Accountability in Malawi: local actors in the driving seat
How experience from the Malawi Anti-Corruption Civil Society Support project showed that stronger accountability grows from local leadership, trust and learning by doing.
Impact highlights
- Building stronger accountability networks: Civil society groups, journalists and accountability actors are collaborating more closely, pooling evidence and building coalitions rather than competing for influence.
- Putting local partners in the lead: Through the Accountability Working Group, partners identify priorities, shape interventions and adapt strategies to changing realities on the ground.
- Influencing national debate: Civil society organisations supported through the programme pushed priority corruption issues onto the agenda of Malawi’s 2025 Presidential Debate.
The situation
Many anti-corruption and accountability programmes assume that training, funding and technical tools will be enough to strengthen civil society and drive reform.
Yet in many countries – including Malawi, where the programme was implemented – corruption is deeply embedded in political systems and social norms. Citizens and organisations working to strengthen accountability face limited resources, shifting political realities and shrinking civic space. Technical solutions alone are rarely enough to sustain change.
What we did
Through the Malawi Anti-Corruption Civil Society Support (MACCSS) project, implemented jointly with Adam Smith International, the Basel Institute worked with civil society, media and private-sector partners to strengthen accountability and anti-corruption efforts.
The programme moved away from predefined solutions towards a more adaptive approach centred on local ownership and learning by doing.
At its core was an Accountability Working Group that created space for peer learning, relationship building and experimentation. Partners analysed power dynamics, tested new approaches and refined strategies as contexts changed.
We also supported partners to design interventions targeting the behaviours and social norms that sustain corruption. With the Malawi Health Equity Network, for example, this included work to tackle bribery in health facilities by understanding and shifting intentions and beliefs.
The impact
The changes emerging through MACCSS are practical as well as institutional.
Civil society organisations are collaborating more closely across sectors and geographies. Journalists and activists are pooling evidence. Civil servants are engaging more constructively on transparency and accountability issues.
The programme also helped strengthen the collective voice of accountability actors. Through the Accountability Working Group, partners pushed corruption priorities onto the agenda of Malawi’s 2025 Presidential Debate.
Wider context
The Malawi experience is helping shape broader thinking on how accountability programmes can become more effective and locally owned.
In a joint publication with Adam Smith International, the Basel Institute programme lead drew lessons from MACCSS to show why anti-corruption efforts need more than technical fixes alone. Lasting progress depends on trust, adaptive approaches and local stakeholders driving priorities and solutions.
The long-term goal extends beyond individual projects: building capable, connected networks that can sustain accountability efforts even with decreasing external support.