The TAP-Plus Approach to Anti-Corruption in the Natural Resource Value Chain

This report introduces the Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption project (LTRC), a global initiative launched in 2017 by The Brookings Institution with support from Results for Development and the Natural Resource Governance Institute.

LTRC aims to develop best practices for reducing corruption along the natural resource value chain. LTRC’s approach is grounded in rigorous evidence and field work. This report provides the initial basis for the LTRC project’s upcoming field studies.

Based in large part on a review of the existing evidence, an extensive bibliography review, and lessons from experience, the report argues that narrowly focusing on the adoption of transparency, accountability, and participation (TAP) measures, while more likely to have some impact than transparency solutions alone, is unlikely to suffice. For step-change improvements that drive broader anti-corruption and development outcomes, more is needed.

Accordingly, the report advances a framework called “TAP-Plus.” This framework highlights specific factors that need to be considered in addition to the traditional focus on the adoption of TAP measures. Below is an explainer video of the TAP-Plus approach (also available in Spanish and Mongolian).

Authors

  • Norman Eisen, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings
  • Daniel Kaufmann, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings
  • Nathaniel Heller, former Executive Vice President, Integrated Strategies, Results for Development
  • J. Preston Whitt, former Program Officer, Results for Development
  • Mario G. Picón, Program Director, Results for Development
  • Victoria Bassetti, Consultant, Brookings
  • John Hudak, Deputy Director – Center for Effective Public Management; Senior Fellow – Governance Studies, Brookings

With Theodore Becker-Jacob, Andrew Kenealy, Kelsey Landau, Robin Lewis, Jimena Montoya Villavicencio, Christine Stenglein, Praneetha Vissapragada

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