Behaviour change interventions aimed at reducing the social acceptability of wildlife trafficking are an important part of efforts to prevent wildlife crime. This policy brief summarises lessons learned about how to develop and frame effective messages in the context of these interventions, based on field work conducted in Uganda.
The following summary reflects key messages emerging from the Harnessing the intangible: enhancing integrity during crises Knowledge Partner session on 25 March 2021 at the 2021 OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum.
A new policy brief published as part of our Institute-wide Green Corruption programme offers a fresh perspective for practitioners and policymakers seeking to curb wildlife trafficking in Uganda. It emphasises context-sensitive interventions that are based on understanding the behaviours of individuals and social networks.
The enormity of the situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic invites – or rather forces – us to reflect on the nature and effectiveness of our systems of governance. And not just of health systems, but more broadly the governance of our very complex societies and their transnational flows.
I start with some definitions, as the term governance is itself broad and contested.
In its new report on Breaking the Silence around Sextortion, Transparency International references our work on the recent evolvement of the anti-corruption field towards “documenting and recognising non-monetary forms of corruption”.
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.
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.
Corruption is pervasive in Sub-Saharan Africa’s educational sector. The phenomenon includes not only bribery but also practices that the World Bank has labeled "quiet corruption." While anti-corruption interventions tackling such practices are typically based on assumptions of rational decision-making from classical economics, Cosimo analyses petty corruption practices through a behavioural lens.
Publication
Corruption, social norms and behaviours: a comparative assessment of Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda
The UK Department for International Development (DFID), through its East Africa Research Fund (EARF), commissioned the Basel Institute on Governance to conduct the research project “Corruption, Social Norms and Behaviours in East Africa” aiming at shedding light into those “[behavioural] factors that influence the propensity for poor people to engage in, resist and report ‘corrupt transactions’” in three East African countries, namely, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID), through its East Africa Research Fund (EARF), commissioned the Basel Institute on Governance to conduct the research project “Corruption, Social Norms and Behaviours in East Africa” aiming at shedding light into those “[behavioural] factors that influence the propensity for poor people to engage in, resist and report ‘corrupt transactions’” in three East African countries, namely, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.