nWithout a more nuanced analysis of how and why people behave as they do and the context in which they make decisions, laws and rules alone are unlikely to change the drivers of corrupt behaviour. Initiatives are increasingly focusing on improving health system governance, but thinking about the “upstream” social and political factors is essential.\n\nExploring social norms can offer insights into the drivers of unethical\u002Fcorrupt decision-making. For instance, the Basel Institute’s current [research project in Tanzania under the GI-ACE programme](https:\u002F\u002Face.globalintegrity.org\u002Fprojects\u002Ftanzhealth\u002F) shines a spotlight on, among other things, social norms related to returning favours or serving family members first. Health workers are put under pressure to make special concessions to their kinship or those who offer gifts. If people follow these informal rules, merely changing or strengthening laws or rules will not get rid of the underlying drivers of corruption or violations of integrity.\n\nThe message is clear: when designing interventions, it is critical to first understand the context, including what social norms are at play and which behavioural and structural barriers to behaviour change the different actors face.\n\n### Are we less rational than we think – and even worse in a crisis?\n\nTraditional economic thinking has assumed that human beings are rational agents acting according to an analytical, cost\u002Fbenefit analysis. In his best-selling book, _Thinking, Fast and Slow_, Daniel Kahneman referred to this as slow “System 2” thinking. In contrast, System 1 thinking is fast and automatic, and more susceptible to environmental influences and biases than we think.\n\nHowever, policies and systems are often designed with only System 2 in mind. Furthermore, in situations where decision-makers act under a lot of pressure and stress – as is the cases in crises –  evidence shows that System 1 is most likely to take over when making decisions.\n\nThis has to be taken into account when designing interventions. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, interventions could support medical staff and policy makers by simplifying how information is displayed and framed. For instance, a [study](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bi.team\u002Fblogs\u002Fredesigning-hospital-prescription-charts-to-reduce-prescribing-errors\u002F) showed how changing how prescription instructions are framed can lead a significant reduction in prescription errors in UK’s National Health Service (NHS).\n\nIt seems likely that this finding can be generalised: by providing information at the right time and an easily accessible format and by simplifying decision-making, people working under a lot of stress are supported to take the right course of action.\n\n### Do crises amplify integrity issues? Or is “crisis” mode quite normal?\n\nThe pandemic has merely exacerbated the fact that health systems around the world are in a constant state of crisis, with regular shortages and understaffing. This generates different pressures on staff workers, with a direct link to integrity issues.\n\nOne issue relates to the political economy of a country. For instance, sanctioning health workers for corrupt behaviour if they enjoy political protection may lead to severe consequences – like job losses – for head of departments. An intervention that does not take this into account would do more harm than good.\n\nGendered norms and expectations also drive behaviour. In the case of absenteeism among Nigerian health workers mentioned above, for example, female nurses are often expected to juggle their shifts with family care and contribution to the household economy (e.g. farming).\n\nMerely changing rules or management without understanding people’s behaviour and the expectations they face in a complex system will not yield the expected results. As for political power, understanding how social and family networks are structured and operate is key to designing effective anti-corruption interventions.\n\n### Harnessing behavioural insights to drive change\n\nA solid [political economy analysis](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Ftechnical-assistance) will help build understanding among anti-corruption practitioners – but what should they do with that understanding? The next step is to understand how to use these insights into different networks to design more effective interventions. This is the idea behind another GI-ACE project led by the Basel Institute on [Harnessing Informality: Designing Anti-Corruption Network Interventions and Strategic Use of Legal Instruments](https:\u002F\u002Face.globalintegrity.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F09\u002FBC_ext_project.pdf).\n\nTo continue with the example of absenteeism among health workers, individuals who are negatively affected by this (more working hours, more pressure due to the added activities related to the Covid-19 responses) may be more likely to support an intervention to address the issue.\n\nSo, clearly identifying networks of allies with a reason to support a change in favour of integrity should be an essential step of any intervention.\n\n### How social norms affect behaviour – for better or for worse\n\nAnother interesting point raised during the session was how we all belong to different reference groups which form part of our identity. Social norms stem from these reference groups and influence our behaviours in different ways.\n\nWe follow descriptive norms because they relate to common behaviour, whereas we respect injunctive norms because we think that _others_ think these behaviours are socially appropriate. For example, assisting our family materially because we think that others perceive this as the right thing to do. \n\nThese last norms generate social pressure as we are scared by the social sanctions we would incur by violating them. Social norms become particularly salient during crises when, as mentioned above, System 1 thinking is likely to take over in stressful situations where actors need to make fast decisions under a lot of pressure.\n\nRather than changing social norms, perhaps the objective in the Covid-19 crisis and more generally should therefore be relieve individuals from the pressures generated by the norms.\n\nNorms of elites need careful consideration. Cases of decision-makers violating social distancing norms may make it permissible to violate health guidelines in the eyes of the public. However, research shows that trend-setters – i.e. people within groups leading by example by adopting virtuous behaviours associated with social norms (like respecting social distancing) – play an equally important role in changing undesirable behaviours associated with social norms. Revealing information about these virtuous behaviours within reference groups can incentivise others to change their own behaviour vis-à-vis a social norm.\n\nAnother option that requires careful consideration and handling – and a deep understanding of political economy, behaviours and norms – is for governments to publicly condemn corrupt behaviour using normative interventions, for example naming and shaming individuals who violated covid-19 regulations.\n\n### Can social norms be changed?\n\nSo: relieving individuals from the pressures generated by social norms is one avenue for intervention. Another common form of intervention aims to correct people’s incorrect perceptions of social norms. More drastically, perhaps some norms need to change in order to form the basis of a stronger, healthier and more resilient society. Is this possible?\n\nThe short answer that emerged at the session is yes. Three elements must be present:\n\n*   People need a reason to change.\n*   People must trust each other.\n*   A mechanism must be in place to let change occur (e.g. a civic space).\n\nThis implies that changing social norms to encourage integrity is a collective effort. It is also an immensely challenging one – but nonetheless essential if we wish to enhance integrity during crises as well as during “business as usual”.\n\n### Learn more\n\n*   Read more about our Public Governance team’s [research on social norms and related factors here](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Fresearch-projects).\n*   Learn more about the UK-funded Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) programme and its two components: [SOAS-ACE](https:\u002F\u002Face.soas.ac.uk\u002F) (led by SOAS University of London) and [GI-ACE](https:\u002F\u002Face.globalintegrity.org\u002F) (led by Global Integrity).\n*   Read a publication on the [London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)](LSHTM)  website by Dr Dina Balabanova (LSHTM), Professor Obinna Onwujekwe (University of Nigeria) and Dr Eric Umar (University of Malawi) on [Understanding and eliminating health sector corruption impeding UHC at district level in Nigeria and Malawi: institutions, individuals and incentives](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.lshtm.ac.uk\u002Fresearch\u002Fcentres-projects-groups\u002Funderstanding-and-eliminating-health-systems-corruption).\n*   Watch a [video recording of the session on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FffVS76k4qNg).","2021-04-14","how-to-enhance-integrity-during-crises-lessons-from-behavioural-science-2008","How to enhance integrity during crises: lessons from behavioural science","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F82be3e12-2443-4f36-b39b-0141a42f1473?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[131],7343,[39,40],[110,42,43,81,134],"Presentations",[136,138],{"tags_id":137},{"id":51,"name":52},{"tags_id":139},{"id":140,"name":141},1381,"Health",2008,[55],[110,42,43,81,134],[146],1196,[],[21],[],"2022-05-26T22:53:12.000Z","2026-05-07T21:29:42.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fhow-to-enhance-integrity-during-crises-lessons-from-behavioural-science-2008",{"id":155,"body":156,"status":6,"type":101,"date":157,"slug":158,"title":159,"image":160,"countries":161,"topic":164,"activity":165,"tags":166,"nid":173,"topics":174,"activities":175,"authors":176,"images":177,"websites":178,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":179,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":180,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":181,"content":182,"link":183},9826,"A new research project led by the Basel Institute's Public Governance team aims to help anti-corruption practitioners design more effective interventions by taking into account – and in fact leveraging – the informal relationships and social networks that underlie people's behaviour.\n\nEntitled \"Harnessing Informality: Designing Anti-Corruption Network Interventions and Strategic Use of Legal Instruments\", the project is part of a series of initiatives funded by the [GI-ACE partnership](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.globalintegrity.org\u002Face\u002F) between Global Integrity (GI) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The Public Governance team will be working closely with project partners [Lucy Koechlin](https:\u002F\u002Fethnologie.philhist.unibas.ch\u002Fen\u002Fpersons\u002Flucy-koechlin\u002F) from the University of Basel and [Scott Newton](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.soas.ac.uk\u002Fstaff\u002Fstaff31516.php) from SOAS University of London.\n\nThe importance of context, and of understand how informal networks can drive and normalise corrupt behaviour in a society, is now increasingly recognised within the anti-corruption community.\n\nUpdates and findings will be posted on the [informal governance site](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Fresearch-projects\u002Finformal-governance), adding to the findings and publications of a two-year research project between 2016–2018 by the Basel Institute, University College London and SOAS. The previous research, which forms a base for the new project, explored informality and its relationship with corruption and governance in seven countries in East Africa and Eurasia.\n\nWorking in Tanzania and Uganda, the team will test the hypothesis that the power of social networks can actually be harnessed to promote positive anti-corruption attitudes and incentives to act with integrity.\n\nThe research aims to contribute to enhanced [social accountability](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Ftechnical-assistance#2) interventions, [Collective Action initiatives](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fcollective-action) and public sector capacity building efforts. Initial outreach and fieldwork with local researchers in Uganda and Tanzania is already attracting the interest of local anti-corruption authorities, consistent with the researchers' aim to make the findings as relevant as possible to practitioners and decision makers.\n\nThe Basel Institute is also leading a separate project under GI-ACE, [Addressing bribery and favouritism in the Tanzanian health sector: a behavioural approach](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Fresearch-projects\u002Fcurrent-projects#1).","2019-07-24","harnessing-informality-to-promote-integrity-and-design-better-anti-corruption-programmes-new-research-project-965","Harnessing informality to promote integrity and design better anti-corruption programmes – new research project","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fc88a4a14-0476-48a7-8fdc-8af67410c5c5?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[162,163],7458,7459,[39,40],[42],[167,169],{"tags_id":168},{"id":51,"name":52},{"tags_id":170},{"id":171,"name":172},1309,"Informality",965,[55],[42],[],[],[21],[],"2022-05-26T22:56:14.000Z","2026-05-07T21:29:45.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fharnessing-informality-to-promote-integrity-and-design-better-anti-corruption-programmes-new-research-project-965",{"id":185,"body":186,"status":6,"type":101,"date":187,"slug":188,"title":189,"image":190,"countries":191,"topic":192,"activity":193,"tags":195,"nid":198,"topics":199,"activities":200,"authors":201,"images":202,"websites":203,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":204,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":205,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":120,"content":206,"link":207},9837,"Public governance experts and other practitioners are increasingly interested in the role of social norms and cultural codes in driving – or preventing – behaviour, including corrupt behaviour, and shaping the governance capacity of public and administrative bodies.\n\nThis was evident at a round table on 1 July 2019, organised by [CARE Netherlands](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.carenederland.org\u002F) and attended by Senior Research Fellow with the Basel Institute's Public Governance team, [Jacopo Costa](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fabout\u002Fpeople\u002Fjacopo-costa). The participants, including experts working across Africa, Asia and Latin America on topics including gender equality, the inclusion of women and children in society, violence against women and healthcare policies, are working with CARE Netherlands on the four-year [Every Voice Counts](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.carenederland.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F07\u002FEVC-Story-Field-Visit-CSC-Final-1.pdf) project. \n\nThe participants discussed how the implementation of concepts such as public governance, accountability, responsiveness, transparency and participatory democracy is shaped by the social norms that operate in different local contexts.\n\nJacopo Costa presented the findings of the Public Governance team's research on [corruption, social norms and behaviours in East Africa](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Fresearch-projects\u002Fcurrent-projects#3), as well as a follow-on project aimed at developing a [behavioural intervention to address bribery in the Tanzanian health sector](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance\u002Fresearch-projects\u002Fcurrent-projects#1).\n\nThe participants' interest in how social norms and networks can be harnessed to design more effective anti-corruption interventions echoes a growing recognition of the importance of understanding these informal mechanisms and the local contexts in which they operate.","2019-07-18","exploring-social-norms-and-corruption-at-care-netherlands-round-table-962","Exploring social norms and corruption at CARE Netherlands round table","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Ff494a8c6-341f-41d3-99f4-7bf931a44ae6?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[39,40],[42,134,194],"Partnerships",[196],{"tags_id":197},{"id":51,"name":52},962,[55],[42,134,194],[],[],[21],[],"2022-05-26T22:56:23.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fexploring-social-norms-and-corruption-at-care-netherlands-round-table-962",{"id":209,"body":210,"status":6,"type":101,"date":211,"slug":212,"title":213,"image":214,"countries":215,"topic":216,"activity":217,"tags":218,"nid":219,"topics":220,"activities":221,"authors":222,"images":223,"websites":224,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":225,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":226,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":151,"content":227,"link":228},9619,"Claudia Baez Camargo, the Basel Institute's Head of Public Governance, will showcase the results of her and her team's research under the UK's [East Africa Research Fund](https:\u002F\u002Feastafricaresearchfund.org\u002F) (EARF) at an end-of-programme event on 16-17 March 2021.\n\nThe research project, entitled “Corruption attitudes, social norms and behaviours in East Africa”, looked at how behavioural factors influence attitudes towards petty corruption in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.\n\n### Research highlights\n\nIn (very!) brief, the research illuminates:\n\n*   How social networks function as problem-solving resources for citizens.\n*   The importance of understanding how solidarity, reciprocity and a sense of moral obligation towards the group can impact a person's propensity to engage in petty corruption.\n*   The effect of common mental models, such as \"everybody is doing it\".\n\nInterestingly for anti-corruption policymakers, donors and programme managers, the research also revealed evidence of how incorporating behavioural insights into anti-corruption interventions can promote positive outcomes.\n\n### Innovation in anti-corruption\n\nThis EARF-funded project was one of the first research projects to deliver concrete evidence on behavioural drivers of corruption. The research findings have informed new research and practical approaches, and fuelled increasing interest in social norm approaches to anti-corruption programming.\n\nThe research has also helped to explain why many conventional anti-corruption approaches have limited effectiveness.\n\nClaudia is at the forefront of those calling for the anti-corruption community to shift the unit of analysis from individuals to social networks. This shift in perspective will boost much-needed innovation in anti-corruption research and practice.\n\n### Research team and final event\n\nClaudia thanks her colleagues in Basel involved in the project, Dr Saba Kassa and Cosimo Stahl, and her field-based research teams:\n\n*   Rwanda: Prof Tharcisse Gatwa and Dr Abel Dufitumukiza\n*   Tanzania: Dr Richard Sambaiga and Dr Egidius Kamanyi\n*   Uganda: Prof Paul Bukuluki and Robert Lugolobi\n\nClaudia will be speaking from 11:00–12:30 East Africa Time (EAT) on 16 March in the first session of the programme. See the [event agenda](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2021-03\u002FEARF%20agenda.pdf). Pre-registration is not needed.\n\n### Further reading\n\n*   Browse [recent publications of the Basel Institute’s Public Governance team,](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications?topic=5&type=All&country=All&language=All&title=&external=1) including those published under the EARF project.\n*   Learn more about the [Public Governance division](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublic-governance) and our research, training and technical assistance services.","2021-03-05","celebrating-success-corruption-attitudes-social-norms-and-behaviours-in-east-africa-1979","Celebrating success: Corruption attitudes, social norms and behaviours in East Africa","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F0536c2e5-bbbe-40ce-b478-fd1e11be1b28?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[39,40],[110,42,134],[],1979,[55],[110,42,134],[],[],[21],[],"2022-05-26T22:53:22.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fcelebrating-success-corruption-attitudes-social-norms-and-behaviours-in-east-africa-1979",{"id":230,"body":231,"status":6,"type":101,"date":232,"slug":233,"title":234,"image":235,"countries":236,"topic":237,"activity":238,"tags":239,"nid":240,"topics":241,"activities":242,"authors":243,"images":244,"websites":245,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":246,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":247,"user_updated":248,"date_updated":8,"content":249,"link":250},9780,"The Basel Institute is looking forward to seeing many of our partners in the fight against corruption at the [8th Session of the Conference of the States Parties](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unodc.org\u002Funodc\u002Fen\u002Fcorruption\u002FCOSP\u002Fsession8.html) to the UNCAC (COSP) in Abu Dhabi from 16–20 December.\n\nIf you're at CoSP, here are some events for your calendar:\n\n*   Friday 20 December, 9am-10am: Our International Centre for Asset Recovery is hosting a side event on [Living up to the spirit of articles 43 and 46 UNCAC](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Fcosp-side-event-living-spirit-articles-43-and-46-uncac). The panel, organised by the Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) and chaired by Oscar Solórzano, will explore how principles of Articles 43 (international cooperation) and 46 (mutual legal assistance) of the UNCAC can provide answers to countries that are victims of corruption and seeking to recover assets through non-conviction-based confiscation. See [full details and the concept note here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fnews\u002Fcosp-side-event-living-spirit-articles-43-and-46-uncac).\n*   Tuesday 17 December, 9am-10am: Our Managing Director Gretta Fenner will be a discussant in the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) Day – Opening & High-Level Conversation on Asset Recovery: achievements, challenges and the road ahead.\n*   Thursday, 19 December, 5pm-6pm: Gretta Fenner is a panellist in a side event on \"Utilization of recovered asset for the realisation of SDG 16.4\".\n\nAll three events are in conference room CR1.\n\nCome and visit us at the booth to speak to our delegation and pick up some of our latest publications. Or – if you're not attending – you can download them here:\n\nVirtual booth – free publications on anti-corruption and governance\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n*   [Annual Report 2018](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fannual-report-2018)\n\n### Digital tools - flyers\n\n*   [Basel AML Index](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-12\u002Fbasel_aml_index_flyer.pdf)\n*   [Basel Open Intelligence](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-12\u002Fboi_flyer.pdf)\n*   [eLearning courses](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-12\u002Felearning_flyer.pdf)\n*   [Corruption prevention training](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-12\u002F191106_flyer-digital-tools_08_all_4-training.pdf)\n\n### Research \n\n*   [Hidden agendas, social norms and why we need to re-think anti-corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-22-hidden-agendas-social-norms-and-why-we-need-re-think-anti-corruption)\n*   [Can a behavioural approach help fight corruption?](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fpolicy-brief-1-can-behavioural-approach-help-fight-corruption)\n*   [Harnessing the power of communities against corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fharnessing-power-communities-against-corruption) (U4 brief)\n*   [Addressing bribery in the Tanzanian health sector](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-12\u002Fgi-ace_1.pdf) - a behavioural approach (GI-ACE project description) \n*   [Harnessing informality:](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-12\u002Fgi-ace_2.pdf) designing anti-corruption network interventions and strategic use of legal instruments (GI-ACE project description)\n\n### Asset recovery and anti-money laundering\n\n*   [Recovering assets in support of the SDGs – from soft to hard assets for development](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-29-recovering-assets-support-sdgs-soft-hard-assets-development)\n*   [It takes two to tango. Decision-making processes on asset return](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-24-it-takes-two-tango-decision-making-processes-asset-return)\n*   [Tracing illegal assets - a practitioners' guide](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Ftracing-illegal-assets-practitioners-guide) (available in English, Spanish, Ukrainian and Bulgarian)\n*   [Regulating cryptocurrencies: challenges and considerations](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-28-regulating-cryptocurrencies-challenges-and-considerations)\n*   [ICAR training programmes](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002F2019-02\u002FICAR_Training_Programmes_2017.pdf) (brochure)\n\n### Collective Action and compliance\n\n*   [High Level Reporting Mechanisms: A comparative analysis](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-25-high-level-reporting-mechanisms-comparative-analysis)\n*   [Anti-Corruption Collective Action: Success factors, sustainability and strategies](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-27-anti-corruption-collective-action-success-factors-sustainability-and)\n*   [New perspectives in e-government and the prevention of corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-23-new-perspectives-e-government-and-prevention-corruption)\n\n### Illegal wildlife trade\n\n*   [Corruption and wildlife trafficking](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fworking-paper-30-corruption-and-wildlife-trafficking-exploring-drivers-facilitators): exploring drivers, facilitators and networks behind illegal wildlife trade in East Africa\n\n### Quick guides\n\n*   [Cryptocurrencies and money laundering](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Ffederico-paesanos-quick-guide-cryptocurrencies-and-money-laundering)\n*   [Intelligence](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fmanuel-medinas-quick-guide-intelligence)\n*   [Integrity and anti-corruption compliance for SMEs](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fgemma-aiolfis-quick-guide-integrity-and-anti-corruption-compliance-smes)\n*   [Social network analysis in combating organised crime and trafficking](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fjacopo-costas-quick-guide-social-network-analysis-combating-organised-crime-and-trafficking)\n*   [Illicit enrichment](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fandrew-dornbierers-quick-guide-illicit-enrichment)\n*   [Social norms and corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fclaudia-baez-camargos-quick-guide-social-norms-and-corruption)\n*   [Effective training on financial investigations](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fphyllis-atkinsons-quick-guide-effective-training-financial-investigations)\n*   [The role of FIUs in asset recovery](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fthierry-ravalomandas-quick-guide-role-fius-asset-recovery)\n*   [eLearning for asset tracing and financial analysis](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fpeter-huppertzs-quick-guide-elearning-asset-tracing-and-financial-analysis)\n*   [International cooperation in asset recovery](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fshane-nainappans-quick-guide-international-cooperation-asset-recovery)\n*   [Drivers and facilitators of wildlife trafficking](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fsaba-kassas-quick-guide-drivers-and-facilitators-wildlife-trafficking)\n*   [The role of business in tackling illegal wildlife trade](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fscarlet-wannenwetschs-quick-guide-role-business-tackling-illegal-wildlife-trade)\n*   [Financial crime in illegal wildlife trade](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fgretta-fenners-quick-guide-financial-crime-illegal-wildlife-trade)\n*   [Fundamental skills in tracing assets](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.baselgovernance.org\u002Fblog\u002Fphill-joness-quick-guide-fundamental-skills-tracing-assets)","2019-12-16","visit-us-at-the-conference-of-the-states-parties-in-abu-dhabi-1033","Visit us at the Conference of the States Parties in Abu Dhabi","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fc59a836e-d631-43c5-a572-377f5bffce37?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[10],[110],[],1033,[],[110],[],[],[21],[],"2022-05-26T22:55:35.000Z","b0662e2a-864d-4888-a1b7-4342b7570b30",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fvisit-us-at-the-conference-of-the-states-parties-in-abu-dhabi-1033",{"id":252,"body":253,"status":6,"type":32,"date":254,"slug":255,"title":256,"image":257,"countries":258,"topic":259,"activity":260,"tags":261,"nid":264,"topics":265,"activities":266,"authors":267,"images":269,"websites":270,"area":19,"programme":19,"language":19,"translations":271,"translation_of":19,"user_created":63,"date_created":272,"user_updated":65,"date_updated":273,"content":274,"link":275},10458,"_A [new paper](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.annualreviews.org\u002Fcontent\u002Fjournals\u002F10.1146\u002Fannurev-polisci-051120-095535) published in the Annual Review of Political Science explores how we can improve anti-corruption efforts using a “new arrow in the quiver”: the social norms approach. Claudia Baez Camargo, Head of Prevention, Research and Innovation and a co-author of the paper, explains why the social norms approach is crucial for anti-corruption efforts, and shares some of the paper’s main messages for practitioners and researchers. The full paper, “Corruption and social norms: a new arrow in the quiver” is available at [Annual Reviews](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.annualreviews.org\u002Fcontent\u002Fjournals\u002F10.1146\u002Fannurev-polisci-051120-095535)._\n\nWe have, by now, understood that it is impossible to legislate corruption away. Most countries in the world have adequate legal and institutional frameworks in place to counter corruption. They have also adopted measures such as tougher penalties for corruption offences and stronger administrative controls, and created dedicated anti-corruption agencies. And yet, corruption persists.\n\nScholars have identified this as an “implementation gap”, highlighting the difficulties in enforcing existing laws and policies to counter corruption. Even targeted anti-corruption interventions are often not effective enough – a significant body of research has shown that many fail to have the expected effect, or produce results that fade soon after the intervention ends. \n\nWhy does this gap exist, and how can we do better? There are several important considerations:\n\n### Don’t blame the bad apple\n\nCorruption is very rarely the result of individual “bad apples” abusing power. Rather, [evidence](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Finformal-networks-investment-qualitative-analysis-uganda-and-tanzania) suggests that corruption is a highly networked phenomenon involving groups whose collective actions enable the emergence of or entrench a corrupt system. \n\nResearch has shown that people behave differently when they are acting as part of a group than when they are acting individually. This can happen, for example, when peer pressure to conform to group behaviour undermines the effect of any legal provision prohibiting the behaviour in question.\n\nAnd yet, most conventional anti-corruption approaches target the behaviour and incentives of individuals.\n\n### The illusion of the Homus Economicus\n\nBehavioural science research has shown that we are not always the rational decision-makers whose behaviour underpins the assumptions of classical economic theory. Humans do not always (or even usually) follow a traditional cost-benefit analysis in their decision making. Instead, we often operate according to social norms, with collectively held beliefs and the desire for social belonging producing behaviour that defies rational thinking.\n\nThis behaviour may therefore contradict anti-corruption incentives or formal legal prescriptions, and can leave practitioners frustrated with lacklustre results.\n\n### Social-norms tinted glasses\n\nIn response to these considerations, scholars and practitioners are increasingly seeing the importance of analysing corruption in the social context in which it exists, identifying its drivers (the why) and enablers (the how), and the relationship between these factors.\n\nThis “social norms approach” can enhance our understanding of corruption and, therefore, the design of anti-corruption reforms by taking into account:\n\n*   the context-specific practices that affect corruption and anti-corruption outcomes in different regions and settings;\n*   the informal social networks that bind actors together:\n*   the self-reinforcing “glue” of common understandings, mutual expectations and accepted behaviours;\n*   the stubbornness of these social practices.\n\n### Ask better questions, get better answers \n\nBy asking the right questions, we can produce tangible results to make anti-corruption interventions more effective and sustainable.\n\nIn the paper we ask and answer the following questions:\n\n*   What are the complexities and gaps in the definition of corruption and the shortcomings of leading theories of corruption?\n*   How do social norms influence corrupt behaviour?\n*   How can social norms be factored into anti-corruption policy and programming?\n*   How can research be incorporated more efficiently and effectively on the ground?\n\nAny response to corruption has to reflect its multi-faceted and intrinsically human (i.e. messy) nature. Applying a social norms lens is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and corruption does not always fit into neat bureaucratic or legal categories. Citizens will often differ in their understanding of what constitutes corruption. An in-depth analysis of the specific social context in which the corruption takes place is always a necessary first step.\n\nWe should develop practical methodological approaches so that anti-corruption agencies can more easily identify specific social norms driving a corrupt practice. And we need more empirical investigation of the interaction between the various factors, including social norms, historical norms, the political system, the institutional system and individual factors such as gender, age, income and personality traits, that influence an individual’s choice to engage in a corrupt act.","2024-07-16","a-new-arrow-in-the-quiver-making-anti-corruption-reform-more-effective-and-sustainable-2655","A new arrow in the quiver: making anti-corruption reform more effective and sustainable","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Faa99bafa-fc1c-43da-aef4-8b7fe6f2c319?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[39,40],[43,81],[262],{"tags_id":263},{"id":51,"name":52},2655,[55],[43,81],[268],1108,[],[21],[],"2024-07-16T16:01:39.000Z","2026-05-07T21:29:55.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fa-new-arrow-in-the-quiver-making-anti-corruption-reform-more-effective-and-sustainable-2655",{"left":277,"top":277,"width":278,"height":278,"rotate":277,"vFlip":279,"hFlip":279,"body":280},0,20,false,"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M17 10a.75.75 0 0 1-.75.75H5.612l4.158 3.96a.75.75 0 1 1-1.04 1.08l-5.5-5.25a.75.75 0 0 1 0-1.08l5.5-5.25a.75.75 0 1 1 1.04 1.08L5.612 9.25H16.25A.75.75 0 0 1 17 10\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\u002F>",1780676418906]