Parliamentary innovation and engagement

Jordan

Political reform, decentralisation and post-legislative scrutiny

In Jordan, GPG supported more efficient structures in parliament, reducing the time it takes for legislation to pass into law, improved working practices between the government and parliament, built capacity to implement decentralisation through a new tier of regional government, and provided consistent discreet support to the Royal Court on the ongoing political reform process.  

GPG assisted parliamentary committees to undertake consultative inquiries in key policy areas, including decentralisation, political reform, and economic development. We also introduced the technique of post-legislative scrutiny (PLS) into the parliament to monitor the effects of legislation and whether it is meeting its objectives. This includes support for a newly established PLS staff unit, working to examine the impact of the 2014 Inward Investment Law by holding consultations with business and trade associations and making recommendations to improve delivery. 

Egypt

Adaptive support for the development of Egypt’s education policy

GPG has been working in Egypt since shortly after the 2011 Revolution, providing advice and direct support to politicians, officials, and policy makers. Despite the challenging and fluid political situation in Egypt, we have been able to provide an uninterrupted programme of support to improve policy and services in key areas. One strand of that work has involved support to the Parliament’s Education Committee, overseeing a long-term programme of modernisation of Egypt’s education system.  

Working directly with the Committee Chair and liaising with government ministries, the programme has sought to update and consolidate the statutory basis for the education system, to improve university independence and increase standards. Drawing on international expertise and best practice, GPG has been supporting the Committee to develop a change strategy and enable them to shape and drive forward the education reform in Egypt.  

Strategic communications for women politicians  

GPG’s support to the development of the Egyptian parliament included targeted work with women politicians on communication skills and dealing with discriminatory techniques in the media and politics. GPG Associates Jacqui Smith and Meg Munn delivered tailored media training for female politicians in Egypt including mock TV interviews, alongside local Egyptian experts from the American University in Cairo.  

Honduras

Ensuring effective legislation to tackle human trafficking

GPG’s work with the Honduran Congress focused on the effectiveness and implementation of anti-human trafficking legislation in the country. We supported two Congressional committees – the Family, Children, Youth and Older Persons Committee, and the Justice and Human Rights Committee – to develop and implement post-legislative scrutiny (PLS) and follow up techniques.

Our work consisted in enabling the Honduran Congress to improve the implementation of the 2012 Law Against Human Trafficking, which resulted in a significant increase in public funding for agencies tasked with implementing the law. GPG’s project team introduced the concept of PLS and guided an inquiry process, focusing on building capacity around planning, consultation and coordination within the Congress. In doing so we worked closely with the Interinstitutional Committee against Sexual Exploitation in Children (CICESCT), a Honduran interagency commission with a mandate for monitoring the implementation of the human trafficking legislation in the country.

Kyrgyzstan

Systematic scrutiny and effective legislation for economic development

As part of the UK-funded Governance in Action programme, GPG strengthened the oversight function of the Kyrgyz parliament focusing on its responsiveness to public and business concerns, contributing to the overarching objective of supporting inclusive economic development. GPG provided an initial in-depth Political Economy Analysis (PEA) study mapping power and incentives, followed by tailored support and technical advice to parliamentary committees on public engagement and consultation, introducing the technique of Post-Legislative Scrutiny, pioneered in the UK parliaments, to improve scrutiny of the practical impact of legislation.  

A notable success was GPG’s support for the Social Committee to investigate the conditions of Kyrgyz migrant workers abroad, which resulted in legal proposals to increase protections as well as streamlining administrative processes for returning workers. GPG also provided personal mentoring and coaching to the female Deputy Speaker to increase her authority and effectiveness, particularly in her role delivering the parliament’s own development strategy. 

Tanzania

Using constituency evidence to improve policy and public services

One of the most often overlooked sources of evidence and expertise about public concerns lies in the conversations that Members of Parliament (MPs) have every day with their constituents. For MPs in many parts of the world it is routine to wake up to a queue of people outside their door, who need help that day. That constituency role – providing direct support to citizens in basic service areas such as education, health, water, housing, and electricity – is frequently the most time consuming and important function of the MP. It is also often the most expensive.  

In an innovative project trialled in Tanzania and being developed further in other countries, GPG sought to channel these constituency concerns back into the central policy-making process. Starting at the local level, and initially working with MPs to improve their constituency offices, it means helping MPs to understand the causes of their constituents’ problems and find collective solutions in areas like education and health. It also involves channelling that local evidence into other tiers of government at the local, provincial, and national level, providing a level of detail and expertise that is usually beyond the reach of civil servants about how government legislation is working on the ground and enabling them to develop new forms of evidence-based policy-making.  

Iraq

Connecting central and provincial government around policy delivery  

GPG started working with the Iraqi Council of Representatives in 2008. Initially providing support to parliamentary committees, the work expanded so that GPG has operated at every level of government in Iraq, providing strategic support to successive parliamentary Speakers, implementation of legislative reform, improving communication between ministries and parliament, and providing support to provincial government in places such as Nineveh and Basra. The ability to simultaneously operate at national and local level meant that GPG was able to pursue the development of policy and implementation of legislation in key areas. In Basra and Nineveh, we worked with provincial government and councils to improve strategic planning and provision of local services, but also with national politicians to bring attention to those challenges and pursue nationally-led policy changes.  

Communicating the decentralisation strategy  

As part of GPG’s support for the process of decentralisation from Baghdad to the Provinces, we supported Iraqi Governorates to explain to the public the process of transferring functions from central government and the intended effects on service delivery to citizens.

Ukraine

Strategic and reform-focused communications in Parliament

GPG’s expert advice and support to the Speaker and senior staff of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) was focused on the delivery of better and more strategic internal and external communications. Ukraine’s volatile political environment and highly fragmented political system means that, internally, the task of managing legislation and engineering agreement around reform is complex, and that externally there are low levels of public trust in parliament. GPG’s support through the process of implementing internal reforms improved internal co-ordination and delivered greater public engagement through the implementation of key measures of an institution-wide communications strategy, including the first educational programmes for schools and universities.  

Sudan

Public information and engagement strategy  

The parliament of Sudan has historically been regarded as a ‘closed’ institution with little in the way of public information about, or engagement in its activities. GPG worked with parliamentary staff and MPs to improve the information available to the public about parliamentary activity, particularly through the use of technology and outreach activities. The project also supported the process of developing a public engagement and communication strategy, which outlined proposals and initiatives for improving public access to the Parliament and raising awareness about its work.