BCA at the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group

This past week, the BCA team found itself alongside leaders, experts and policymakers at the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group. We had gathered to confront a problem that impacts us all: corruption.

As a company born and nurtured in South Africa, this is not an issue we view from a distance. It’s a problem that impacts the people we know, the communities we work in and the future we are all trying to build. So, what can we – behavioural scientists – bring to the table in tackling this challenge?
BCA Managing Director, Pat Govender, shared our perspective at the conference, where we emphasised that corruption, at its core, is a deeply human problem. It is people who act corruptly, and it is real people who bear the consequences. And if there is one thing behavioural scientists understand, it’s people. We know that to truly address corruption, we need to grasp human behaviour – the choices people make and the systems that shape those choices.

The challenge, as we see it, isn’t just about passing new laws or drafting policies. Corruption doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it thrives in environments where entrenched social networks normalise unethical behaviour and where systemic incentives reward it. This is where the human aspect becomes crucial. Like a tree with deep roots, corruption can’t simply be solved by cutting off the branches. We need to dig into those roots – understand the deeper forces that shape human behaviour – and address the systems that perpetuate it.

The key takeaway? Across G20 nations, sophisticated anti-corruption policies and legislation exist, but significant implementation gaps remain. Minister Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi emphasised that "active citizenry must be at the heart of our anti-corruption efforts," noting that empowered, informed citizens "become the most effective deterrent against corruption".

This resonates deeply with our behavioural science approach. We help organisations:

1. Make ethical choices the path of least resistance
2. Create accountability systems that work with human psychology
3. Empower citizens to drive accountability

Traditional approaches often create more rules without accounting for how humans actually make decisions. The behavioural lens offers practical solutions to bridge this critical implementation gap.

We're excited to apply these insights in our ongoing work, helping transform excellent policies into real-world impact.

Public Service Commission South Africa
Financial Intelligence Centre
Busani Ngcaweni
National School of Government
The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa
Open Ownership
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
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