Publications

Partnership for Transparency Strategy – 2023 to 2026

Washington, DC-based Partnership for Transparency (PTF) launched its 2023 to 2026 strategy to strengthen support for civil society organizations as they lead the fight to counter corruption in their countries.

The new strategy defines PTF’s mission to support innovative civil society organization-led and related approaches to reduce corruption, increase transparency, strengthen governance, and enhance accountability in low- and middle-income economies and widely share knowledge gleaned through its work.

Tags: Anti-Corruption, Civil Society Capacity Building

February 1, 2023

Enhancing Citizen-Driven Delivery and Accountability in IDA Operations

Many CSOs from around the world, while supporting the largest ever replenishment – $93 billion for the IDA 20 cycle (July 2022-June 2025) –called for International Development Association (IDA) to establish a civil society organization (CSO) window for funding independent monitoring by local CSOs during the IDA funded project liefecycle to enhance acountability and results. While a CSO window was not established under IDA 20, IDA Team has engaged in continuing discussions, and this study has been prepared to inform continued advocacy on this matter by PTF and other likeminded CSOs.

Tags: Anti-Corruption, Civil Society Capacity Building, IDA, World Bank

December 21, 2022

Civil Society Monitoring in the Health Sector

Hundreds of millions of people have to pay bribes when using public services. This situation has not
improved for more than a decade. There is a strong case for rethinking the current anti-corruption
approaches in which funding for anti-corruption and good governance programs is overwhelmingly
allocated to government efforts (supply side) with relatively little given to non-state actors (demand side).
Increasingly evidence has shown that civil society can make a meaningful difference in the furtherance of
anti-corruption aims.

Tags: Anti-Corruption, Civil Society Capacity Building, Social Accountability

October 27, 2022

PTF Call for a Supranational Initiative for Corruption-Free Delivery of Services to the World’s Most Vulnerable

Hundreds of millions of people have to pay bribes when using public services. This situation has not
improved for more than a decade. There is a strong case for rethinking the current anti-corruption
approaches in which funding for anti-corruption and good governance programs is overwhelmingly
allocated to government efforts (supply side) with relatively little given to non-state actors (demand side).
Increasingly evidence has grown that civil society can make a meaningful difference in the furtherance of
anti-corruption aims.

Tags: Social Accountability

April 29, 2022

Guide for Monitoring Public Procurement: A Tool for Civil Society

Hundreds of millions of people have to pay bribes when using public services. This situation has not
improved for more than a decade. There is a strong case for rethinking the current anti-corruption
approaches in which funding for anti-corruption and good governance programs is overwhelmingly
allocated to government efforts (supply side) with relatively little given to non-state actors (demand side).
Increasingly evidence has grown that civil society can make a meaningful difference in the furtherance of
anti-corruption aims.

Tags: Anti-Corruption, Civil Society Capacity Building, Social Accountability

April 15, 2022

Compliance Toolkit for Start-ups in India

In India, start-up businesses constitute a significant and active share of the economy. While development and growth are to be encouraged, they must also be regulated. The acceleration and expansion of start-ups are often hampered by internal and external challenges, including the lack of compliance with government regulations. This can be caused by lack of information among business owners, speed of scale-up, or other factors. However, in the face of this challenge, the Partnership for Transparency Indian (PTFI) has partnered with Alliance for Integrity and MSME Inno to develop a Compliance Toolkit for Start-ups.

Tags: Social Accountability

October 18, 2021

Engaging Civil Society Organizations to Enhance the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Response

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) contracted the Partnership for Transparency to write a governance brief titled “Engaging Civil Society Organizations to Enhance the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Response Programs in Asia and the Pacific.” The brief, authored by Vinay Bhargava, PTF’s chief technical adviser, was published by the ADB in March 2021. Throughout the brief, Bhargava explains how civil society organizations (CSOs) can take on a more active role to complement government efforts to respond to COVID-19, particularly addressing not only the health crisis, but the social, and economic ramifications as well. The brief suggests a framework across six programmatic areas for formulating country-specific programs to facilitate the expansion of CSO engagement in pandemic response at the local government level.

Tags: Social Accountability

April 26, 2021

Grassroots Governance Project: Final Report

The Expanded Grassroots Governance project is a development or offshoot of an earlier project implemented by
Bantay.ph in two pilot areas: Norzagaray, Bulacan and Bago City (Negros Occidental) in 2015- 2016. The external evaluation of the project concluded that Bantay.ph was able to develop the Grassroots Governance initiative into an effective and replicable model of citizen participation in their local community. The final report reviews the project’s successes and summarizes key findings.

Tags: Social Accountability

February 3, 2021

The PEACE Project: Promoting Equitable and Accountable Civil Engagement in Myanmar

This report reviews social accountability work of 19 CSOs working in many VDCs (Village Development Committees) in 25 very different Municipalities and Districts of Nepal, using 15 different kinds of social accountability mechanisms in three themes. The report is intended to stimulate thought about how social accountability works in practice and how the demonstration work of PRAN can be replicated and expanded to achieve the overall impact desired.

Tags: Social Accountability

July 30, 2020

International Encyclopedia of Civil Society: Advocacy

Civil society advocacy includes influencing decision-makers, media outreach, citizen education, and various forms of civic engagement. It has grown strongly in recent decades, not least because of the increasingly multifaceted nature of politics in today’s cosmopolitan world, which makes it difficult for a small number of political parties to adequately represent the diverse concerns of citizens. This pattern contributes to a clear shift from representative to participatory democracy – with a profusion of cause-focused pressure groups and the relative decline in membership of, and respect for, political parties in most democracies. The civil society organizations (CSOs) and networks that result have a variety of forms, largely reflecting the degree of formality of their alliances…

June 1, 2020

Improving Transparency and Effectiveness of Public Procurement in Ukraine through Cooperation with Civil Society

This report reviews social accountability work of 19 CSOs working in many VDCs (Village Development Committees) in 25 very different Municipalities and Districts of Nepal, using 15 different kinds of social accountability mechanisms in three themes. The report is intended to stimulate thought about how social accountability works in practice and how the demonstration work of PRAN can be replicated and expanded to achieve the overall impact desired.

Tags: Ukraine e-Procurement

April 7, 2020

How is Social Accountability received in countries of East Africa where corruption is the norm?

This report reviews social accountability work of 19 CSOs working in many VDCs (Village Development Committees) in 25 very different Municipalities and Districts of Nepal, using 15 different kinds of social accountability mechanisms in three themes. The report is intended to stimulate thought about how social accountability works in practice and how the demonstration work of PRAN can be replicated and expanded to achieve the overall impact desired.

Tags: Social Accountability

July 29, 2019

Expanding Civil Society Contributions to the Governance Agendas of Sustainable Development Goals and International Financial Institutions

Expanding Civil Society Contributions to the Governance Agendas of Sustainable Development Goals and International Financial Institutions is a resource to understand the potential contribution of civil society and provide recommendations for how it can be realized. The report examines the various roles CSOs play in improving government transparency, accountability and inclusiveness and controlling corruption, reviewing the evidence on what works and what does not. It presents analysis and evidence-driven recommendations to accelerate progress.

June 26, 2019

Social Accountability in Action: Illustrations of PRAN’s work in Nepal (2009-2012)

This report reviews social accountability work of 19 CSOs working in many VDCs (Village Development Committees) in 25 very different Municipalities and Districts of Nepal, using 15 different kinds of social accountability mechanisms in three themes. The report is intended to stimulate thought about how social accountability works in practice and how the demonstration work of PRAN can be replicated and expanded to achieve the overall impact desired.

Tags: Social Accountability

February 11, 2019

Project i-Pantawid eFDS Training Materials

Guarding the Integrity of the Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCT) for the Philippines (i-Pantawid) aims to develop a model for civil society—government partnership for transparent and accountable implementation of the Patanwid Pamiliyang Pilipino Program.

Tags: i-Pantawid

January 2, 2019

Citizens Against Corruption: Report from the Frontline

Over the last dozen years The Partnership for Transparency Fund has supported with money and expert advice more than 250 projects across the developing world to reduce corruption. Now, in a brand new book, Landell-Mills reviews the record: he highlights the civil society organizations that are making a real difference to secure basic human and civil rights for tens of thousands of poor people; he describes fascinating projects in Asia, Africa, Latin America and in Central & eastern Europe; and, he brings to the fore the key lessons that all engaged in the fight against corruption need to use to advance their work.

July 30, 2018

E-Procurement Monitoring in Ukraine

Transparency is necessary, but not sufficient, to protect citizens and business from the consequences of corruption. Open data must be put to use by an informed and organized civil society and citizenry to expose corruption and create lasting change. Partnership for Transparency, supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has partnered with the …

January 17, 2018

Citizen Voices Key to Sustainable Healthcare Reform

The Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) concentrates its work in the healthcare sector of developing countries in two related areas: citizen monitoring and engagement. The projects PTF supports, led and implemented by local civil society organizations (CSOs), aim to improve the lives of poor people whose healthcare services are characterized by inefficiency …

May 17, 2017

Citizen Action Platform Program Impact Report

Over the past 15 years, the Partnership for Transparency Fund has gained significant experience on what works, and what does not, in citizens’ efforts to fight corruption and improve the delivery of government services. Our most promising successes have been at the local level.  As we set out to apply the lessons of this success to impact systemic corruption at the national level, it …

Tags: CAP

March 17, 2017

Civil Society & Development: Global Trends, Implications and Recommendations for Stakeholders in the 2030 Agenda

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits all 193 UN Member States to achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through collective efforts between governments, the private sector and civil society. The 2030 Declaration specifies roles and responsibilities for civil society to play but is ambiguous on how partnership structures would be forged at the national level. A team of PTF experts have analyzed several global trends concerning civil society’s role in development and their implications for various stakeholders to build a better understanding of modalities for CSO engagement.

October 30, 2016

Implementing a Monitoring Program to Help Improve Integrity of Procurement and Delivery of Medicines in the Department of Health

The National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), a local CSO in the Philippines, carried out the “Medicine Monitoring Project” (MMP) in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH). The project first started in 2004 and received funding from PTF in two phases during 2008/2009 and 2010/2011. The first phase served to test the feasibility of the approach, which was then – after successful completion – scaled up in a second phase. The program was completed in 2012.

September 9, 2016

Strengthening Local Mechanisms for Effective Civil Society Organizations’ Participation in Procurement Processes

The Government Procurement Reform Law (R.A. 9184) passed in 2003 sought to improve the process of government procurement by requiring measures to make it open, competitive, and transparent. One measure for improving transparency and accountability was the requirement to have observers from the private sector and civil society present at BAC proceedings. The Evelio B. Javier Foundation, Inc. (EBJFI) was one of the organizations that sought to prepare the participation of such observers by conducting orientations and trainings. However, EBJFI discovered that despite the increase in the number of trained observers, a problem in the commitment of CSOs and private sector groups to observe and monitor the operations of BACs was recurrent. This led EBJFI to initiate the building of a partnership between government and civil society to institutionalize the CSO BAC observers in the provinces of Davao del Sur and Cebu, in an activity referred to as the Interface. The Interface led to the formation of the Davao Procurement Transparency Core Group and the Cebu Bids and Awards Committee Observers Steering Committee that would lead the institutionalization of the observers’ groups in their respective areas of operation. The project on strengthening these local mechanisms, funded by a PTF grant in 2009, was the direct offshoot of that previous effort.

Participatory Monitoring for Barangay Infrastructure and Health Projects in the Province of Isabela

Isabela is the second largest province in the Philippines. In 2008, the then provincial governor, Grace Padaca, implemented a policy that monitored and evaluated the province’s Ugnayang Bayan (farm-to-market roads) project through its Special Project Office (SPO). The governor, however, wanted a closer monitoring of these projects as well as the procurement of medicines and medical supplies for the public hospitals in the province. INCITEGov proposed to create for the provincial government a participatory monitoring system that would be able to oversee the use of these funds. It received a grant from PTF to undertake such a project in 2008.

Monitoring Uses and Abuses of Government Vehicles

The 2003 Government Procurement Reform Law sought to reform government procurement procedures in order to eliminate or minimize procurement-related corruption by mandating a more transparent process. This includes the presence of third party observers in the activities of the Bids and Awards Committees that approves these procurements. Millions and even billions of pesos of local government funds are allegedly lost due to corruption in the procurement and use of vehicles. In 2006, the Environmental Cooperation and Linkages Inc. (ECOLINK) was granted funds by PTF to look into corruption and waste associated with government vehicles use in the City of Oroquieta. Upon completion of the project in 2007, PTF granted more funds to Ecolink to scale up the project to cover two more cities in Mindanao, with the latter project activities taking place in 2008.

Helping Department of Education Improve Procurement and Distribution of Textbooks

G-Watch is a program of the Ateneo School of Government (ASG), organically a unit of the Ateneo de Manila University. In 2001 and 2002, G-Watch conducted a study of 32 school districts. The study found many problems such as: about 40% of the textbooks procured could not be accounted for; the scheduling of deliveries was plagued by problems as there were no clear guidelines on when to deliver and where; the principals were not notified about the deliveries of the books; and there were no penalties for late delivery.

The Conditional Cash Transfer Program Watch Project

The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT or 4Ps) Program is at the centre of the Government’s effort to reduce the incidence of extreme poverty in line with its commitment to meet the poverty reduction target set by the Millennium Declaration of 2000. The CCT, also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Project (4Ps), involves the giving of money to extremely poor families with school-aged children provided those families agree to undertake education and healthcare measures specified by the program (the conditionalities). In this way, the program is said to be not a subsidy but an investment in the children’s future. Each beneficiary family receives P500 per month as “health” subsidy plus P300 for every school-aged child up to a maximum of three. Beneficiaries may participate in the program for a maximum of five years. Following the example of other developing countries, the Philippine government initiated the CCT in 2007 and launched it in 2008 with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as the agency responsible for its implementation and management. The CCT Watch project was organized in April 2011 with funding from PTF for a year to monitor the program’s implementation in the Province of Abra.

Monitoring Road Construction in Abra Province, Philippines

Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG), a local CSO, set out to strengthen and enhance the transparency and ethical standards within the agencies involved in the water and irrigation systems sector in the Abra province. Key objectives of the “Abra Water and Irrigation Systems (AWIS) Watch Project” included improving public awareness on the extent of corruption affecting the water and irrigation system projects in the province and enhancing the capacities of CSOs, beneficiaries and communities in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating water and irrigation system projects. The community involvement resulted in successful monitoring activities such as the account portrayed in this case study, where CCAGG’s involvement has resulted in government action to hold service providers accountable and provide better services to the citizens living and working in Abra.

Lessons from the CARTA Program in Bangladesh and Nepal

Recent years have witnessed concerns about issues of government effectiveness and accountability, particularly in the delivery of public services. Citizen engagement is increasingly recognized as a method to help improve development program effectiveness. This report reviews the unique initiative to enhance World Bank projects by promoting CSO engagement to demand better governance and offer recommendations for future accountability programming.

February 11, 2020

Lessons from the CARTA Program in Bangladesh and Nepal

Recent years have witnessed concerns about issues of government effectiveness and accountability, particularly in the delivery of public services. Citizen engagement is increasingly recognized as a method to help improve development program effectiveness. This report reviews the unique initiative to enhance World Bank projects by promoting CSO engagement to demand better governance and offer recommendations for future accountability programming.

November 30, 2015

Citizen Action for Results, Transparency and Accountability (CARTA) Independent Assessment Report

The Citizen Action for Results, Transparency and Accountability (CARTA) Program was funded by a US$1.9 million grant from the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF). The grant was managed by the World Bank. CARTA started in mid-2011 and will be completed by November 30, 2015 after it was extended by more than one year. The World Bank chose the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) to implement the CARTA Program. The CARTA Program objective was “to enhance the development impact …

November 17, 2015

Open Government Partnership (OGP) and Sustainable Development Goal Number 16 (SDG#16): Similarities and Differences

This paper is a modest contribution to a main focus of the upcoming 2015 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit: How principles of open government can support compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Post-2015 Agenda. The specific question we address within this broader context is “What lessons do the OGP processes and results offer for development and implementation of national strategies and actions plans for achieving the proposed governance Sustainable Development Goal Number 16 (SDG #16)?

October 9, 2015

Citizen Engagement and Social Accountability Approaches in Enhancing Integrity of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs

Conditional cash transfer programs (CCTPs) are widely used in the world and are proving effective in generating proven poverty alleviation impacts. However, CCTP achievements are undermined by fraud, errors, and corruption. These integrity risks and international experiences in managing them by using both state and civil society-led efforts have been analyzed in a paper prepared by PTF as part of Guarding the Integrity of the Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCTP) in the Philippines, implemented by the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG) and funded by the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA).

September 30, 2015

Women’s Involvement in Grassroots Anti Corruption Activities

The effects of corruption have different, and often disproportionate, impacts on women due to prevailing social and cultural norms that deny political, social and legal gender equality. Poor women in developing countries are especially affected by corruption due to, among other factors, household responsibilities, lack of control over household resources, and socio …

September 17, 2015

Engaging Citizens in Health Service Delivery: A Literature Review

This report summarizes the current findings on citizen engagement instruments and examines whether these interventions have contributed to enhanced health practices and ultimately on improved health outcomes. The publication was produced by PTF Adviser, Judith Edstrom, under USAID’s Leadership, Management, and Governance Project, a USAID-funded program to collaborate with health leaders and policy makers being Implemented by a consortium led by Management Sciences for Health (MSH).

August 10, 2015

Regional Anti-Corruption Action: Supporting the Judiciary in Combating Corruption in the Western Balkans

This pilot project of the Barry Metzger Rule of Law Initiative established a regional network of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and laid the foundation for a long-term initiative to support countries to strengthen the rule of law through judicial reform.

July 9, 2015

Monitoring Procurement, Delivery, and Dispatch of Medicines in the Philippines

The National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), a local CSO in the Philippines, carried out the “Medicine Monitoring Project” (MMP) in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH). The project first started in 2004 and received funding from PTF in two phases during 2008/2009 and 2010/2011. The first phase served to test the feasibility of the approach which was then – after successful completion – scaled up in a second phase. The project focused on establishing citizen monitoring to control corruption in the delivery of health services, working with hospitals and Centers for Health Development (CHDs) to establish a more transparent and efficient system of procuring and stocking medicines. The project aimed to engage and encourage communities to monitor the delivery of health services and to institutionalize third party monitoring.

May 9, 2015

Curbing Corruption in Forestry Management through the Strengthening of Community Forest User Groups in Nepal

Forest Action, a local Nepalese CSO, has successfully engaged communities to tackle the problem of willful mismanagement of forest resources in the Morang District in Nepal. Through its targeted intervention, balancing constructive engagement, awareness raising and capacity building of citizens and community members to meaningfully participate in the management of forestry resources, Forest Action has laid a strong basis to curb corruption in the long run and enable communities to demand transparency, inclusion and accountability from service providers and government authorities regulating the forestry sector

Improving Public Health Service Delivery: Citizen Monitoring in Nepal

Poor service delivery or no service delivery at all in the area of public health have led a local CSO, SAMUHIK ABHIYAN (SA), to increase citizen awareness and participation in one municipality and two Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the Nuwakot District in Nepal. SA conducted surveys, mobilized the community and installed Corruption Monitoring Committees (CMCs) to increase transparency and hold authorities accountable. Through its actions, SA has successfully implemented the “Combating Corruption through Citizen Participation” project and is currently building on that success conducting a second phase with the objective to further institutionalize citizen oversight, ensuring that the existing government policies and regulations are implemented effectively.

Advocating for Conflict of Interest Law in Mongolia

Inadequate provisions in the Mongolian regulatory framework defining Conflict of Interest (COI) have led a local CSO, Women for Social Progress (WSP), to advocate for enhanced laws and regulations. WSP has been able to leverage analysis, media involvement, legal action and the best of global and local knowledge to motivate a critical mass of citizens and stakeholders to successfully advocate for better regulation and the enactment of COI legislation.

Improving Training and Adherence to an Enhanced Judicial Code of Ethics in the Mongolian Judiciary

Based on its assessment that Mongolia’s legal system could substantially benefit from capacity building in the areas of procurement and ethics, Transparency International Mongolia (TIM) set out to implement two highly successful projects building on each other over the course of two years. Building capacity of legal personnel, including judges, clerks, prosecutors, auditors and even law students, TIM has achieved significant success in raising problem awareness and has measurably improved Mongolia’s judicial system. Furthermore, TIM has worked constructively with all actors involved to further enhance the legal framework of a Mongolian Judicial Code of Ethics.

Campaigning for Transparency at Local Governments in Mongolia

The notorious application of secrecy laws and a deeply engrained culture of not disclosing even basic information to the public has prompted Globe International (GI), a local Mongolian CSO, to pilot a program that empowers citizens to demand greater responsiveness from officials and local governments in two aimags (provinces) in Mongolia. The conviction that informed and empowered citizens can act as powerful change agents – able to demand accountability – was the main driver of GI’s 12-month project “Transparency Campaigning at Local Government to Curb Corruption”. At the policy level the project lobbied for the approval of the Freedom of Information law then pending in Parliament. The project achieved both, greater awareness and empowerment at the local level and contributed to passing the law at the national level.

Strengthening the Public Council to fight Corruption in Mongolia

Weak institutionalization of the Public Council (PC), a domestic accountability institution originally foreseen to guarantee effective participation of civil society in the fight against corruption in Mongolia, has led a local CSO, Globe International (GI), to take action and build a strong coalition of advocates to constructively enhance the conditions of institutionalizing and strengthening the PC, empowering its members and educating the public.

Empowering Citizens for Participatory Planning in Sri Lanka

Poor service delivery by local government units in Sri Lanka – attributed to a lack of inclusion and participatory formats – have prompted the Sri Lanka chapter of Transparency International (TISL) to conduct the “Curbing Corruption in Local Government” project, aimed at increasing citizen participation and thereby enabling local governments to produce more directed outputs. The Project has had to cope with a variety of difficulties and is still ongoing – preliminary M&E measures however show that success can be achieved and sustained.

Establishing a Rural Call Centre and Using Social Watch Groups to Monitor Public Service Delivery in India

Poor service delivery in the government administered National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) have led a local CSO, SAMBANDH, to increase citizen awareness and participation in the Odisha District of Orissa, India. SAMBANDH conducted surveys, mobilized the community and facilitated the formation of Social Watch Groups (SWG) to increase transparency and elicit authorities to exert greater responsiveness. Through its actions, SA has successfully implemented the “Monitoring Corruption using Rural Call Centres and Social Watch Groups in India” project

Empowering the Community to Demand Corruption-Free Social Services in Karnataka, India

Corruption and poor service delivery in the distribution of social safety net entitlements under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the Mysore District of Karnataka State, has prompted the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) to increase citizen awareness, empower youth groups and launch a fully fledged Right-to-Information (RTI) campaign to enable communities to demand responsiveness and better service delivery from the Fair Price Shops (FPS) responsible for the PDS entitlement distribution. SVYM has successfully implemented the “Community Movement against Corruption” project and is currently building on that success conducting a second phase with the objective to further institutionalize citizen oversight, particularly Citizen Vigilance Committees ensuring financial, technical, social and institutional sustainability of the results achieved thus far.

Establishing a Rural Call Centre and Using Social Watch Groups to Monitor Public Service Delivery in India

Poor service delivery in the government administered National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) have led a local CSO, SAMBANDH, to increase citizen awareness and participation in the Odisha District of Orissa, India. SAMBANDH conducted surveys, mobilized the community and facilitated the formation of Social Watch Groups (SWG) to increase transparency and elicit authorities to exert greater responsiveness. Through its actions, SA has successfully implemented the “Monitoring Corruption using Rural Call Centres and Social Watch Groups in India” project.

Policy Dialogue and Civic Engagement using Right To Information Laws in Rajasthan, India

Corruption and a lack of transparency in government administered service delivery schemes have led a local CSO, the CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS CART), to mobilize and educate citizens and citizen organizations to engage in coalition-building and hold the government to a higher standard of accountability. CUTS CART has built the initiative on the success of prior project and has been able to kick-start a process of empowerment which appears to be sustainable and self-reinforcing beyond the completion date of the original project.

Combating Corruption and Unethical Behavior in Clinical Drug Trials in Kerala, India

Inadequate rules and regulations and poor or no government enforcement of these rules within the sector of clinical drug trials in Kerala State, India, have led a local CSO, JANANEETHI, to start investigating the field and research structural flaws that violate human rights and result in poor delivery of public health services. Through its actions, JANANEETHI has successfully engaged authorities to take up the issue and create awareness among stakeholders. Closing loopholes, eliciting an ethics debate and prompting government agencies to enforce and oversee drug trials have rendered JANANEETHI’s intervention highly successful. A second phase of the project is under way.

Controlling Corruption to Improve Health Services for the Poor in Odisha State, India

Corruption and a lack of transparency in government administered health services has led a local CSO, Ayauskam, to mobilize and educate citizens and citizen organizations to engage in coalition-building and hold health service providers to a higher standard of accountability across 10 Panchayats of Khariar block in Nuapada district, Odisha. The project has been successful; sustainability however depends on the continued constructive engagement between community organizations, citizen monitors and service providers, as well as the right balance of public pressure versus collaboration between the different stakeholders. Continued funding for Ayauskam to moderate and balance this important consensus-building process toward achieving sustainable results is a priority.

Organizing the Community to Provide Corruption-Free Delivery of Safety Net Entitlements in Karnataka State, India

Citizens’ and communities’ inadequate knowledge about entitlements guaranteed through the government administered National Rural Employment Guarantee Act have prompted a local CBO, the Nava Jeevana Mahila Okkoota (NJMO), to engage with affected communities, raise awareness, provide education and help capacitate and organize the communities to form sustainable labor groups. The objective is to hold the government and service providers accountable while helping citizens benefit from the programs precisely designed to help India’s rural poor. NJMO has successfully established a model that has the potential to be self-perpetuating in the long run, forming labor groups that can transform into member-financed independent unions afterwards. The project has been successfully implemented and a second phase is currently underway.

Measuring Results Reducing Corruption in the the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Odisha, India

Corruption in India is rampant and especially harmful where the effects of embezzlement, extortion and bribery affect the poorest. Following a report that 75% of the funds budgeted for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) had been shifted into officials’ pockets, VICALP, a local CSO, set out to affect change. VICALP implemented the “Reducing the opportunities for corruption in NREGA in 12 Panchayats of Mohana block of Gajapati district, Odisha” project, using capacity building exercises to empower communities and capacitate citizens to monitor how social safety net provisions were implemented by the authorities. Prompting authorities to be more transparent and accountable in accordance with the rules and regulations that should govern the delivery of social services were an effective way to achieve better service delivery and ensure citizens’ rights to the entitlements as stipulated in NREGA.

Empowering Citizens to Demand Corruption-Free Access to Livelihood Entitlements in Karnataka, India

Paraspara Trust (PT), a local CSO in Karnataka, India, has successfully implemented the project: “Addressing Corruption in the Public Distribution System (PDS) by Citizen Groups – a pilot project in Bangalore”. The project empowered citizens to ensure corruption-free service delivery of social safety net entitlements as set forth by the law. The project was a success; the incentives for citizens to follow the project objectives and methodology should be self-perpetuating in the long run. However the challenge of sustainability remains.

Supporting the Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy through Monitoring and Advocacy in Moldova

Transparency International Moldova (TIM) implemented a project, contributing to the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NAS) of Moldova, monitoring the associated annual action plan for 2011.

Improving Municipal Governance and Service Delivery Through Transparency in Kotor, Montenegro

Improving governance at the local level through increased transparency, voice and better service delivery was the objective of a joint project between the Centre for Democratic Transition (CDT), a national NGO based in Podgorica, Montenegro, and the Kotor municipality, Montenegro.

Improving the Integrity of School Exams in Moldova

The Moldovan Community Association ‘Soarta’ (SOARTA) implemented a citizen-led anticorruption project in the Soroca District in NorthEast Moldova, aimed at curbing corruption in 12 secondary schools, promoting ethical conduct and institutional reforms during examinations. The project focused on High school graduation exams that serve for students’ registration in university and was successful in bringing varied stakeholders together, offering a viable route for increased integrity to combat corruption and enhance the quality of education system outcomes in Moldova.

Community Monitoring and Participatory Budgeting to Promote Accountable Governance in 10 Schools in Ghana

To tackle Ghana’s backlog in guaranteeing universal primary education, the Government, in 2005, decided to abolish the system of school fees previously in place to finance basic schools. Instead, it established a system of capitation grants, a yearly allocation per student per school, geared toward transparently funding all classroom activities, including providing for salaries and administrative costs. Yet, the administration in charge continued to badly manage and weakly control the funds alotted, leading to substantial waste of public resources and substandard education outcomes.

Improving Transparency and Accountability in Public Procurement in Cross River State, Nigeria

Public procurement processes are prone to leakages and corrupt practices around the world. While this fact is highlighted regularly and documented by both media outlets as well as civil society, there is seldom a home-grown and consorted effort to tackle the problem out front, civil society and public authorities joining hands.

Strengthening Civil Society and Public Authorities to Promote Transparency and Accountability in Uganda

The Uganda Law Society (ULS) is the National Bar Association of Uganda and is uniquely positioned to advance anti-corruption efforts in Uganda. Its statutory objectives state, ‘[…]to protect and assist the public in Uganda in all matters touching, ancillary or incidental to the law; and to assist the Government and the Courts in all matters affecting legislation and the administration and practice of law in Uganda.’

Improving Governance through Transparency, Participatory Budgeting and Community Monitoring in two Municipalities in Cameroon

Decentralization works best when there is a robust legal framework, political will, clearly delineated responsibilities, accountability mechanisms and – most importantly – a shared vision of all actors involved as to how decentralization will contribute to achieving better governance results, improving the lives of ordinary citizens. Corruption impedes or completely prevents decentralization processes to bear any of the envisioned results.

Reducing Corruption in Local Revenue Collection through Transparency and Participation in two Communities in Ghana

Internally Generated Funds (IGFs) refer to any resources mobilized locally to meet local development objectives and improve the quality of life for citizens in Ghana. The funds derive from different sources, among them, rates, lands, fees and licenses. The collection and management falls within the political responsibility of district assemblies (DA).

A Decade of Helping Civil Society Fight Corruption in the Philippines: Results and Lessons

This report details the results and lessons of a decade long (2003-2013) Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) support to Filipino civil society organizations (CSOs) to fight corruption. It celebrates the successes and reflects on challenges faced as PTF enters a new phase in the Philippines – a regional affiliate called PTF Asia as a foundation headquartered in Manila.

March 6, 2015

Controlling Corruption in Public Works Safety Nets

Many governments support publically-funded rural works programs to provide safety nets for the rural poor and to deploy the underused labor productively. It is estimated that developing countries spend over 10 billion dollars a year on such programs aiming to benefit over 100 million poor. Because of their decentralized nature with activities scattered over thousands of often remote work sites and with most potential beneficiaries not used to dealing with government bureaucracies, fraud and corruption are often a major risk in such programs.

September 30, 2014

Corruption in Food Distribution Systems

Since 2009, PTF has financed eight projects with grants totaling $202,000, for projects operated by 4 CSOs in India designed to reduce corruption in PDS (Public Food Distribution Systems). A number of lessons learned from these projects are drawn out and recommendations for future action are provided.

May 12, 2014

Education Issue Brief

Transparency International’s Global Corruption Report: Education (2013) reinforces the notion that corruption inhibits social and economic development and may even jeopardize stability of a nation’s education system. Opportunity for corruption exists all along the education continuum. The “roots of corrupt practices lie in a lack of transparency and accountability …

April 17, 2014

Stimulating Demand for Good Governance

This study focuses on the World Bank’s recent “Governance and Anti-Corruption” (GAC) policies. The report stresses that the Bank’s goal to significantly scale-up its work in the anti-corruption area with civil society organizations (CSOs) has been hampered by: its approaches that first seek host government executive branch consent; poor publicity by the Bank of opportunities for civil society to receive funding; CSO concerns that receiving funds from their governments will undermine their independence; and, “there is an inherent conflict of interest in a CSO accepting funds from a government agency or the World Bank and then engaging in independent monitoring of that same agency in a Bank-financed project.”

December 30, 2013

Engaging Citizens Against Corruption in Asia: Approaches, Results, and Lessons

This report provides expert advice, case studies and presentations that will help CSOs around the world reach greater impact through their work. It identified ‘constructive engagement with authorities’, ‘innovative use of media’ and ‘political economy analysis’ as some of the most salient challenges to resolve as CSOs take anti-corruption work to the next level.

Citizens Fighting Corruption: Results and Lessons of an Innovative Pilot Program in India

This report analyzes projects pursued by 14 civil society organizations (CSOs) working in four diverse Indian states in India (Odisha, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttarkhand) and covering more than 1000 villages.

Evaluation of “Good Governance: Community Mobilization to Combat Corruption” Program

INDEPENDENT EVALUATION Evaluation of "Good Governance: Community Mobilization to Combat Corruption" Program DOWNLOAD EVALUATION John Clark, an international development consultant, former civil society activist and adviser to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was commissioned by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), and by the World Bank to evaluate PTF supported projects supported by our “Citizens Against Corruption” and “Good Governance: Community Mobilization to Combat Corruption” programs. PTF projects are assessed in terms of their effectiveness and impact, their sustainability, their replicability, their innovative approaches, and whether they truly represented value for money. In each area the reports find substantial accomplishments.

June 17, 2013

Evaluation of “Citizens Against Corruption” Program

John Clark, an international development consultant, former civil society activist and adviser to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was commissioned by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), and by the World Bank to evaluate PTF supported projects supported by our “Citizens Against Corruption” and “Good Governance: Community …

Promoting Transparency and Participation in Extra-Budgetary Fund Collection in Schools in Armenia

This Case Study Reviews a project implemented by the Partnership & Teaching NGO (P&T) which succeeded in testing, documenting and streamlining the process of extra-budgetary fund collection through stakeholder involvement and better governance procedures and was highly successful in advocating for national adoption of better policies.

December 13, 2012

“Tackling Corruption in Kenya and Uganda” Seminar Report

This report outlines the proceedings and activities of a two day workshop from November 12 – 14, 2012, convened by PTF together with local Kenyan civil society organization, ACT. The aim of the workshop was to bring together Ugandan and Kenyan CSOs, re-invigorate multi-stakeholder efforts and share perspectives and best practices towards addressing the complex challenge of corruption. The conference featured three different sessions to showcase CSOs’ work in different areas, from experiences working at the community level to curb corruption, to use of technology to fight corruption and efforts to improve the accountability of government institutions.

November 30, 2012

Waging War on Corruption: Inside the Movement Fighting the Abuse of Power

In Waging War on Corruption: Inside the Movement Fighting the Abuse of Power, Frank Vogl (PTF Vice-Chair), one of the leaders of the worldwide anti-corruption movement, shares a history filled with stories of heroes and victims of corruption. He chronicles the successful campaigns by enormously courageous civil society activists, journalists, and public prosecutors and explains the crucial challenges that now must be confronted. At stake is nothing less than our global security, the reduction of poverty, the stability of our economic and financial systems, and the cause of freedom and democracy.

August 24, 2012

Using Media to Fight Corruption

The media—traditional mass media as well as new technologies—can play a vital role in unveiling corruption, framing corruption as public problem, suggesting solutions, and generally empower citizens to fight corruption. This paper provides an overview of the basic principles of media effects and presents specific techniques involving the media in the fight against corruption.

July 30, 2012

Benchmarking and Curbing Corruption in Local Service Delivery in Brahmapur City, India

This Case Study reviews a project implemented by Youth for Social Development (YSD) to survey different corruption issues at the local level in order to map magnitude, prevalence and possible entry points for civil society to hold the government to account and demand corruption-free service delivery. YSD also advocated on behalf of the poor and supported citizen monitors and communities to constructively engage with local officials.

July 17, 2012

Empowering Communities to Demand Accountability of Safety Net Entitlements in Odisha State, India

This Case Study analyzes a project implemented by the ‘People’s Rural Education Movement’ (PREM), a local CSO in Odisha State, India, that sought to reduce corruption in three social safety net programs: the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Forest Rights Act and the Public Distribution System (food security).

Empowering Women in Urban Slums to Fight Corruption in Service Delivery in Bangalore, India

This Case Study reviews a project implemented by the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), aimed at empowering women to advocate for corruption-free service delivery, giving power to communities to hold the government accountable in five slums in Bangalore City.

Strategies for Empowering Communities to Demand Good Governance and Seek Increased Effectiveness of Public Service Delivery

This paper provides readers with the basic idea of how demand for good governance (DFGG) strategies, in particular social accountability (SA) strategies, can be employed to help citizens demand greater authority responsiveness and thereby enhance their living conditions.

April 30, 2012

Independent Assessment of PTF’s Citizens Against Corruption (CAC) Program

PRIA Global Partnership has evaluated the performance of PTF projects in India. The report shows a comparative picture of the 12 CAC projects in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Orissa based on the assessment of their performance at the end of the project period. Most of the projects dealt with issues of corruption in government schemes like Public Distribution System (PDS) …

April 17, 2012

Diagnosing Public Sector Corruption & Implementing Anti Corruption Programs: A Framework for Practitioners

This paper introduces an analytical framework to consider the overall environment and strategic parameters that underlie a specific instance of corruption so as to logically and specifically tailor their project towards achieving the best impact possible.

March 30, 2012

CSOs Fighting for Integrity: Increasing the capacity of CSOs to help citizens raise funds, measure and communicate results in a sustainable manner

CSOs often struggle to balance their vision and declared goals with the necessary financial security to carry out activities as needed over a prolonged period of time. This paper provides a checklist for CSOs to self-evaluate their actions, aspirations and assumptions against common problems encountered and offers entry points to think about sustainability.

February 28, 2012

DFID Review of PTF: Innovative Support to Civil Society in Fighting Corruption

The UK’s Department for International Development has released a mid-term review of PTF’s Citizens Against Corruption (CAC) programme, which is supported by DfID’s Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF). The report stated that PTF “is able to point to specific reforms triggered by the projects. This is partly due to the very specific problems targeted and the careful guidance …

May 17, 2011

Fighting Corruption and Promoting Transparency in the Public Sector An Independent Evaluation of the Partnership for Transparency Fund

This 2008 evaluation by Catherine Gwin & Sylvia Soborio finds that PTF is a highly valuable and effective mechanism for support of small-scale civil society efforts to fight corruption and promote greater transparency and accountability in government. As an international NGO, it is well placed to provide support that is independent of vested political interests and not subject to political …

May 17, 2008

An Evaluation of the Partnership for Transparency Fund (2000 – 2004)

This report prepared at the request of UNDP by Alexander Shakow suggests that PTF is an extremely valuable and effective instrument for support of small but important anti-corruption projects.

March 17, 2005