Call for proposals: Study on the options for the organisation of the U4 Innovation Lab
About U4
The U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (U4) assists donor practitioners in more effectively addressing corruption challenges through their development support. A team of 10 people located in Bergen, Norway work full-time at the centre, and other affiliated experts contribute to our work. U4 receives core-funding from eight countries, and was established in 2002. The mission of U4 is to Identify and communicate informed approaches to partners for reducing the harmful impact of corruption on sustainable development.
Background to the U4 Innovation Lab
There is growing dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of 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 and not least, how they relate to the systemic factors that maintain corruption in specific contexts. The problem of corruption is complex in most developing country contexts, which points to the theories of complexity and systems thinking as offering valuable guidance for developing future strategies to address corruption.
There is also an increased understanding of the multifaceted character of the problem of corruption across sectors and contexts. In particular the shifting character of the problem across contexts has been pointed out in recent research as a fundamental weakness in approaches to address corruption. The problem also exists in the interaction between countries – developed and developing alike – where loopholes, lax enforcement and systemic weaknesses create opportunities for corruption to thrive. Furthermore, the existing anti-corruption knowledge is not fully taken up across the aid sector, for various reasons, preventing necessary improvements.
The U4 Innovation Lab
U4 are seeking an expert to provide a study on the options for the organisation of the U4 Innovation Lab. The purpose of the U4 Innovation Lab is to test recommendations, ideas, methodologies, hypotheses, and assumptions relevant for anti-corruption, derived from research and experiences. These interventions can be short-term or stretch over a period of several years, depending on the type of activity or test object/prototype involved. The common denominator is to embrace the risk of testing the new, with a view to generate knowledge that can limit the risks of larger scale interventions, while achieving greater impact.
Outputs
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An inception report containing: report structure; interview framework and motivation for the selection of sources to interview
- A study report that satisfies the study objectives (maximum 50 pages, excluding annexes)
A maximum of 25 days are made available for the work. For more information about the study, including outputs, background and proposed development of the Innovation Lab, please see the Innovation lab Terms Of Reference.
Submitting proposals
The deadline for this tender has now passed, for further information about the project please contact:
Sara Ogmundsdottir
U4 Finance and Operations Manager
sara.ogm@cmi.no
+47 47 15 51 34
Fredrik Eriksson
U4 Senior Advisor
fredrik.eriksson@cmi.no