The APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU) has published the report Strengthening Capacity for Integrity: Advancing Education and Training to Address Corruption in APEC. The report was prepared for the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group (ACTWG).

Key Findings on Anti-Corruption Training

The authors note that anti-corruption effectiveness depends not only on laws, procedures, and technologies, but also on the ability of public officials and institutions to apply them in practice. Accordingly, anti-corruption capacity is considered across three interconnected levels: the individual level – knowledge, skills, and professional behavior of officials and practitioners; the organizational level – internal systems, processes, and institutional culture; and the systemic level – legal frameworks, inter-institutional relationships, and the wider governance environment.

The report also traces the evolution of approaches to anti-corruption training. In the 1990s and early 2000s, training largely consisted of one-off workshops and short courses, often delivered with support from international partners. From the mid-2000s, training increasingly became demand-driven, based on assessments of actual institutional needs and embedded within broader government and institutional frameworks. Since the 2010s, the field has moved towards continuous learning supported by e-learning platforms, blended learning, peer networks, and competency-based approaches.

The authors identify personalized learning enabled by artificial intelligence, as well as the integration of learning directly into the digital systems used by public officials, as the emerging next stage.

The report separately examines whether anti-corruption training actually works. The strongest evidence concerns specialized, skills-focused training for investigators, prosecutors, and other practitioners. For example, an evaluation of training delivered by the Basel Institute on Governance’s International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) found improvements in financial investigation skills and cross-border cooperation. The study also identified a “multiplicative” effect: knowledge acquired by one participant was subsequently shared with an estimated 8–15 additional practitioners.

Evidence on the effectiveness of broader ethics and integrity training for public officials is less robust. Nevertheless, the best-performing programs tend to use short thematic modules, combine theory with practical case scenarios and realistic ethical dilemmas, and be reinforced by institutional accountability mechanisms.

By contrast, one-off training without follow-up support tends to have limited long-term impact. Training content and delivery also need to reflect participants’ actual starting points and the institutional context in which they work.

Overall, the authors conclude that training can strengthen anti-corruption capacity, but cannot by itself produce durable change. Its impact depends on leadership commitment, appropriate incentives, accountability, and the practical application of newly acquired knowledge and skills.

To map training needs, the report uses the anti-corruption value chain, comprising three main stages:

• prevention – training on ethics and integrity, conflicts of interest, asset declaration, public procurement and financial management, as well as the use of core anti-corruption technology systems;
• detection – developing skills in audit, data analytics and red-flag identification, digital forensics, investigation, and whistleblowing and reporting mechanisms;
• enforcement – specialist training for investigators, prosecutors, the judiciary, and asset recovery practitioners, including financial investigations, digital evidence, and cross-border cooperation.

A cross-cutting priority across all three stages is digital skills development: training on digital tools should be integrated into substantive anti-corruption programs rather than treated merely as technical instruction.

Anti-Corruption Training Across APEC Economies

As part of the study, APEC sought input from ACTWG members. Responses were received from nine economies – Hong Kong, China; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; Peru; Russia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; and Thailand.

Eight of the nine respondents reported mandatory anti-corruption or integrity training for all or specific categories of public officials.

The most commonly identified capability gaps included:

• data analytics and AI-tool competencies for identifying anomalies and corruption risks;
• leadership capacity to foster institutional cultures of integrity;
• capacity to manage, secure, and protect whistleblower reporting channels;
• forensic accounting and audit investigation skills;
• specialist skills for complex corruption investigations;
• cross-border enforcement and mutual legal assistance cooperation skills.

Another challenge concerns training for digital anti-corruption tools. In six of the nine responding economies, user training is provided as part of system deployment but is typically planned only after the system has already been procured or is being rolled out. Only one economy reported that training is built into system design and procurement from the outset, with a dedicated budget and structured training plan.

Respondents also highlighted one-off training, the lack of refresher training when systems are updated, overly generic content, late planning, insufficient resources, and staff turnover as recurring problems.

The report also examines different models of anti-corruption training across APEC economies.

In the Republic of Korea, integrity education is mandatory for public officials. Training is provided, among others, by the Korea Integrity and Civil Rights Training Institute (KICTI). Completion of integrity training is taken into account in both individual performance appraisals and agency-level assessments. According to the report, around 1.74 million public officials – approximately 96% of the target population – completed integrity training in 2024. Alongside conventional training, Korea uses case-study-based learning, theatrical performances, music, and other storytelling formats built around realistic integrity dilemmas.

In Hong Kong, China, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) works with the civil service authorities to provide integrity e-learning. Programs include separate materials for managers and general staff, case scenarios, videos, infographics, and quizzes. Topics include restrictions on gifts and other advantages, misuse of authority, conflicts of interest, and supervisory accountability.

In Singapore, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) combines training with public education for government agencies, businesses, students, and young people. One example is the web-based game Corruzione, in which participants make decisions in scenarios involving the offering or acceptance of bribes and experience the consequences of their choices. In 2025, CPIB also piloted an anti-corruption module for school principals and vice-principals using a train-the-trainer approach.

In Malaysia, the anti-corruption commission developed the MACC AR augmented reality application, which provides access to anti-corruption information, practical scenarios, and quizzes. In Indonesia, a dedicated anti-corruption learning center operates a training and certification pathway for practitioners who can subsequently deliver anti-corruption education themselves.

In Australia, the focus is on competency-based approaches, with capability frameworks used for different professional roles. The National Anti-Corruption Commission has also developed a Commonwealth Integrity Maturity Framework to help organizations identify gaps and areas for further development.

In the United States, initial and annual ethics training requirements for certain categories of federal employees are embedded in regulation, while the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) provides training materials for federal agencies.

For Russia, the report highlights the professional standard “Specialist in the Field of Prevention of Corruption Offenses”, which codifies the competencies expected of anti-corruption practitioners and serves as a basis for additional professional education programs. The report also notes the use of practical conflict-of-interest cases, practice reviews, and methodological guidance in training.

A significant part of the report focuses on the use of digital technologies in training. E-learning platforms are already widespread: eight of the nine responding economies reported using them regularly. More advanced technologies remain much less common: scenario-based simulations and virtual exercises are in regular use in only two economies, as are mobile-based learning applications, while AI-enabled or adaptive learning pathways remain at the pilot stage or are not yet used in most cases.

The authors argue that artificial intelligence could support personalized learning, generate role-specific scenarios reflecting particular corruption risks, adjust the difficulty of training based on learner performance, and provide automated feedback.

At the same time, these technologies create additional risks. AI systems may generate inaccurate information about laws, case law, or administrative procedures, meaning that AI-generated training content should be subject to expert review. Data protection, uneven levels of digital literacy, and the costs of maintaining digital learning systems also need to be taken into account.

Recommendations

The report recommends that APEC economies develop sustainable anti-corruption training systems rather than relying on individual courses and workshops.

In particular, economies are encouraged to:

• embed mandatory and regular integrity and anti-corruption training within civil service frameworks;
• designate institutions responsible for the design, delivery, and evaluation of training;
• adopt competency-based and role-specific training approaches;
• strengthen specialist training in financial investigations, digital forensics, data analytics, and cross-border cooperation;
• integrate user training and continuing skills development into projects involving new digital anti-corruption tools;
• expand e-learning, including mobile-compatible and low-bandwidth solutions;
• improve evaluation by measuring not only participation and satisfaction, but also learning outcomes, changes in practice, and, where possible, organizational results.

Economies with more mature training systems are encouraged to pilot personalized learning, simulations, and AI-enabled tools and share lessons learned with other APEC members.

At the regional level, the report recommends expanding the exchange of training resources and good practices, strengthening sustained practitioner-level cooperation, and developing a shared digital resource containing training programs, case studies, and methodological materials that economies could adapt to their local contexts.

The authors emphasize that training does not operate in isolation but as part of a broader anti-corruption system. Its sustained impact depends on leadership commitment, adequate resourcing, training quality, organizational culture, accountability mechanisms, and whether acquired knowledge and skills are actually applied in practice.