U4 Strategy: 2017-2021
Foreword. By Arne Strand, U4 Director.
The U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (U4) at the Chr. Michelsen Institute was established in 2002 with the aim of promoting a better understanding of anti-corruption issues and approaches in international development. We currently have partner agencies from eight countries: Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
The demand for our expertise has grown steadily, as measured by invitations to contribute to policy-level events, additional projects commissioned, and headquarter visits. This reflects our contributions to the field of anti-corruption reform and development, as well as the increasing interest and activity in the field globally. U4 has distilled and channelled new evidence and knowledge into online training and in-country workshop modules. We have also become adept at promoting our findings into practitioner-oriented publications and events.
The growing number of organisations involved in the field of anti-corruption allows us to engage a larger community of practitioners and researchers in our work. Our achievements during the 2012–2016 strategy period were due in large part to our strong links with the anti-corruption policy, practice, and research communities, and collaboration with key institutions and actors. This has enabled us to appreciate the needs of policymakers and practitioners within our partner agencies, at the same time as drawing on new evidence and methods to meet these needs.
The major obstacle that corruption poses to global development is no longer in dispute. There is growing recognition of the globalised nature of corruption and the importance of international frameworks to address the problem across borders. This includes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which place corruption squarely on the global development agenda.
There is growing dissatisfaction with anti-corruption approaches. Practitioners and researchers point to major evidence gaps and limited understanding of what contributes to success in anti-corruption reforms. This has led to the questioning of the assumptions behind existing anti-corruption initiatives. There is an increased understanding of the multifaceted character of corruption across sectors and contexts, that it affects marginalised groups differently, and an appreciation that corruption is confined not only to developing countries. It also exists in the interaction between countries – developed and developing alike – where loopholes, lax enforcement and systemic weaknesses create opportunities for corruption to thrive. It also appears that existing anti-corruption knowledge is not fully taken up across the aid sector.
Reflections over past achievements and lessons learned have guided us in defining our mission statement, a Theory of Change, and helped us to identify new approaches for our 2017-2021 strategy. Our high quality research will continue to feed into the online training and in-country workshops, but we aim to develop it further by testing recommendations, extend our research and expert networks and make our knowledge and services accessible through a new U4 website. We will ensure constant adaptation of our products and activities through the Partner Forum and our emphasis on strengthening our internal performance monitoring system.