IDB Support to Strengthen Public Sector Transparency and Integrity in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Corruption imposes significant economic and social costs across Latin America and the Caribbean, undermining investment, weakening public services, and eroding trust in institutions. Transparency and integrity (T&I) reforms are widely recognized as important tools for addressing these challenges. In this evaluation OVE assessed IDB support for strengthening public sector transparency and integrity between 2010 and 2023, examining: (i) how T&I was reflected in corporate, sector, and country strategies; (ii) the relevance of the Bank's interventions in addressing governance and corruption challenges; and (iii) the extent to which operations achieved their intended T&I objectives. The evaluation covered a broad portfolio of sovereign-guaranteed operations and technical cooperation projects and used a mixed-methods approach combining strategy and portfolio reviews, interviews, literature review, and country case studies. Interventions were analyzed under four policy objectives: reducing opportunities for corruption, increasing public oversight, reducing impunity, and changing social norms. The evaluation finds that the IDB progressively strengthened its strategic focus on transparency and integrity and supported a diverse set of interventions across countries and sectors. The Bank's support often responded to country-specific opportunities for reform, including government initiatives, commitments to international standards, and broader governance reform efforts. Evidence suggests that interventions supporting public procurement, financial transparency, identification systems, audit institutions, and comprehensive policy reforms contributed to strengthening transparency and integrity outcomes in a range of country contexts. At the same time, the evaluation identified opportunities to further strengthen the link between strategic priorities and operational engagement and highlighted challenges in measuring results consistently across the portfolio. The evaluation recommends: (i) systematically leveraging opportunities for T&I engagement; (ii) strengthening the connection between strategic priorities and operations; (iii) expanding the evidence base on what approaches are most effective in different contexts; and (iv) improving the measurement and reporting of T&I results.