Anti-Corruption, Ethics and Integrity Management in the Global South
Professor Meyer-Sahling’s research focuses on civil service reform, anti-corruption, and integrity management in the Global South.
His work in this field has been supported by major funding bodies, including DFID, the British Academy, and the Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme. In particular, his projects in Nepal and Bangladesh have introduced ethical leadership and integrity training programmes for public servants in the tax administration and police force respectively. These first-of-their-kind initiatives were evaluated using field experiments, providing robust evidence that ethics training improves ethical competence and behaviour of public servants. The success of these evaluations has encouraged government partners to scale and expand the training across different areas of public administration.
In Bangladesh, the police force is now rolling out ethical leadership training beyond the initial district, with plans to scale it countrywide. The efforts are supported by key training institutes such as the Police Staff College, ensuring that ethics and integrity management reaches all layers of the Bangladesh Police hierarchy – an initiative of particular importance following the political transition in August 2024.
In Nepal, Meyer-Sahling collaborates closely with the Inland Revenue Department to integrate ethical leadership training into the tax administration’s training and development programmes. Efforts are also underway to expand these reforms to urban and rural municipalities, seeking to strengthen ethical leadership and integrity in local public service delivery.
Beyond government institutions, Meyer-Sahling’s research has also influenced civil society organisations. In Nepal, the leading NGO Pro Public—an advocate for good governance, anti-corruption, and public interest since 1991— has established a Centre for Public Service Ethics inspired by his work. This Centre organises training and outreach programmes for its large civil society networks, seeking to strengthen social accountability mechanisms across Nepal.