The American Anti-Corruption Institute (AACI)
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The American Anti-Corruption Institute (AACI) · Institutional Recognition Program
The AACI Medal Awards
Recognizing Outstanding Contributions to Fighting Corruption and Strengthening Governance Accountability
About The AACI Medal Awards
The American Anti-Corruption Institute (AACI) recognizes individuals whose professional achievements and contributions advance the fight against corruption, strengthen corruption prevention, promote institutional integrity, and support governance accountability.
The AACI Medal Awards are personal institutional distinctions recognizing exceptional, significant, or noteworthy contributions, according to the level of medal awarded. They reflect The AACI’s commitment to merit, professional integrity, responsible leadership, and meaningful contributions to the public interest.
Objectives of the Medal Awards
- Recognize meaningful individual contributions to fighting corruption and preventing its occurrence or recurrence.
- Encourage professional excellence, ethical leadership, and the responsible exercise of entrusted authority.
- Recognize achievements that strengthen governance accountability, institutional integrity, and effective anti-corruption practices.
- Promote anti-corruption education, research, and informed advocacy.
- Support and encourage the active engagement of university students and faculty in corruption prevention through education, research, and academic and professional initiatives.
- Encourage sustained professional commitment to effective corruption prevention and its institutionalization within organizational governance, policies, and practices.
Medal Classifications
The AACI confers three levels of institutional distinction. Each medal level reflects the merit and significance of the contribution and is evaluated independently of the recognition area.
The AACI Gold Medal
Exceptional, well-substantiated contributions that have produced significant and tangible impact or enduring value.
The AACI Silver Medal
Significant documented achievements contributing substantial professional, institutional, or public-interest value.
The AACI Bronze Medal
Noteworthy, concrete achievements supported by credible evidence of meaningful contribution or improvement.
The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals recognize different levels of achievement. Recipients do not compete against one another for these awards. No award is automatic, and The AACI may decline to confer a medal where the applicable standards have not been met.
Areas of Recognition
Each Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal is assigned one primary recognition area identifying the nature of the recipient’s principal contribution.
Medal Hierarchy: The Gold Medal represents The AACI’s highest level of recognition, followed by the Silver and Bronze Medals. The recognition area identifies the type of contribution being honored, regardless of the medal awarded.
Recognition Areas: Each of the four approved areas can qualify for any of the three medal levels, depending on the significance of the recipient’s achievements.
Professional Excellence in Fighting Corruption
Recognizes professional achievements involving the detection, investigation, accountability, enforcement, remediation, recovery, or broader institutional response to corruption.
Anti-Corruption Advocacy
Recognizes documented contributions to advancing anti-corruption awareness, public-interest engagement, and informed institutional action.
Anti-Corruption Education and Research
Recognizes contributions to anti-corruption knowledge, research, professional education, and the development of professional capabilities.
Professional Excellence in Corruption Prevention
Recognizes professional achievements in developing, advising on, implementing, or strengthening preventive measures, institutional safeguards, internal control, and governance practices intended to reduce exposure to corruption or prevent its recurrence.
Distinguishing Fighting Corruption from Corruption Prevention
Fighting corruption is an umbrella concept and has its own definition in The AACI Anti-Corruption Framework.1 It encompasses corruption prevention, deterrence, detection, investigation, legal accountability, remediation, and recovery. Corruption prevention focuses more specifically on measures intended to reduce exposure to corruption or prevent its recurrence.
Both professional recognition areas fall within the broader scope of fighting corruption. Their separate identification makes preventive professional achievements visible without treating them as less important than other anti-corruption responses. All four recognition areas are eligible for every medal level.
1. The American Anti-Corruption Institute (AACI), “Fighting Corruption,” Foundational AACI Definitions, https://www.theaaci.net/Foundational-AACI-Definitions/Fighting-Corruption.
Eligibility and Institutional Evaluation
The AACI Medals are awarded based on individual merit, documented achievements, and the significance of the recipient’s contributions.
The AACI evaluates the principal achievement and assigns one recognition area. It determines the medal level separately. Professional seniority, public prominence, organizational position, membership, certification, sponsorship, donations, or participation alone do not establish entitlement to an award.
Nominations and award decisions are subject to The AACI’s authorized institutional evaluation and approval procedures.
Nature and Use of the Distinction
The AACI Medals are personal institutional distinctions. Receipt of a medal does not constitute professional certification, accreditation, employment, appointment, authorization to represent The AACI, or endorsement of the recipient’s professional services, products, or affiliated organizations.
Recipients may refer to a valid distinction accurately, subject to the applicable terms of acceptance and the restrictions on institutional name and logo use.
Confidentiality of Award Recipients
The AACI does not publish the names, photographs, biographies, or a public directory of Medal Award recipients on its website.
Award records are maintained in The AACI’s confidential institutional register, subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements. Recipients may disclose their own awards independently, subject to the applicable award terms. Any institutional confirmation of an individual award is handled privately under The AACI’s authorization and confidentiality procedures.
Professional Integrity and Continuing Recognition
Before accepting a medal, each recipient is required to review the applicable Medal Awards policy and sign the Recipient Acceptance and Acknowledgment identifying its title, version, and effective date.
The AACI may review and, where justified, revoke an award in accordance with its applicable policy, fair institutional procedures, and relevant legal requirements. Following final revocation, the recipient must discontinue representing the medal as a current AACI distinction and comply with the applicable return conditions.
Applicable Public Policy
The AACI Medal Awards — Terms of Acceptance, Professional Integrity, and Revocation Policy
Read the official policy governing medal acceptance, professional integrity, verification, and revocation.