Our team









The Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) programme delivers practical, policy-relevant research on how to address corruption, illicit financial flows, and serious organised crime. Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through its Research and Evidence Directorate (RED), ACE began in 2015 and has been extended to 2027.
The programme comprises three independent but complementary research streams – Governance & Integrity ACE (GI ACE), SOAS ACE, and Serious Organised Crime ACE (SOC ACE).
Each is designed to produce high-quality, long-term research that serves as a global public good. Together, these programmes generate rigorous evidence to inform strategy, policy, and programming within FCDO, across the UK government, and internationally.
Each component focuses on distinct thematic areas, building a comprehensive evidence base to support effective anti-corruption reform.

Governance & Integrity ACE (GI ACE)
Researches illicit finance, enablers, corruption in emergency measures, trade and state capture and is led by Professor Paul Heywood, University of Sussex / University of Nottingham.

SOAS ACE
Researches anti-corruption in infrastructure, power, health, education, climate change investments, digital government service delivery and political corruption and is led by Professor Mushtaq Khan, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Serious Organised Crime ACE (SOC ACE)
Researches organised crime, illicit finance, klepocracy and transnational threats and is led by Professor Heather Marquette, University of Birmingham.
Our programme
Why we exist
Conventional, top-down approaches to tackling corruption – focused heavily on technical and regulatory fixes – have often failed to deliver meaningful results.
GI ACE was created to offer a different approach: one that recognises the complexity of corruption and the importance of political, institutional, and social context. Our programme supports world-class research that is operationally relevant, problem-driven, and designed to inform more effective anti-corruption strategies on the ground.
We work closely with researchers to ensure their findings are rigorous and actionable – and communicated in ways that directly support practitioners working to design and implement lasting reform.

Our approach to impact
GI ACE is designed to be more than the sum of its individual projects. While producing high-quality research is essential, our goal is to ensure that this evidence contributes meaningfully to real-world anti-corruption efforts. Despite decades of research, fundamental questions remain: what works to reduce corruption – and in which contexts? To help answer these questions, evidence must reach those who are actively designing and implementing solutions across sectors and settings.
GI ACE’s Theory of Change recognises the central role researchers play in generating rigorous, relevant evidence. But it also recognises that impact depends on relationships. That’s why we support researchers to engage with practitioners from the outset – ensuring the work is grounded in real-world challenges and that practitioners are well-positioned to apply the findings. When researchers and reformers work together, the result is research that not only informs -but enables – change.



Explore the GI ACE Brochure
Get an in-depth look at how GI ACE is generating evidence to tackle corruption in real-world contexts.
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