The Department of International Development (DFID) has awarded a team of the SOAS University of London, a £6 million contract to research ways on tackling corruption in developing countries. Led by Professor Mushtaq Khan, Professor of Economics at the Uni, the SOAS-led consortium will also include the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, along with three major developing country partners, the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development in Bangladesh, the Centre for Democracy and Development in Nigeria and Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA) in Tanzania.
Khan said, "Corruption is a critical issue in many developing countries, and a major factor in many of the problems that DFID is committed to addressing. Our research offers an innovative approach, with a research framework that will generate operationally-relevantand context-specific research for DFID as well as other donors and developing countries. The ACE research is explicitly about anti-corruption and will help to identify what to do about corruption, not just describe it." He added, "We have put together a high-calibre of experts, bringing together organisations with strong track records in research and operational experience. Not only will we be delivering high-quality research but we will also engage with practitioners and policy makers to ensure its uptake."
The study will mainly focus on Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and identify instances of corruption with an high negative impact on economic deveopment, and explore the different inter-dependent drivers responsible for them. Professor Richard Black, SOAS Pro-Director for Research and Enterprise, said, "Projects like this continue to demonstrate SOAS' position as a leading research institution with expertise spanning multiple disciplines. Our work continues to be instrumental in tackling some of today's most complex global issues. I also wish to congratulate Professor Khan and his team on receiving one of the largest research contracts in SOAS' history."
