As the vanguard of USAID’s suite of anti-corruption programs in the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, the five-year CTC Grand Challenge will leverage innovation and collaboration to prevent corrupt individuals from siphoning off critical resources that are meant to be used for the public good.

“We are so honored to continue our long-standing partnership with USAID in support of its efforts to fight corruption. The CTC Grand Challenge is a bold and innovative endeavor poised to nurture new ideas and solutions that can genuinely move the needle to curb corruption around the globe,” said Allison Poyac-Clarkin, MSI’s Senior Vice President for Programs.

Working alongside USAID and our major subcontractor, Resonance, an industry leader in open innovation, MSI will establish and adaptively manage a CTC Grand Challenge governance structure, as well as oversee the technical and co-creative design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning of various activities.

“Open innovation challenges, like USAID’s Grand Challenges for Development, have been proven pathways to moving ideas forward to tackle complex problems that are hindering development and positive societal impact,” said Resonance Chief Innovation Officer Steve Schmida. “Resonance is committed to utilizing our capabilities, in collaboration with those of our partners, to help galvanize new voices and spur and scale new innovations that will help address the systemic problem of transnational corruption and its wide-ranging effects,” he added.

The CTC Grand Challenge will support local, regional, and global innovations to detect and disrupt illicit finance and trafficking of commodities; strengthen transparency and accountability in global supply chains; promote standards, practices, and norms that enhance integrity in the public and private sectors; and address other significant dynamics of transnational corruption.

USAID, in partnership with Amazon, the BHP Foundation, and the Chandler Foundation, recently launched the inaugural CTC Grand Challenge activity: the Powering a Just Energy Transition Green Minerals Challenge (JET Minerals Challenge). The JET Minerals Challenge seeks solutions that counter corruption and strengthen transparency, accountability, and integrity in the global rush to meet the unprecedented demand for green minerals. The open call for innovations is live and seeks innovators from all sectors across all geographic locations to put forth ideas to help solve this complex challenge.