Making anti-corruption research impossible to ignore

Corruption is often difficult to expose, not because evidence does not exist, but because it can be fragmented, inaccessible, or difficult for the public to engage with.

The organisation had built a substantial body of anti-corruption research and investigative reporting. However, they wanted to move beyond publishing reports and create what they described as "a big public conversation" capable of influencing public opinion, supporting investigative work, and encouraging action from criminal justice agencies in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The challenge was creating a platform that could balance credibility, accessibility, and impact.

The success of the platform depended on helping users find and engage with important stories quickly.

We designed the experience around investigative content, ensuring that new exposés, reports, and research findings were prominently featured throughout the site. The homepage acted as a gateway into ongoing investigations, encouraging users to explore current stories while also surfacing older but still relevant content.

The visual design prioritised readability and trust, allowing the research to take centre stage while creating a clear and engaging user experience.

The goal was simple: make important stories difficult to ignore.

Many investigative reports rely on supporting evidence that is often hidden away in appendices, downloads, or external sources.

To strengthen the reporting experience, we designed article layouts that allowed research findings to be supported by embedded repositories of documents, images, videos, and other media. This gave readers access to the underlying evidence while remaining within the narrative flow of the story.

The result was a richer reading experience that supported both casual readers and more specialist audiences such as journalists, researchers, campaigners, and law enforcement professionals.

The platform was built using Kasia, our React and Redux framework for the WordPress API.

This architecture provided the flexibility needed to create a highly interactive and content-rich experience while retaining the publishing benefits of WordPress for editorial teams.

As the audience for the platform grew, the technical foundation allowed the site to evolve and support additional functionality without requiring a complete rebuild.

The success of the project ultimately led to further commissions and the continued development of both PNGi Central and the wider PNGi ecosystem.

The platform helped transform a collection of research reports into a destination for investigative journalism and anti-corruption analysis.

By making evidence easier to access, stories easier to follow, and investigations more visible, the site helped support wider public engagement with issues of corruption and accountability.

Most importantly, it demonstrated how thoughtful digital design can help important research reach the audiences who can act upon it.

The success of the platform led directly to additional investment and further development work across related anti-corruption projects.