Success in the fight against corruption requires a global, clever, and nimble response.
Transnational corruption strips countries of their resources that should be used to lift people out of poverty and deliver much-needed social services.
As Administrator Samantha Power outlined in her vision for USAID in November 2021, corruption is development in reverse. When money gets diverted from public coffers to private bank accounts, roads and schools do not get built. When politicians use their positions of power to extort and demand payment for basic health services–like vaccines–citizens suffer. And when high-level government officials are persuaded to do the bidding of foreign nations through bribery or coercion, entire ministries are repurposed to advance the needs of another country, over the needs of their own citizens, eroding faith in democracy itself.
As the vanguard of USAID’s suite of anti-corruption programs in the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, the Countering Transnational Corruption Grand Challenge for Development (CTC Grand Challenge) leverages innovation and collaboration to prevent corrupt actors from siphoning off critical resources that should be used for the public good. The CTC Grand Challenge solutions will detect and disrupt illicit finance and trafficking in commodities; strengthen transparency and accountability in global supply chains; promote standards, practices, and norms that enhance integrity in the public and private sectors; and address other significant dynamics of transnational corruption.
We do so by:
- Harnessing the power of both novel and proven approaches, tools, and technologies;
- Mobilizing and leveraging the private sector;
- Partnering with local solvers and influencers; and
- Fostering collective action through diverse networks.
Grand Challenges leverage the knowledge and expertise of diverse stakeholders, including the private sector and local actors, to support collective problem solving and identification of new solutions. By mobilizing their convening power and networks, Grand Challenge partners draw global attention to a development problem and bring new voices to the table – building a coalition that is diverse, powerful, and agile.
To date, across eleven past Grand Challenges, USAID and its partners have committed more than $500 million in grants and technical assistance and catalyzed an additional $900 million in external follow-on funding, providing innovators with the expertise, resources, and networks that they need to grow.
We invite you to join us. The Grand Challenge is mobilizing a wide range of partners, including businesses, associations, technologists, innovators, philanthropists, civil society organizations, governments, and media in the fight against globalized corruption. Convened and incentivized by the Grand Challenge, these partners will build coalitions and source innovation solutions to curb the threat of transnational corruption.
Prospective partners are invited to pledge financial or in-kind resources, expertise, or technical assistance to contribute to the design and implementation of the Grand Challenge. Partnership tiers are flexible, allowing organizations to participate as their bandwidth permits.
Interested in learning more about how you can get involved in the Grand Challenge?
- Read about various ways to engage in our “How to Get Involved” and “Partnership Opportunities” briefs
- Request to be added to our mailing list by emailing us at: challengecorruption@usaid.gov
Activity Update:
Doing Business With Integrity Call for Innovations:
We are pleased to announce Doing Business With Integrity! Doing Business With Integrity, the first focused call for innovations under the Innovating to Counter Transnational Corruption Open Call, will award up to $4 million in grants to private sector entities and consortia or partnerships that include private sector entities to counter transnational corruption. We will fund activities that reflect innovative thinking; advance the range, depth, and impact of private sector actions to reduce transnational corruption; and demonstrate that anti-corruption efforts can be good for business. The CTC Grand Challenge will accept concept notes on a rolling basis until November 20, 2023. Learn more and apply online now!
Powering a Just Energy Transition Green Minerals Challenge:
Launched in 2022, the JET Minerals Challenge catalyzes the development, application, and scaling of innovations to counter corruption and strengthen transparency, accountability, and integrity in the global rush to meet the unprecedented demand for green minerals. This open call for innovation welcomed problem solvers from around the world to submit new ideas as well as proven approaches to reduce corruption in green mineral supply chains. The 20 semi-finalists participated in an in-person, two-day innovation bootcamp, hosted alongside the OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains in April 2023. Stay tuned for a Fall 2023 announcement of the finalists!
Watch the 2023 Summit for Democracy announcement and read Administrator Power’s comments.
Data for Integrity Hackathon Series:
As Administrator Power noted during the second Summit for Democracy in March 2023, “creative uses of data offer an innovative way to root out entrenched corruption.” The Data for Integrity Hackathon Series advances the development and use of tools and platforms to harness the power of data to identify corruption vulnerabilities and/or corrupt behavior.
For the first hackathon in the series, the CTC Grand Challenge supported the Accountability Lab’s third HackCorruption event in Bogotá, Colombia, from August 18-20, 2023 in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), the Center for International Private Enterprise, and Development Gateway. The Latin American regional hackathon convened 75 changemakers from the civic technology, civil society organization, and activist arenas to build innovative solutions to counter transnational corruption. Seven winning teams will receive up to $10,000 in financial support, mentorship, and ongoing training to build out their innovations.
If you're interested in collaborating on or co-hosting a hackathon in the Data for Integrity Hackathon Series or co-designing a new activity under the CTC Grand Challenge, please reach out to us at challengecorruption@usaid.gov.