Does performance matter to institutional survival? The method and politics of performance measurement for anti-corruption agencies

Following a period when anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) were portrayed as the panacea to corruption, they are now facing pressure from governments, donors and international organizations to show results. Debate on their performance tends to ignore the causal structure of their agency. ACAs have to contend with the political powers that create them and then attack them. In the midst of fear and lack of control, they must monitor corruption and report to the public at large. This paper discusses issues of institutional failure focusing on the politics and processes underlying their performance.

The paper argues that evaluating the performance of organizations, including ACAs is now a common feature of democratic societies. It makes the following observations:

• Under-performing agency is not fulfilling the purpose because it is not clear whether the organizations’ mission is unitary or multiple purpose
• ACAs are often expected to deliver more than they can in their short existence and in the uneasy relationship between objectives and expectations
• As upholders of the highest ethical standards, they are also under scrutiny by other state institutions
• Little attention has been paid to the importance of performance evaluations to the organization’s legitimacy
• The evaluation of their performance is not carried for only managerial reasons but also due to legitimacy concerns.

To assess the performance of ACAs, the paper argues that qualitative and quantitative indicators must be developed because they are valuable at the following levels:

• Informative or Diplomatic level
• Comparative analytical or benchmarking value
• Their Unitarian or reformist value.

The paper argues that in light of the Unitarian or reformist value, it is essential to define the agency’s mission, values and philosophy; identify the stakeholders and their expectations; agree on the initial set of objectives and plan how to pursue them. In the concluding remarks, the paper states that;

• Choosing the adequate performance indicators and putting in place regular evaluation procedures to examine how the ACA’s statutory functions are being addressed is very important but not an easy task
• Reporting the results to the public gives the organization a positive image and public support and not doing so leaves room for negative speculation
• ACAs are attracting attention for the wrong reasons making the idea of terminating their work attractive to governments, donors and international organizations.