How to monitor and evaluate anti-corruption agencies: Guidelines for agencies, donors, and evaluators

The number of Anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) around the world has increased dramatically over the past decades. Nevertheless, the value of ACAs is increasingly being questioned by international donors and national governments. Frequently, ACAs are not considered to deliver on the high expectations bestowed upon then.

Evaluations of individual agencies were collected and analysed to assess the evidence underlying the assumptions about the effectiveness of ACAs. Surprisingly, few evaluations had actually been done, and even fewer measured the actual outcomes and impacts of the ACA. Thus, whilst opinions about ACAs are many, the actual evidence about their performance is scarce. To develop this body of evidence, ACAs need to do a better job at establishing results-based indicators for their work, showing how activities lead to impact, and collecting data.

To which extent the perceived failure of ACAs is an issue of measurement or design can therefore not be answered with any certainty. The value of ACAs can only be determined once evidence-based evaluations are conducted.

To this end, the report provides technical, methodological, and practical guidance to assist staff of ACAs in undertaking monitoring and evaluation and shows how the outcomes and impact of the work of ACAs can be evaluated in an objective, evidence-based manner.