These materials are intended to assist World Bank staff, primarily Task Team Leaders (TTLs) in their ongoing efforts to obtain development results by ensuring that World Bank proceeds are used for their intended purposes. These efforts require affirmatively addressing the possibilities for, or the actual fact of, systematic and grand corruption at play in World Bank-financed operations.

The toolkit is an initial collection of various types of “tools”: practices, processes, actions and other materials and ideas for positively addressing situations involving fraud and corruption.  Think of the word “tool” broadly as you read and assess how you can apply these materials. A tool can be as simple as ensuring that a Task Team Leaders asks more probing questions of project officials or as robust as a formal Corruption Vulnerability Assessment.  Its vision is as broad as its utility.  As we learn from our experiences, this toolkit is intended to change and adapt, and to be used as a vehicle for spreading anti-corruption knowledge and awareness.

It is also important to understand what the guide is not; it is not a new Bank policy or statement with respect to the corruption challenge. As such, we must all realize that challenges remain within the system in which we operate – and positive results may, at times, not be immediately apparent or easily achievable.