Impact of community monitoring on corruption

There are many methodological challenges involved in assessing the impact of anti-corruption community-led monitoring initiatives, in terms of measurement methodologies, attribution, as well as scope and focus of impact tracking studies. In spite of these various challenges there is an emerging but still mixed body of evidence on the impact of such types of interventions on corruption. Beyond anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes on detection/prosecution of corruption cases, such interventions have contributed in some cases in reducing corruption and leakages of funds as well as improving the quantity and quality of public services and strengthening the demand for longer term reforms. Partly due to conceptual and methodological challenges as well as the general scope and focus of impact tracking studies, it is difficult to isolate the factors or catalysts of change, underpinning the success of anti-corruption community based initiatives. However, studies indicate that a combination of external - environmental/contextual dynamics that supported the implementation of the intervention- as well as internal factors - institutional design of the intervention, attributes and processes of the implementing agency - may have contributed to the effectiveness of such interventions.