In this conversation, Annabel Short talks with Christiaan (Chrik) Poortman and Maria da Graça Prado of CoST - the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. Chrik and Maria share the challenges they face in this work, and what motivates them. They describe the specific ways that effective community engagement is key to reducing corruption and building sustainable infrastructure, and the importance of local and investigative media. They provide insights on the challenges that arise in contexts of crisis and rapid-response such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for deep ongoing anti-corruption work over time. This will be all the more important as many governments scale up their infrastructure investments to rebuild their economies.
Chrik Poortman has chaired the CoST Board since 2011. In addition to his role with CoST, he is Senior Adviser at Transparency International, where he was Director of Global Programmes for the International Secretariat until 2010. Prior to TI, Chrik worked for the World Bank in many regions.
Maria da Graça Prado is CoST’s Senior Policy & Research Adviser. She is a legal professional whose experience has focused on construction and infrastructure, and has advised on contract management, compliance and dispute resolution.