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Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement, and Access to Information:A Global Survey of Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations

Andrew G. Mandelbaum

Parliamentary Strengthening Program

GOVERNANCE WORKING PAPER SERIES

Research and publication supported by theMinistry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and BNPP

WORKING PAPER

Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement, and Access to Information

A Global Survey of Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations

Andrew G. Mandelbaum

Andrew G. Mandelbaum currently serves as a senior program officer with the Governance Team of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), having previously served as a consultant to the World Bank Institute and NDI on this project. Formerly, he spent two years in Morocco consulting for international development projects. His clients included the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Moroccan Parliamentary Support Proj-ect at the State University of New York’s Center for International Development. Mr. Mandelbaum, who speaks Arabic, has also worked on the Muslim World Initiative at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He holds a BA in public policy studies from Duke University and an MA in democracy and governance from Georgetown University.

© 2012 National Democratic Institute and World Bank Institute 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org E-mail: [email protected]

All rights reserved. Portions of this work may be reproduced or translated for noncommercial purposes provided the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the World Bank Institute (WBI) are acknowl-edged as the sources of the material.

This paper is the product of cooperation between NDI and the WBI. It was produced by a consultant funded jointly by both organizations, who has since become an employee of NDI. The findings, inter-pretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of either orga-nization, their directors, or, in the case of WBI, the governments they represent. Neither NDI nor the World Bank guarantees the accuracy of the data in this work.

The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand de-mocracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices, and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations; safeguard elections; and promote citizen participation, openness, and accountability in government.

The World Bank Institute is a global connector of knowledge, learning, and innovation for poverty re-duction. It is part of the World Bank Group. WBI connects practitioners, networks, and institutions to help them find solutions to their development challenges. With a focus on the “how” of reform, WBI links knowledge from around the world and scales up innovations. WBI works with and through global, regional, and country-based institutions and practitioner networks and helps them develop customized programs that respond to their needs. WBI connects globally and delivers locally.

iii

Contents

Acknowledgments v

Foreword vii

Acronyms and Abbreviations ix

Executive Summary xi

1 Introduction 1

2 Characteristics of PMOs 3

2.1 PMO Functions and Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2 Challenges Facing PMOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.3 International Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3 Practices for Monitoring Individual MPs 9

4 Practices for Monitoring Parliaments 13

4.1 Explaining and Tracking the Legislative Process and Legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4.2 Monitoring Parliamentary Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4.3 Conducting Comprehensive Parliamentary Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.4 Conducting Issue-Value Assessments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5 Good Practices in Parliamentary Monitoring 19

5.1 Increasing Transparency of Parliamentary Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

5.2 Sustaining Funding for PMOs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

5.3 Overcoming Parliamentary Resistance to Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

5.4 Using Parliamentary Monitoring to Support Reform and Reinforce Public Activism . . . . . . . . . 21

5.5 Using Parliamentary Informatics Effectively to Monitor Parliaments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

iv Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement, and Access to Information

5.6 Developing Effective Media Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5.7 Using Sound Methodologies and Reporting Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

6 Preliminary Recommendations for the Donor Community 27

Appendix: List of PMOs 31

Endnotes 41

References 45

Boxes

Box 2.1: The Parliamentary Informatics Trend in Parliamentary Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Box 5.1: Changing Game Plans in Kenya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Box 5.2: Factors a PMO Should Consider When Contemplating Using Parliamentary Informatics . . . 24

Figures

Figure 1.1: Pictorial Tool Developed by Congresso Aberto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Figure 2.1: Number of PMOs and Number of National Parliaments Monitored by PMOs, by Region . . 3

Figure 2.2: Common Activities Conducted by PMOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Box Figure 2.1a: Example of a Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Figure 3.1: Sample MP Profile from Directorio Legislativo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Figure 3.2: A Global Participation Chart Developed by Regards Citoyens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Figure 4.1: Screenshot of a Video That Educates Citizens about Chile’s Legislative Process . . . . . . . . . 14

Figure 4.2: Example of Vote Analysis on an Informatics Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Figure 4.3: Monitoring Tool by the African Legislatures Project: Legislative Assertiveness of Selected African Parliaments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table

Table 2.1: Challenges Facing PMOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

v

Acknowledgments

This working paper presents the findings of a joint research project on parliamentary moni-toring organizations conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the World Bank Institute (WBI). The full report is avail-able at http://www.ndi.org/files/governance- parliamentary-monitoring-organizations-survey-september-2011.pdf.

The author is grateful to both NDI and WBI for their generous support of this initiative. The project was managed by K. Scott Hubli, Direc-tor of Governance at NDI, and David Kuennen,

former Senior Program Officer on NDI’s Gov-ernance Team; and Rick Stapenhurst, Mitchell O’Brien, and Deena Philage of WBI’s Parliamen-tary Strengthening Program. These individuals, as well as Koebel Price and Jared Ford of NDI, Mar-cos Mendiburu of WBI, and Lacey Kohlmoos, formerly of NDI; provided valuable feedback on earlier drafts of this publication. The author would also like to express appreciation to the many in-dividuals at parliamentary monitoring organiza-tions (PMOs) and other organizations who con-tributed to the project.

vii

Foreword

The World Bank Group’s Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy underscores the impor-tance of multi-stakeholder approaches to tack-ling the challenges of poor governance and improving development outcomes. Collabor-ative governance draws from the experiences, expertise, and insights of diverse stakeholder groups and permits the social monitoring of public institutions so that they are more re-sponsive and accountable to citizens. These ap-proaches are affirmed in the Guidance Note on Bank Multi-Stakeholder Engagement1 and are embedded in the World Bank Institute’s Re-newal Strategy. They are also being embraced by governments the world over, as manifested in the Open Government Partnership. More recently, in 2011, the president of the World Bank Group, Robert Zoellick, amplified the ap-

1 The Guidance Note highlights the “increasingly strong evidence of the importance of engaging with and strengthening a broad array of stakeholders and improving principles such as participation, empowerment, transpar-ency, and accountability” (page 5). See http://www-wds.worldbank .org/external/default/WDSContentSer ver/WDSP/IB/2009/07/08/000333037_20090708235404/Rendered/PDF/492200BR0SecM2101Official0Use0Only1.pdf.

proaches in his speech at the Peterson Institute, asserting that policy reforms must be under-pinned by broad-based and inclusive consulta-tions—including with young stakeholders.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) rep-resent a key stakeholder. They are engaged at all levels to promote good governance and im-prove development outcomes—from policy ad-vocacy to independent budget analysis, public expenditure tracking, and monitoring of service delivery. CSOs also work to influence parlia-ment and strengthen its oversight role. A par-ticularly important type of CSO in this respect is the parliamentary monitoring organization (PMO), to which this Working Paper is dedi-cated. The work of PMOs is critical because the parliament is a preeminent institution of gov-ernmental accountability, and the importance of its oversight mandate cannot be overstated. PMOs’ work, which includes assessing the func-tioning of parliaments, informing citizens, and promoting public participation in parliamen-tary processes, can be key to strengthening par-liamentary capacity.

This Working Paper therefore seeks to pro-vide insight into the forms and functions of PMOs globally. It aims to broaden our under-

viii Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement, and Access to Information

standing of how these groups are able to form constructive, arm’s-length relationships with parliaments that enhance transparency and con-nect officials more directly with the people they represent. Ultimately, the goal is to increase un-derstanding of how the mutually reinforcing re-lationship between parliaments and civil society

can help advance the goal of capable, account-able, and responsive governance.

Jeff ThindwaLead Specialist and Social Accountability Cluster

LeaderWorld Bank Institute

ix

Acronyms and Abbreviations

AFLI African Leadership InstituteAPI Africa Parliamentary Index

CDF constituency development fundCOMFREL Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia

FOI freedom of informationFORMAPPI Forum Masyarakat Peduli Parlemen Indonesia

ICT information and communications technologyIPU Inter-Parliamentary UnionKDI Kosova Democratic Institute

LALT Latin American Network for Legislative TransparencyMANS Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector (Montenegro)

MP member of parliamentMUHURI Muslims for Human Rights

NDI National Democratic Institute NICFEC Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia

OECD DAC Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Development Assistance Committee

PILDAT Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and TransparencyPMG Parliamentary Monitoring GroupPMO parliamentary monitoring organization

PRS PRS Legislative ResearchTIB Transparency International Bangladesh

x Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement, and Access to Information

TISA The Institute for Social AccountabilityTÜMIKOM Association of Committees for Monitoring Parliamentarians and Elected Officials

(Turkey)WBI World Bank Institute

xi

Executive Summary

Parliamentary monitoring organizations (PMOs) are citizen-based groups that monitor or assess the functioning of parliaments or their individual members, often seeking to facilitate and promote public knowledge of, and participation in, parlia-mentary processes. PMOs have shown promise in strengthening a number of components of demo-cratic governance, including accountability of par-liaments to the electorate, citizen engagement in the legislative process, and access to information about parliaments and their work. Some PMOs have shown the capacity to encourage parliamen-tary reform.

Given the lack of research on PMOs, the National Democratic Institute (NDI)1 and the World Bank Institute (WBI)2 undertook a joint project to identify PMOs worldwide, document good practices in parliamentary monitoring, and suggest recommendations for the international donor community regarding PMOs. To meet these objectives, the project consultant surveyed 63 PMOs, analyzed their websites and other out-puts, and interviewed a range of individuals at or-ganizations involved in conducting or supporting parliamentary monitoring activities. Findings in-clude the following:

� More than 190 PMOs monitor more than 80 national parliaments worldwide Ac-cording to the project survey results, most PMOs (94 percent) monitor national parlia-ments, whereas 24 percent monitor subna-tional legislatures. They primarily focus on monitoring the activities or performance of individual parliamentarians, but many also monitor parliaments as institutions, political parties, committees, or specific issues such as parliamentary transparency.

� Although a wealth of good practice infor-mation exists, the overall quality of PMO methodologies and interventions re-mains mixed, and opportunities for shar-ing good practices among PMOs remain limited Some PMOs monitor quantitative indicators related to parliamentary activity or performance without providing a qualita-tive assessment of the results. Others invest more in monitoring than in developing ef-fective outreach and advocacy strategies. Re-gional networking, which has commenced in Latin America and in the Middle East and North Africa, represents a recent and lim-ited development despite the potential ben-

xii Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement, and Access to Information

efits of sharing information and experience among PMOs worldwide.

� The application of information and com-munications technologies (ICTs) to par-liamentary work, often known as parlia-mentary informatics, is a rapidly growing trend in parliamentary monitoring These tools can (a) automatically aggregate and or-ganize information from parliamentary web-sites and other information sources; (b) gen-erate visualizations (for example, of voting behavior or sources of political finance); and (c) create new platforms for citizens to inter-act with members of parliament (MPs) or participate in parliamentary monitoring and policy analysis. Many PMOs have used these tools to develop innovative, informative, and attractive websites, although most successful websites are technology enabled rather than technology driven.

� Major challenges facing PMOs include limited access to information, insuffi-cient financial support from local and in-ternational sources, and parliamentary resistance to their activities Sixty-three percent of PMOs mention lack of access to information as a challenge, whereas lack of funding appears to be an obstacle for most PMOs. In countries receiving international development assistance, donor support is a critical source of funding. Few PMOs of-fer funding models that appear transferable to other contexts, although many have de-veloped innovative techniques for accessing labor (for example, partnering with univer-sities) and for drawing public attention (for example, conducting advocacy campaigns around elections and providing direct access to websites through popular media sites), which can draw donor support.

� PMOs vary in their approaches to parlia-mentary monitoring, with some taking more adversarial stances toward parlia-ments and others choosing a more col-laborative course Some PMOs have found it helpful to complement monitoring activi-ties with more constructive approaches that support legislative development. In design-ing their monitoring interventions, PMOs should consider whether they are likely to stimulate democratic reform or to inadver-tently reinforce public cynicism of parlia-ment.

� The international donor community can encourage effective parliamentary moni-toring in the following ways:

– Continuing medium- to long-term in-vestments in PMOs that allow them time to develop their approaches and methodologies by forging credible and effective working relationships with MPs;

– Working with PMOs to help them translate quality parliamentary moni-toring into successful advocacy for re-form and constructive parliamentary engagement;

– Supporting networking and peer-to-peer sharing among PMOs to consoli-date effective activities and tools and to encourage the use of good practices throughout the PMO community;

– Supporting and engaging PMOs in ef-forts to improve parliamentary trans-parency, including the development of minimum transparency standards for parliaments, indexes of parliamentary transparency, and open data standards

– Engaging the parliamentary informat-ics community to improve sharing and

xiiiExecutive Summary

encourage development of common ICTs; and

– Including PMOs in the continued de-velopment of international norms and

standards for democratic parliaments to reinforce these efforts and encour-age consensus around the normative approach.

1

1

Introduction

During the past decade, parliaments have re-ceived increasing attention from the interna-tional development community.3 Some scholars have gone so far as to suggest that “the strength of the national legislature may be a—or even the—institutional key to democratization” (Fish 2006, 18). Parliamentary monitoring organiza-tions (PMOs) monitor and assess the function-ing of parliaments or their individual members, often seeking to facilitate and promote public knowledge of and participation in parliamen-tary processes. More than 190 of these organi-zations monitor more than 80 national parlia-ments worldwide. They have shown promise in strengthening a number of components of dem-ocratic governance, including accountability of parliaments to the electorate, citizen engagement in the legislative process, and access to informa-tion about parliaments and their work.

Despite the potential of PMOs to strengthen democratic parliaments and the increased inter-national support for their efforts, little research has been undertaken about PMOs and their activities.4 Although PMOs tend to face simi-lar challenges, few initiatives have facilitated the sharing of best practices and exchange of ideas among them. This situation has impeded peer-

to-peer learning and has prompted many PMOs to invent their own tools (see, for example, figure 1.1) and methodologies—with mixed results—

Figure 1.1: Pictorial Tool Developed by Congresso Aberto

Source: Congresso Aberto (http://bit.ly/i9T5aU).

Note: This depiction by Congresso Aberto (http://www.congressoaberto.com.br) shows Brazilian political parties’ ideology (x-axis) and allegiance to the government (y-axis), according to roll call votes (in gray).

2 Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement, and Access to Information

rather than build on the good practices already developed by their counterparts.

To advance an understanding of PMOs and the activities they conduct, the National Demo-cratic Institute (NDI) and the World Bank In-stitute (WBI) initiated a joint project to (a) identify PMOs worldwide and collect basic infor-mation regarding their activities, (b) document good practices in parliamentary monitoring, and (c) suggest possible recommendations for the in-ternational donor community regarding PMOs. To meet these objectives, the project consultant identified PMOs by contacting international civil

society networks and NDI field offices. A ques-tionnaire was provided that asked PMOs a range of questions related to their basic roles and func-tions, the activities they conduct, and the problems they face. The questionnaire, which was released in English, French, and Spanish, was completed by 63 PMOs of the approximately 170 contacted, for a response rate of 37 percent.5 Other good prac-tices were identified by conducting interviews with selected PMOs and by analyzing PMO doc-uments, PMO websites, and secondhand infor-mation from sources such as the Technology for Transparency Network.6

3

Characteristics of PMOs

2

PMOs are part of a subset of organizations that monitor political processes, including public bud-gets and expenditures, campaigns, and government implementation of policy.7 This project identified

191 PMOs monitoring 82 national parliaments, a number of subnational parliaments, the European Parliament, and the United Nations General As-sembly.8 Figure 2.1 illustrates that PMOs are wide-

Figure 2.1: Number of PMOs and Number of National Parliaments Monitored by PMOs, by Region

Source: Author’s representation.

Note: Five PMOs that monitor international legislative institutions exclusively are excluded from the fig-ure. The other four PMOs that monitor an international legislative institution in addition to a national parliament are included in the region of the national parliament. No PMOs monitor parliaments in more than one region.

0

10

20

30

40

50

number of national parliamentsnumber of PMOs

Latin America

Central and

Eastern Europe

AsiaSub-Saharan

Africa

Western Europe

United States and

Canada

Middle East and

North Africa

EurasiaPacific


spread in countries with democratic parliaments and strong parliamentary or legislative traditions, particularly in Europe (47 identified, of which 19 are in Western Europe and 28 are in Central and Eastern Europe) and Latin America (42 identified). However, the existence of PMOs is by no means limited to developed countries.9 In Sub-Saharan Africa, 24 PMOs have been identified, in part ow-ing to the advent of civil society monitoring of con-stituency development funds. Sixteen are found in the Middle East and North Africa. Of the 63 PMOs that completed the project’s survey,10 94 percent monitor national parliaments, and 24 percent mon-itor subnational parliaments (19 percent monitor both subnational and national parliaments).11

2.1 PMO Functions and Activities

How PMOs monitor parliaments and the types of activities they conduct (see figure 2.2) depend on a variety of factors. As objectives, most PMOs seek to improve parliamentary transparency, account-ability, or citizen accessibility to parliament and parliamentary information. Some aim to bolster the ability of members of parliament (MPs) to ac-cess quality information, whereas others may view parliamentary monitoring as a way to influence the government’s approach to particular issues, such as increasing transparency or combating corruption. Depending on its strategic outlook, one organiza-tion may seek to monitor parliament as an objec-tive and nonanalytical observer, whereas another organization may endeavor to play an evaluative role that includes subjective analysis.

PMO activities are also affected by the broader operating environment within which monitoring takes place, including such issues as internet access, openness of the political environ-

ment, and amount of information available about the parliament. If one compares PMOs monitor-ing parliaments in countries participating in the Development Assistance Committee of the Or-ganisation for Economic Co-operation and De-velopment (OECD DAC),12 which represents major foreign assistance donor countries, and those in foreign assistance partner countries,13 the latter appear more inclined to view parliamen-tary monitoring as part of their broader advocacy work.14 PMOs in foreign assistance partner coun-tries are also more likely than PMOs in OECD DAC countries to make freedom of information requests,15 engage in public interest litigation, and monitor constituency development funds or other funds managed by MPs that are intended to support local development projects.

Another important factor that appears to af-fect how PMOs monitor parliaments is their use of parliamentary informatics,16 which involves us-ing advanced information and communications technology (ICTs) to monitor parliaments (see box 2.1). Approximately 40 percent of PMOs sur-veyed use such tools to (a) automatically aggregate, reorganize, and disseminate information from parliamentary websites and other sources; (b) au-tomatically generate graphs of votes and other useful graphics; and (c) create new platforms for citizens to interact with MPs or participate in par-liamentary monitoring and policy analysis.

Irrespective of their geographic location, PMOs that use informatics appear more likely to conduct a hands-off approach to parliamen-tary monitoring that prioritizes citizen access to parliamentary information. This approach in-cludes the creation of profiles or scorecards that aggregate data on individual MPs, including their votes, floor speeches, oversight activities, and other data. Meanwhile, PMOs that do not use informatics are more inclined to engage MPs in their activities.17 They are more likely to testify in

5Characteristics of PMOs

parliament, to fulfill information requests from parliament on specific issues or legislation, and to propose MP codes of conduct.

Although it is important to not overstate dif-ferences among PMOs on the basis of any single

factor, distinctions related to the use of informat-ics may carry some useful implications given the appeal and increasing use of these tools. In par-ticular, PMOs that use informatics appear more engaged than other PMOs in improving data

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

testifying in parliamentary committees or plenary sessions

fulfilling requests of parliamentary actors or parties for information

proposing legislation to promote reform

engaging in public interest litigation

tracking legislation

summarizing legislation

developing scorecards

developing MP profiles

evaluating parliament using tools designed by international groups

assessing parliamentary institutional capacities

assessing parliament as part of political system assessment

summarizing parliamentary activities

assessing parliamentary performance as an institution

conducting polls or surveys of MPs

conducting public opinion polls

share of PMOs surveyed (%)

38

33

65

41

32

32

25

49

30

40

29

29

48

44

24

Figure 2.2: Common Activities Conducted by PMOs

Source: Author’s representation.


availability, and they do so with a particular fo-cus on MPs. Meanwhile, PMOs that do not use informatics tend to conduct activities that en-gage and support the parliament directly. They also focus more broadly on parliamentary per-

formance, in addition to that of individual MPs, and on parliament’s role within the political sys-tem. As a broader range of PMOs adopt parlia-mentary informatics, ensuring that these tools enable PMOs to meet the full spectrum of their

Parliamentary informatics in-volves the use of advanced ICTs to monitor parliaments in the contexts of both developed and developing countries. One effec-tive parliamentary informatics tool automatically aggregates publicly available information from parliamentary websites, databases, and other sources and then organizes those data on the PMO’s own website to improve searchability, citizen understanding, and use of that information. Other informatics websites create graphics, such as maps indicating where MPs re-ceive the most votes or charts of campaign contributions, to fa-cilitate citizen understanding of available—and sometimes com-plex—data. “Crowd-sourcing” techniques, another feature of parliamentary informatics, can also be used to facilitate public participation in the political pro-cess by allowing citizens to com-ment on legislation or converse with their MPs. Websites using wikis and other similar tools may allow users to build or collaborate on content development more broadly.

Parliamentary informatics is used by approximately 40 percent of PMOs surveyed for this project and represents a rapidly growing trend. Although its use remains more com-monplace in developed democracies in Europe and North America, application of infor-matics has increased significantly in Southeast Asia and Latin America, as well as in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. These tools have mostly been developed on an ad hoc basis. Although some developers converse with one another electronically, more can be done to develop a cohesive community of informatics developers and users who could benefit greatly from sharing good practices and exchanging experiences.

Box 2.1: The Parliamentary Informatics Trend in Parliamentary Monitoring

Box Figure 2.1a: Example of a Website

Source: OpenCongress.org.

Note: OpenCongress.org, a popular parliamentary monitoring website in the United States, uses informat-ics to aggregate information about MPs, bills, issues, and more. Analysis is available on the OpenCongress.org blog (http://www.opencongress.org).

7Characteristics of PMOs

monitoring objectives, rather than drive PMO behavior, is important. Parliamentary monitoring should be technology enabled rather than tech-nology driven.

2.2 Challenges Facing PMOs

Despite the diversity in their approaches and ac-tivities, PMOs’ challenges are shared. As shown in table 2.1, the most prominent challenges facing PMOs concern access to information and lack of funding, followed by resistance to the organiza-tion’s goals by parliamentary actors and lack of citizen interest in PMO work. Because of the im-portance of information for improving citizen understanding and engagement in the legislative process and the requisite of structured data for processing by informatics, enhancing parliamen-tary transparency is a common objective among PMOs at large. The issue of parliamentary resis-tance to monitoring is central to this challenge, al-though in a substantial number of countries, the lack of information is also related to challenges of staff capacity and resources. The funding chal-

lenge for PMOs is also manifest worldwide. Such techniques as automating data collection using informatics software and tapping universities for free labor have helped to bolster some PMOs; nearly all PMOs depend on donor support or foundation grants of some sort.

2.3 International Context

In addition to the parliamentary informatics trend (discussed in box 2.1), the parliamentary strength-ening trend has played an important role in the emergence of parliamentary monitoring. Parlia-mentary strengthening refers to the increasing fo-cus of the international community18 on parlia-mentary development as a means of enhancing democracy worldwide. The international com-munity serves as an essential funding source for PMOs in developing countries, funding 86 per-cent of these PMOs and serving as the principal funding source for 67 percent of them. In a num-ber of instances, this funding is accompanied by technical assistance to help PMOs strengthen their monitoring methodologies, develop more

Table 2.1: Challenges Facing PMOs

Challenge Share of PMOs affected (%)

Difficulty in gaining access to desired information 63

Lack of financial support from local funding sources 62

Lack of international donor support 54

Resistance to parliamentary monitoring activities by MPs, parties, or parliamentary staff members

35

Lack of interest from local citizens and organizations 27

Source: Author’s compilation.


effective tools, and use information to encourage outcomes that aim to bolster democratic reform of parliament. The international community has also developed a variety of resources, such as standards for democratic parliaments and guidelines for par-liamentary websites, that can help inform PMO methodologies and may provide a useful opportu-nity for engagement.19

Although the parliamentary informatics and parliamentary strengthening trends have some-what distinct roots, they have begun to converge as informatics developers look to deepen parlia-mentary engagement and as civil society organi-zations increasingly adopt the use of informatics. However, the lack of international networking opportunities remains a challenge that prevents cross-fertilization and sharing of good practices between and among PMOs in both trends. The eDemocracy Summit20 is one forum where a ma-jor discussion topic focused on parliamentary in-

formatics, but the last event was held in October 2009. Several partnerships among PMOs have led to the development of international moni-toring tools, but these efforts have not been sus-tained. Recently, recognition of the importance of international networking has emerged with the creation of the Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency,21 led by Fundación Di-rectorio Legislativo (Argentina) and Fundar (Mexico),22 and the efforts to establish the Civic Network for Parliamentary Monitoring in the Arab World, led by the Al-Quds Cen-ter for Political Studies ( Jordan).23 Addition-ally, NDI has continued efforts to support PMO networking through the Agora Portal for Parlia-mentary Development, a social networking web-site for MPs, parliamentary staff members, par-liamentary development professionals, and civil society organizations engaged in monitoring and parliamentary support.

9

Practices for Monitoring Individual MPs

3

Individual MPs are a primary focus of parliamen-tary monitoring activities for 86 percent of PMOs surveyed. Many PMOs view individual MP mon-itoring as a means to develop a culture of account-ability within parliament. Their tools are gener-ally aimed at helping citizens better understand the work of MPs—both to facilitate MPs’ deci-sion making at the polls and to encourage MPs’ participation in the political process between elections. This type of monitoring helps MPs rec-ognize that they are subject to public scrutiny and conveys the expectation that MPs conduct the duties of their office honorably (although PMOs often seek to balance “naming and shaming” tac-tics with support for broad-based parliamen-tary reform). Many PMOs also, somewhat more obliquely, try to establish a link between citizens and elected people by building mechanisms to fa-cilitate citizen input to their MPs on legislation or other types of constituent requests and to expe-dite MP responsiveness.24

Two commonly used tools for monitoring the level of activity or performance of individual MPs are profiles and scorecards. Profiles of MPs often include their educational and professional background, personal statistics, contact informa-tion, party affiliation, electoral circumscription,

committee or caucus membership, and other data that facilitate understanding of an MP’s in-terests and affiliations. Scorecards often quantify data related to MP work and report the findings in comparison with other MPs as individual di-mensions or as a composite index. Depending on the medium used for conveying the informa-tion (that is, webpage or paper) and the amount of information available—or obtainable—about an MP’s work and the objective of the PMO (that is, to facilitate understanding of the work of in-dividual MPs or to promote comparison among them), profiles and scorecards may be based on much the same information.

Figure 3.1 is taken from Directorio Legis-lativo, a “Who’s Who” guide of MPs from both houses of the National Congress of Argentina developed by Fundación Directorio Legislativo (2011).25 It includes basic background informa-tion about the MP and how he or she can be con-tacted. It also offers information about each MP’s legislative activities, roll call votes, and personal fi-nances, as well as information about elected offi-cials from the MP’s region and the distribution of the MP’s political party in the National Congress. The information is obtained through a survey that Fundación Directorio Legislativo sends to mem-


Source: Fundación Directorio Legislativo 2011, http://www.directoriolegislativo.org/fo-tos/2011/06/Diputados-Nacionales.pdf.

Figure 3.1: Sample MP Profile from Directorio Legislativo

bers every two years after elections, to reflect the composition of the new National Congress.

Fundación Directorio Legislativo published its first legislative directory in 2000—a time when little information about Argentina’s legisla-tors was shared and information was not expected to be available in the public domain. But this ex-pectation has changed, according to Noel Alonso Murray, general coordinator of programs at Fun-dación Directorio Legislativo. Murray notes that legislators in Argentina “now realize that this in-formation is public and should be made known to citizens. Every time we do [the legislative di-

rectory], it becomes easier to get the informa-tion.”26 Whereas approximately half of Argenti-na’s legislators responded to the survey when the first legislative directory was created, more than 95 percent are estimated to have responded to the 2010–11 survey.

MP scorecards often aim to provide citi-zens with comparative information about the work conducted by individual MPs. This infor-mation is often quantitative, although organi-zations such as India’s Satark Nagrik Sangathan have added qualitative information in their “re-port cards.”27 Most scorecards aggregate data on MP attendance, contribution to parliamentary debate, questions asked of the executive, pieces of legislation written, votes, and other measurable indicators of MP activity level. Whereas some PMOs, such as the Institute for Public Policy Re-search (Namibia), may conduct deeper analyses of one aspect of these data areas (see Tjirera and Hopwood 2009), some organizations, such as the Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI) and the Openpolis Association (Italy), develop indexes that summarize an individual MP’s performance data in a range of areas using a single value.28

Regards Citoyens (France),29 at the website NosDéputés.fr, has charted an MP attendance, par-ticipation, and oversight data timeline, as depicted in figure 3.2. Most PMOs release scorecard and in-dex results with additional information aimed at providing context. Parliamentary informatics web-sites often allow visitors to parse through floor and committee speech records, votes, and newspaper articles in which MPs appear.

The work conducted by Africa Leadership Institute (AFLI) in Uganda on parliamentary scorecards is instructive from a number of per-spectives.30 The scorecard itself is designed to rate an MP’s performance in three arenas of par-liamentary work: plenary, committee, and con-stituency.31 The plenary performance score com-

11Practices for Monitoring Individual MPs

bines MP rankings for performance, attendance, and “debate influence,” an indicator that counts how many responses an MP’s comments receive. Committee performance is simply based on at-tendance and participation, and constituency performance includes four indicators: attendance at local council meetings, whether or not the MP accounted for the constituency development fund monies that he or she spent, existence of lo-cal offices and assistants, and citizen accessibility to the MP (see AFLI 2009).

In addition to the rigorous scorecard devel-opment process, which is explored in the intro-ductions of recent scorecards and other available documents,32 the project stands out for its in-corporation of a peer assessment, one of the few tools that evaluates the intangible aspects of par-liamentary work (such as quality) that are so es-sential to successful conduct of the job. To obtain these data, AFLI asked MPs to rate 15 other ran-domly selected MPs in six areas: quality, analysis, teamwork, oversight, intraparty influence, and public conduct. The scores reported—includ-ing an overall score based on the average of the six listed areas—are percentiles that are adjusted

to account for party bias. To help readers inter-pret the final results, AFLI has charted the scores along with the averages of the opposition and governing coalitions. Through its analysis, AFLI has discovered that MPs within these coalitions, as well as frontbenchers and backbenchers, face different opportunities and constraints that af-fect their overall performance scores. As a result, it has developed design features to encourage ac-curate comparison.

Figure 3.2: A Global Participation Chart Developed by Regards Citoyens

We want to influence them to take their jobs more seriously.… Constituents have

no tools to follow their MPs. There are no structures to help that interaction between citizens and MPs. So, at least now, we are

trying to use the scorecard to structure this relationship and make MPs more

accountable.

—David Pulkol Africa Leadership Institute

(Uganda)

Source: NosDéputés.fr (http://www.nosdeputes.fr/martine-billard).

13

Practices for Monitoring Parliaments

4

Many PMOs go beyond the individual MP to monitor or assess political parties, party groups or blocs, committees, and parliament as an insti-tution. Whereas monitoring MPs is more effec-tive when greater amounts of information about their work is available, broader parliamentary monitoring does not necessarily require the same level of detail. Moreover, monitoring the work of political parties or party groups may be more appropriate, for instance, where parliamentary elections are conducted through proportional representation systems in which citizens do not vote directly for MPs. Many PMOs have found that MP monitoring can positively affect the be-havior of individual MPs but that such changes do not necessarily translate into collective or in-stitutional reform. Institution-level monitoring, however, can help PMOs identify shortcomings within a parliament’s overall framework and may reveal why MPs do not perform more effectively.

The tools and techniques used to moni-tor a parliament and its functions are as varied as those for monitoring individual MPs. Many PMOs monitor the performance or productivity of a parliament within the previous session, year, or term, whereas other PMOs develop indicator frameworks to assess the work of political parties,

party groups, or committees. PMOs concerned with citizen engagement in the legislative process may provide background information on parlia-mentary functioning and legislative tracking or research services. Others may monitor specific areas of parliamentary functioning, such as trans-parency, openness, or voting behavior.

4.1 Explaining and Tracking the Legislative Process and Legislation

For PMOs, explaining how parliament functions is key to providing citizens with greater access to the political process and, ultimately, to encourag-ing public participation in making decisions that affect their lives. Although a number of PMOs develop tools to help citizens understand the leg-islative and budget processes, Fundación Ciu-dadano Inteligente designed a creative YouTube video that animates Chile’s legislative process (see figure 4.1).33


Figure 4.1: Screenshot of a Video That Educates Citizens about Chile’s Legislative Process

Source: Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fovPgBS2FKM).

Many PMOs additionally track individual pieces of legislation as they move through the legislative system and explain what changes they could impose on society. These tools often aim to benefit both citizens and MPs, who, particu-larly in many underfunded parliaments, may not have access to effective legislative tracking tools or to nonpartisan explanations of bills under con-sideration. The “Bill Track” feature developed by India’s PRS Legislative Research (PRS) contains all bills and their status as well as documents re-lated to each bill.34 Bills can be searched by their status, which ranges from “To Be Introduced” to “Passed” by one or both chambers. Available doc-uments may include the text of the bill and com-mittee reports, as well as legislative briefs, commit-tee report summaries, and analyses produced by PRS. Yet some PMOs, such as South Africa’s Par-liamentary Monitoring Group (PMG),35 relieve the burden of searching for parliamentary infor-mation by sending e-mails about parliamentary or committee developments to those who sign up. GovTrack.us, a website created by Civic Impulse

(United States), has developed “trackers” that al-low visitors to receive immediate updates about the bills of their choice through a personalized RSS feed on their own computers or Web pages.36

PMOs can also play a valuable role in trans-lating complicated legal terminology into plain language that is understandable to MPs and citi-zens of various educational levels. PRS developed several tools to simplify legislation and describe its intended effect in plain words. Such tools in-clude PRS’s well-known legislative briefs, which are “easy-to-understand 4–6 page documents providing a jargon-free, non-partisan overview of the issues and implications of Bills.”37 PRS sends the briefs to all MPs, to journalists, and to other interested groups and individuals.

A more advanced tool, developed by Re-gards Citoyens at NosDéputés.fr, seeks to sim-plify legislative texts.38 The tool links the law to an explanation of why it was proposed and sepa-rates the law by section and article, linking all ref-erences to other laws with the original text and explaining changes required by the new law. Be-yond facilitating visitor access to legislation, the website promotes citizen engagement by allow-ing visitors to leave comments under each article, amendment, and reference. This tool has fostered the development of a community of active citi-zens to coalesce, share ideas, and develop advo-cacy ideas around specific legislative areas, such as Internet freedom.

4.2 Monitoring Parliamentary Performance

As when they monitor MP performance, PMOs are generally inclined to monitor a finite number of

15Practices for Monitoring Parliaments

parliamentary activities, including parliamentary attendance and presence, composition, numbers of legislative pieces or oversight activities under-taken, and voting behavior. However, some PMOs develop tools to assess compliance with parlia-mentary rules of procedure, administrative capac-ity, parliamentary transparency, or anticorruption activity. Methodologies used may be based on available information or international parliamen-tary assessment tools and may mix public opinion research and methods to collect MP opinions with more traditional data sources. However, a com-mon challenge faced in monitoring parliamentary performance through a combination of indicators is an overreliance on quantitative methods, which may reveal particular trends without necessarily re-vealing why or how they have occurred.

The capacity for parliamentary informatics to display vast amounts of information in differ-ent ways has led to the development of websites dedicated to facilitating the exploration of vot-ing data. Drawing on European Parliament vot-

ing data since 2004, VoteWatch.eu, a collabora-tive effort by the London School of Economics and Université Libre de Bruxelles, has created an innovative “voting trends” section to its website that allows for vote analysis by party group, issue, coalition, or voting bloc during a period of time specified by the visitor.39 Figure 4.2 shows the fre-quency of specific winning majorities.

To gain insight into the role of parliaments in the legislative process, which may have an impor-tant effect on power dynamics within a political system, PMOs may monitor a parliament’s role in the legislative process. In figure 4.3, the Afri-can Legislatures Project, based at the University of Cape Town, considers legislative assertiveness in five parliaments by counting the number of bills introduced; reviewed, passed, and amended in committee; and amended in plenary.40 These calculations provide a number of insights into the strength of committees in the countries stud-ied, as well as the roles of the parliaments in shap-ing legislation. Although most PMOs monitor a

Figure 4.2: Example of Vote Analysis on an Informatics Website

Source: VoteWatch.eu (http://www.votewatch.eu/cx_epg_coalitions.php).

Note: VoteWatch.eu depicts the frequency of winning majorities for specific coalitions in the European Parliament.


single parliament, many could undertake a simi-lar exercise by comparing changes in the parlia-ment’s legislative assertiveness over time.

4.3 Conducting Comprehensive Parliamentary Assessments

The most common parliamentary monitoring as-sessment aggregates various data related to the parliament’s functioning and level of activity and assesses the parliament’s performance against similarly functioning parliaments (for example, parliaments hailing from the Westminster tradi-tion) or against the same parliament in a different session or year. Such assessments are most useful

when differences or changes in quantitative data are accompanied by qualitative explanations. In Performance of the 13th National Assembly: The First Parliamentary Year (PILDAT 2009a), the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transpar-ency (PILDAT)41 discusses “key performance in-dicators” and includes sections on “positive initia-tives” by parliament to improve its performance and “key areas of concern.” PILDAT’s model com-bines irrefutable data—provided by the parlia-ment itself—with an approach that seeks to bal-ance “carrots and sticks” to encourage reform.

International assessment frameworks that have been developed through collaborative pro-cesses with MPs and parliamentary staff mem-bers offer an additional degree of legitimacy that may benefit PMO monitoring efforts and facili-tate MP participation. In addition to its legisla-tive session reports, PILDAT also conducted an evaluation of the Pakistani National Assembly in cooperation with MPs, analysts, and members of

Figure 4.3: Monitoring Tool by the African Legislatures Project: Legislative Assertiveness of Selected African Parliaments

Source: African Legislatures Project (http://www.africanlegislaturesproject.org/).

17Practices for Monitoring Parliaments

the media using the framework of a toolkit devel-oped by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) known as Evaluating Parliament: A Self-Assessment Toolkit for Parliaments.42 The 28 participants (half of whom were MPs) were asked to rate the Na-tional Assembly on questions posed in the six sections of the IPU’s toolkit using a 10-point scale. The final report, Evaluation of Parliament 2008–2009, states the results and recommenda-tions developed by participants to improve the parliament’s effectiveness (PILDAT 2009b).

Although many of the recommendations have yet to be implemented, the National Assem-bly’s secretary credits the evaluation with prompt-ing the decision to allow an opposition leader to chair the public accounts committee and with en-couraging the National Assembly’s continued ef-forts at self-assessment. Commenting on the Na-tional Assembly’s recent adoption of a private member bill to establish an internal research or-ganization, PILDAT Joint Director Aasiya Riaz stated that it “took us years to sensitize MPs [to understand] that this is something they need to undertake their work. It’s still in the teething stage, but an act of parliament has been passed.”43

4.4 Conducting Issue–Value Assessments

PMOs have also engaged in a number of efforts to research and evaluate specific issues or values of importance to parliamentary functioning, such as parliamentary transparency and openness, or par-liament’s role in the budget process. The Regional Index of Parliamentary Transparency was a joint ef-fort by Participa (Chile), Poder Ciudadano (Ar-gentina), and Acción Ciudadana (Guatemala) to test parliamentary transparency by assessing the

concepts of access to information and account-ability along four dimensions (comprising 62 variables) of work in which the legislature is in-volved.44 Each dimension was weighted according to the percentage of time the legislature devotes to it. This framework is accompanied by an analysis of laws regulating legislative transparency. Charts containing the final results of the study are color coordinated to demonstrate where a parliament is fulfilling its legal obligations, where it is not ful-filling such obligations, and where it is making in-formation available in excess of legal requirements (Participa, Poder Ciudadano, and Acción Ciu-ón Ciu-n Ciu-dadana 2008).

To assess the role of African parliaments in the budget process, the Parliamentary Centre Af-rica Programme has developed the Africa Parlia-mentary Index (API), which takes the form of a parliamentary self-evaluation facilitated by an in-dependent external assessor (Parliamentary Cen-tre Africa Programme 2011). The participants are first asked to weigh the importance of six factors that affect the parliament’s ability to influence the national budget: representation, legislation, over-sight functions, financial scrutiny, institutional ca-pacity, and institutional integrity. The participants then rate the parliament’s functioning in each area on a four-point scale. The average of the partici-pants’ scores and the relative weight assigned to each area are multiplied to obtain the final results. A similar exercise is conducted with civil society organizations in each country to validate the re-sults. Among the findings of the API, which has been implemented in seven countries, is that par-liamentary budget offices have “considerably in-fluenced the effectiveness of their Parliaments with regard to budget oversight” and that civil so-ciety often disputes the results of the parliamen-tary self-evaluations, calling on parliaments to be-come more accessible to citizens (Parliamentary Centre Africa Programme 2011, 24).

19

Good Practices in Parliamentary Monitoring

5

PMOs have developed a variety of innovative and effective techniques and approaches to monitor parliaments. This section highlights approaches developed by PMOs for addressing common challenges and discusses some of the qualities of PMOs that—according to PMO representatives themselves—have led to the PMOs’ successes. Because parliamentary monitoring is a continu-ously evolving field, the good practices reviewed in this section, as well as the associated recommen-dations to the international donor community in the next section, should be considered tentative and preliminary. They may, however, provide the basis for future research and discussion.

5.1 Increasing Transparency of Parliamentary Information

Opaque parliaments do not lend themselves to effective monitoring, and many PMOs consider the lack of parliamentary transparency an impor-tant challenge. Acción Ciudadana (Guatemala)

credits the Regional Index of Parliamentary Trans-parency (Participa, Poder Ciudadano, and Ac-ción Ciudadana 2008), discussed in section 4, with helping the organization lobby Congress to improve the public availability of parliamentary information. Fundación Directorio Legislativo found that developing MP profiles and publish-ing a parliamentary directory helped acclimate MPs to being monitored and helped strengthen the parliament’s openness. Other organizations have campaigned for parliamentary candidates to sign a good governance pledge that serves as a public commitment on the part of the candi-date to improve parliamentary transparency and openness if elected. The Al-Quds Center for Po-litical Studies used Jordan’s 2010 elections to se-cure candidate signatures on an “Agreement with Jordan” that included a pledge to develop a parlia-mentary code of conduct once elected. The Fair-Play Alliance (Slovak Republic) has organized elaborate advocacy campaigns that have success-fully encouraged candidates to volunteer more detailed asset declarations than required by law.45

Forty-nine percent of PMO respondents to the NDI–WBI survey indicated that they request information under a freedom of information (FOI) law. A number of PMOs file lawsuits when


requests are denied, late, or only partially com-plete. Although each country stipulates its own requirements for making FOI requests, some good practices are universal. For example, many PMOs have suggested that FOI requests be suc-cinct and targeted to specific information so that requests do not overwhelm parliamentary staffs with limited resources or capacity.

5.2 Sustaining Funding for PMOs

Many PMOs worldwide struggle with issues of funding. Although few sustainable funding mod-els appear transferable, some PMOs have devel-oped innovative ideas for generating revenues. For example, mySociety (United Kingdom) has created a for-profit website development busi-ness to help fund its nonprofit websites.46 Be-cause of the popularity of its website (which is searchable from some of Germany’s largest me-dia outlets, including Der Spiegel), Abgeordneten-watch.de has been able to raise funds, in part, by charging MPs for premium profile pages hosted on the website.47 PMG sells subscriptions for its monitoring services to businesses.

Other innovations may not necessarily generate revenue, but they may cut costs. For instance, a number of PMOs associated with uni-versities call on students to conduct research, as-sess trends in legislative activity, or conduct other activities that would otherwise require hiring ad-ditional staff members. This practice has the added benefit of engaging students in parliamentary pro-cesses. Congreso Visible (which is affiliated with the Universidad de los Andes)48 has developed an agreement with a popular media outlet that links its content to news articles pertaining to parlia-ment, thereby generating more than 65,000 hits

on a recent day and helping to bolster the PMO’s viewership substantially (Michener 2012). As mySociety’s Tom Steinberg recommends, an-other way to increase Web traffic—and possibly help PMOs fundraise or generate revenues from advertisements—is through “Search engine op-timization [and other] techniques to make your stuff come up higher on Google.”49 The signature website of mySociety, TheyWorkForYou.com, averages 200,000 to 300,000 visits per month (Escher 2011).

5.3 Overcoming Parliamentary Resistance to Monitoring

Just as the executive branch may not encourage robust parliamentary oversight, parliamentarians may not be accepting of rigorous civic oversight of their work as individuals or as an institution. At its core, neutralizing hostility to monitor-ing requires a PMO to strengthen its organiza-tional credibility with parliamentary actors and the public. PMOs have suggested a range of good practices in this area:

� Providing accurate, verifiable informa-tion—Iftekhar Zaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), believes that credibility rests with ac-curate information. “Corruption is very bad here, but it is improving,” says Zaman. “To combat it, we need information that is im-peccable and defendable, because we need to bring out the corruption in the media. Whatever we say and do, we must have infor-mation to back it up.”50

21Good Practices in Parliamentary Monitoring

� Building public support—TIB has also de-veloped credibility through its strong public support, including more than 4,600 mem-bers and a network of 36 Committees of Concerned Citizens. An independent eval-uation found that “TIB is now identified as being synonymous with tackling corruption in Bangladesh” (Knock and Yasmin n.d.). Al-though such an accolade does not shield TIB from attack, it helps the organization gain ac-cess to parliament and the ear of politicians.

� Combining monitoring activities with parliamentary support—PMOs have bol-stered their credibility with MPs by provid-ing support for parliamentary development in conjunction with their monitoring and evaluation activities. For example, Trans-parency International Georgia was able to obtain office space within the parliament to facilitate citizen and civil society input into the lawmaking process.51 PMOs can also strengthen their credibility within parlia-ment by supporting MPs in working toward shared objectives. When parliaments con-duct question-and-answer sessions, for in-stance, PMOs can help publicize effective questions posed by MPs and monitor execu-

tive responses. This additional publicity may also produce an incentive for MPs to con-duct effective oversight work.

� Ensuring “clean hands”—To effectively criticize a particular parliamentary practice or issue, PMOs need to practice what they preach. PMOs that advocate for improved transparency of parliamentary information have a responsibility to ensure that they hold their own organization to exception-ally high standards regarding transparency. Poder Ciudadano and the Al-Quds Center, for instance, require members to abide by the organization’s own code of ethics, and Abgeordnetenwatch.de posts its donors in a searchable database on its website.

5.4 Using Parliamentary Monitoring to Support Reform and Reinforce Public Activism

Citizens are often skeptical of their parliaments. When PMO activities confirm public cynicism of parliament, citizens may undermine demo-cratic governance or even bolster the executive as an alternative to a corrupt or unproductive parlia-ment. For instance, while “naming and shaming” MPs who commit crimes or illegal acts may mit-igate bad behavior, confrontational approaches may do less to help generate incentives for MPs to engage in reform processes or constructive dia-logue with PMOs.

PMOs have pursued a number of avenues to encourage positive behavior and reform. For

Parliaments are not exactly popular.... If the discourse of the [PMO] is similar to what the feeling of the people is—and doesn’t question the negative image that people

have about the Congress—then we are not doing much.… If citizens don’t realize that Congress is a very important branch for a political system to work, then we’re not

going to be a democracy.

–Mónica Pachón, Congreso Visible (Colombia)


example, Fundación Directorio Legislativo pres-ents an award for the most innovative MP, which not only brings public recognition to the MP, but has also been combined with awarding the MP a study mission trip to learn more about related in-novations or reforms in other countries.52 Con-greso Visible publishes interviews with parlia-mentary actors in its bimonthly magazine, which highlights MPs’ positive actions.53 At an institu-tional rather than individual level, PILDAT pub-licizes the National Assembly’s positive steps.54

A number of PMOs believe that the manner in which information is released can be as impor-tant to encouraging reform as the content of the in-

formation itself. For many PMOs, the first step in releasing information involves seeking media at-tention, believing that the resulting outcry will trig-ger a reform process. For some PMOs, including The Institute for Social Accountability (Kenya)55 and the Fair-Play Alliance, the initial step may be to alert affected individuals within parliament and other governing institutions before launching their media campaign. In some instances, provid-ing public officials with an opportunity to initiate change or plan a face-saving response before the release of embarrassing information can help spur reform while also involving the PMO in any subse-quent negotiations (box 5.1).

In Kenya, PMOs have begun to coordinate their efforts to reform the constituency de-velopment fund (CDF). Believing that organizations such as Muslims for Human Rightsa (MUHURI) had effectively documented the misuse of the CDF, The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA) decided to switch from data collection to applied monitoring. After the government acknowledged the need for CDF reform, TISA and other civil society partners developed a reform proposal. They subsequently shared their recommendations with potential reformers within parliament and other state bodies engaged in setting CDF polices. TISA moved to monitor the reform process. According to TISA Coordinator Wanjiru Gikonyo,

We have taken a long-term view to reform—and emphasize change in practice as we push for legal reforms.… When you use an antagonistic approach, you get locked out and citizens give up. Our approach has been a little more conciliatory. We really do say the facts, but we say them directly to the stakeholders. We don’t say them to the media first.… Before we upload anything on our website, we share it with the institution first and give them a right of reply.b

Gikonyo believes that this approach has helped the cause of CDF reform. After issuing a letter in December 2009, TISA received an immediate response from the CDF board ad-dressing some of its concerns. TISA also publicly releases its reports on the reform process.

a. The organization’s website is http://muhuri.org/.b. Author interview by phone with Wanjiru Gikonyo, The Institute for Social Account-ability, March 9, 2010.

Box 5.1: Changing Game Plans in Kenya


5.5 Using Parliamentary Informatics Effectively to Monitor Parliaments

Examples of effective and creative use of informa-tion and communication technologies (ICTs) for parliamentary monitoring demonstrate the prom-ise that parliamentary informatics hold for future monitoring initiatives. However, survey results and discussions with PMO leaders reveal that those tools do not necessarily resolve challenges facing PMOs. Organizations that do not use in-formatics appear more inclined to conduct activ-ities that engage the parliament directly, whereas organizations applying informatics most often use the tool to aggregate parliamentary informa-tion. According to what informatics developers often counsel, organizations that are considering integrating informatics into their programming should (a) view informatics as a tool rather than as a solution and (b) develop a plan with well-defined objectives to ensure effective implemen-tation of informatics.56 Factors to consider when contemplating using informatics are discussed in box 5.2, and Michener offers additional good practices for building citizen demand for parlia-mentary information in an analysis of three PMO websites (Michener 2012).

5.6 Developing Effective Media Outreach

PMOs benefit from a growing body of experi-ence and good practice in their efforts to engage

media in their monitoring and advocacy activi-ties. A number of PMOs have noted greater suc-cess in attracting local and regional media, rather than national media, particularly where MPs have geographic constituencies and the news cycle is more locally focused. Many PMOs have noted that innovative techniques for parliamen-tary monitoring, such as regional indexes, can ef-fectively attract media interest. Some PMOs use gimmicks to initially capture public attention for something trivial, which may eventually at-tract more lasting interest in serious reform. For example, TheyWorkForYou.com tracks MP use of three-word alliterative phrases (for example, “she sells seashells”) in speeches contained in the Hansard (the official reports of parliamentary de-bates). In the website’s words, “We’ve added the silly statistic to catch your attention.”57 Other PMOs have offered training to help educate jour-nalists on parliamentary affairs.

5.7 Using Sound Methodologies and Reporting Practices

For many PMOs, parliamentary monitoring re-ports often represent their most visible product. As such, their reputations are heavily based on the credibility of those reports. Some of the most commonly cited good practices for developing quality reports are the following:

� Stating the methodology and acknowl-edging limitations—Most PMO reports include a thorough description of their data collection techniques and the methodology used in analyzing the data and preparing the report. Many PMOs recognize that some of


the quantitative statistics have little relation to the quality of MPs’ work. Acknowledg-ing these shortcomings and rationalizing the use of indicators, which remain an important monitoring tool, is important.

� Focusing on information that is meaning-ful, not on information that is just acces-sible—Many PMOs monitor parliamentary

and MP activity by developing techniques using available data and information. Focus-ing on available information comes with the drawback of developing monitoring tools and methodologies that neglect relevant in-formation. The Kosova Democratic Institute has addressed this issue by including “pillars of analysis” into its scorecards to explore de-

Box 5.2: Factors a PMO Should Consider When Contemplating Using Parliamentary Informatics

When an organization is contemplating the use of parliamentary informatics to bolster its monitoring activities, it should consider these issues:

• Planning strategically—Informatics tools are not effective in all environments and in all circumstances. It is imperative that PMOs have clear objectives in mind when considering the use of informatics and have a strategic plan for engaging citizens once the website is implemented.

• Assessing availability of parliamentary information—Tools that aggregate in-formation from websites are most effective when tailored to structured, machine-readable data that are available directly on parliamentary websites. Although these tools can also aggregate news articles, they are less effective when used in this man-ner. When data are unavailable on parliamentary websites, PMOs should consider focusing efforts on developing tools to help address the lack of information. Even with access, Benjamin Ooghe-Tabanou, a developer at Regards Citoyens, suggests that effective organization of parliamentary data requires a thorough understanding of the legislative process.a

• Developing the capacity to adapt and improve informatics tools—Informatics are not labor intensive once implemented, but several PMOs have cautioned that these tools often require numerous adaptations after the website is launched and visitor preferences become known. Methodological changes may also require further, potentially costly, changes to the website. When considering using informatics, orga-nizations must factor in the technical and financial costs involved in not only building them but also sustaining them.

• Accounting for characteristics of the target audience—Some informatics can be more effective when aimed at a specific audience. Crowd-sourcing tools, for example, may be best used for information sharing among specific groups, such as single-issue policy activists. Determining a clear audience to target when developing informatics can help ensure that projects are informatics enabled rather than informatics driven.

a. Author interview by phone with Benjamin Ooghe-Tabanou, Regards Citoyens, Jan- uary 26, 2010.


velopments related to parliaments’ work and functions.58

� Drawing on international standards, benchmarks, and assessment tools—As highlighted previously, a number of interpar-liamentary organizations representing parlia-ments around the world have adopted bench-marks or assessment tools for democratic legislatures. By adopting these frameworks, in full or in part, and adapting them to local con-texts, a PMO may strengthen its standing with parliament because of the added measure of legitimacy provided by observing interna-tionally recognized methodologies.

� Engaging MPs in the development and refinement of monitoring methodolo-gies—By involving MPs in developing mon-itoring methodologies, a number of PMOs have used the evaluation process to help ed-ucate MPs and citizens. AFLI in Uganda has

engaged MPs and citizens in the creation of its parliamentary scorecard, which has led to a number of improvements (such as the in-clusion of a rating system for constituency work).

� Comparing performance over time and with similar parliaments—Comparisons with past performance or with performances of similarly structured parliaments may pro-vide users with an important frame of refer-ence. In the Vital Stats section of the website of PRS Legislative Research,59 PRS explores topics related to parliamentary functions from multiple perspectives. For instance, in a discussion of private member bills in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house, the introduction of private bills is explored over time by party, by a ministers-to-backbenchers comparison, and by the introduction and discussion of the bills.60

27

Preliminary Recommendations for the Donor Community

6

As noted, the international donor community is an important source of funding and technical as-sistance for PMOs in donor assistance partner countries. International donors have also begun to collaborate with PMOs in donor countries to strengthen parliamentary monitoring activities, particularly with respect to the use of informatics. At a conference in March 2010, members of the donor community and representatives of interna-tional parliamentary associations, MPs, and staff members from more than 30 parliaments agreed that the donor community’s engagement of PMOs obligates it to “encourage [PMOs] to improve their methodologies and to engage in fair, responsible monitoring of parliamentary performance in ac-cordance with international norms” (WBI and UNDP 2010, 5). This report offers six preliminary recommendations for the donor community to consider.

� Make medium- to long-term investments in PMOs to help strengthen accountabil-ity structures and contribute to dem-ocratic reform processes PMOs have shown promise in strengthening a number of components of democratic governance, including the accountability of parliaments to the electorate, citizen engagement in the

legislative process, and access to information about parliaments and their work. Eighty-six percent of PMOs in donor assistance partner countries list international donors as an im-portant funding source. Yet the effectiveness of PMOs in strengthening accountability structures and contributing to democratic reform processes remains uneven. In lieu of developing funding models that can help PMOs sustain their activities in the absence of international support, the donor commu-nity can directly provide medium- to long-term support that can help PMOs improve their results on a variety of levels. The sup-port can afford them the time needed to de-velop credible working relationships within parliament and effective monitoring meth-odologies (perhaps with the participation of MPs, who often lack interest in the work of PMOs until they see their first performance review in a PMO scorecard or report). In some instances, the provision of funding to sustain an organization between election pe-riods allows a PMO to plan over the life of the parliament and provide a more realistic window in which to produce results. It may also help MPs view monitoring as an institu-


tionalized facet of their political system that they may use to their advantage.

� Work with PMOs to help them translate quality parliamentary monitoring into successful advocacy for reform and con-structive parliamentary engagement PMOs face a variety of challenges in devel-oping tools that, on one hand, gain public in-terest and, on the other hand, do not increase public cynicism of the parliament. Some PMOs tend to focus on producing quality re-ports rather than on using those reports as a basis for active advocacy. For those PMOs, advocacy is often limited to issuing press re-leases and conducting press conferences. Other PMOs may use monitoring results to “name and shame” MPs or to reveal sensi-tive information in ways that generate pub-licity at the parliament’s expense. As noted, those tactics can serve to expose some of the poorest performing MPs, but they may also fuel public suspicion of representative in-stitutions. When monitoring a parliament, PMOs must strike a balance between the de-sire to gain public attention and the neces-sity to constructively criticize parliament in a manner that can benefit both citizens and lawmakers. Technical assistance and peer-to-peer exchanges may help strengthen the ad-vocacy skills of PMOs and encourage more constructive parliamentary practices (such as capacity-building programs by PMOs for parliament or award programs or recognition for parliamentary reforms or MPs who have advanced parliamentary reform). Includ-ing PMOs in international discussions with MPs on issues related to parliamentary per-formance can help forge more understanding relationships between PMOs and MPs.

� Support networking and peer-to-peer sharing among PMOs to bolster domes-

tic monitoring efforts and the exchange of experiences and good practices Un-til now, few efforts have been undertaken to share good practices among PMOs, despite the wealth of creative ideas that have been generated from within the PMO commu-nity. The exchange of good practices among PMOs can help consolidate and improve their activities and tools as well as stimu-late the development of new ideas. Accord-ing to Noel Alonso Murray of Fundación Di-rectorio Legislativo, a founding member of the Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency (LALT), international tools and networks may also help provide com-parative perspectives that channel MP inter-est and engagement.61 Support for this peer-to-peer sharing of information could take multiple forms. WBI’s support for LALT is one model that could be replicated in other regions. Initiatives driven by leading PMOs from within the region show potential for having a cumulative effect that is greater than the sum of the individual PMOs.

� Support PMO efforts to improve par-liamentary transparency, which can lead to more effective monitoring and strengthen citizen and civil society en-gagement in policy issues The lack of par-liamentary information remains a significant challenge to PMO monitoring activities and to citizen engagement in decision-making processes more broadly. Until now, inter-national frameworks for democratic parlia-ments made little mention of parliamentary transparency. With the exception of the IPU’s (2009) “Guidelines for Parliamentary Websites,” less attention has been paid to de-veloping consensus on the format and type of information that parliaments should re-lease publicly. PMO initiatives to develop

29Preliminary Recommendations for the Donor Community

open data standards for parliaments to en-sure the release of data in machine-readable formats merit support and attention. At the regional level, support for monitoring net-works, such as LALT and the Civil Network to Monitor Parliaments in the Arab Region, could continue to address transparency is-sues. A range of activities could also be sup-ported at the country level, particularly in countries where parliamentary transparency remains elusive. As a follow-up to this report, NDI and WBI have convened discussions with PMOs to explore opportunities for col-lective action at a global level. This collective action may include a number of activities re-lated to strengthening parliamentary trans-parency (for example, through the global PMO community’s adoption of standards on parliamentary transparency or the possi-ble development of a global index of parlia-mentary transparency using tools being de-veloped by LALT).

� Engage the parliamentary informatics community to increase sharing and de-velopment of common tools Although the use of informatics for parliamentary moni-toring is increasing, a number of challenges to developing effective informatics tools re-main. Differences in the formats, standards, and basic structures of information provided by parliaments prevent the application of most software to parliamentary information other than the software for which it is origi-nally designed. Because innovation is ad hoc, code is not often written to be used by other developers even if it is freely available. Fur-thermore, PMOs that do not employ their own developers often overpay for informat-ics and may have difficulty obtaining neces-sary refinements to tools once the initial de-

sign phase is complete. Greater efforts are needed to develop solutions to these chal-lenges and to increase the effectiveness of code sharing. By engaging parliamentary in-formatics developers in these issues, the in-ternational community can help improve ac-cess to these tools and speed up the pace of innovation.

� Include PMOs in the continued devel-opment of international norms and stan-dards for democratic parliaments to re-inforce these efforts and encourage consensus on the normative approach The donor community has supported inter-parliamentary associations and organizations to codify international norms and standards for democratic parliaments. Most of the world’s population lives in countries that be-long to parliamentary associations that have adopted benchmarks for democratic parlia-ments or are in the process of doing so (for example, the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie, the Commonwealth Parlia-mentary Association, the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum, and the Parliamentary Confedera-tion of the Americas).62 Because parliamen-tary monitoring is a relatively new area, sig-nificant work remains to be done in building and reinforcing international consensus around normative standards for democratic legislatures. PMOs also have an impor-tant role to play in this arena with respect to (a) endorsing elements of normative stan-dards that have already been developed, (b) expanding the body of international norms to areas of particular interest to PMOs (such as transparency of parliamentary in-formation), or (c) monitoring parliamentary performance against international norms.

31

This appendix lists the PMOs identified as part of this mapping project. However, any list of this na-ture is necessarily incomplete. Efforts will be made to update this information on the Agora Web portal, http://www.agora-parl.org. Please send any additions or corrections to [email protected].

PMO Website

Albania

Mjaft! http://www.mjaft.org

Center for Parliamentary Studies http://scorecard.ascpdp.org/english

Argentina

Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia

http://www.acij.org.ar

Asociación por los Derechos Civiles http://www.adc.org.ar

Centro Para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina

http://www.cadal.org/english/default.asp

Fundación Directorio Legislativo http://www.directoriolegislativo.org

Poder Ciudadano http://www.poderciudadano.org

Armenia

Freedom of Information Center of Armenia

http://www.foi.am/en

Australia

Open Australia http://www.openaustralia.org

Austria

Meinparliament.at http://www.meinparlament.at

Appendix: List of PMOs


Azerbaijan

Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center

http://www.smdt.az/en

Bangladesh

BRAC University Institute of Governance Studies

http://www.igs-bracu.ac.bd

Transparency International Bangladesh http://www.ti-bangladesh.org

Vote BD http://www.votebd.org

Bolivia

Fundación de Apoyo al Parlamento y la Participación Ciudadana

http://www.fundappac.org

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Center for Civic Initiatives http://www.ccibh.org

CA “Why Not?” http://www.zastone.bahttp://www.istinomjer.bahttp://www.razglasaj.ba

Brazil

Adote Um Vereador http://www.adoteumvereadorsp.com.br

Congresso Aberto http://www.congressoaberto.com.br

Departamento Intersindical de Assesso-ria Parlamentar

http://www.diap.org.br

Transparência Brasil http://www.transparencia.org.br

Votenaweb http://www.votenaweb.com.br

Bulgaria

Bulgarian Association for the Promotion of Citizens’ Initiatives

—

Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law http://www.bcnl.org/en/index.html

Centre for Liberal Strategies http://www.cls-sofia.org/en

Programme and Analytical Centre for European Law

http://www.pacelonline.org

Burkina Faso

Le Centre pour la Gouvernance Démo-cratique

http://www.cgd-igd.org

Cambodia

Center for Social Development Cambodia

http://www.csdcambodia.org

Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL)

http://www.comfrel.org/eng

33Appendix

Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC)

http://www.nicfec.org/HOME.php

Canada

How’d They Vote? http://www.howdtheyvote.ca

Chile

Chile Transparente http://www.chiletransparente.cl

Corporación Humanas http://www.humanas.cl

Corporación Participa http://www.participa.cl

Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente http://www.votainteligente.cl

Fundación Pro Acceso http://www.proacceso.cl

Colombia

Bogotá Cómo Vamos http://www.bogotacomovamos.org

Congreso Visible http://www.congresovisible.org

Concejo Visible Barranquilla http://www.cvisible.com

Concejo Visible Bucaramanga http://www.concejovisible.com/website

Concejo Visible Neiva http://www.ccneiva.org/index.php?objeto=cvisible

Fundación Seguridad y Democracia —

Instituto de Ciencia Política, Universidad de Los Andes

http://www.icpcolombia.org/observatorio.php

Observatorio Cali Visible http://calivisible.javerianacali.edu.co

Transparencia por Colombia http://www.transparenciacolombia.org.co

Croatia

GONG http://www.gong.hr

Denmark

Buhl & Rasmussen http://www.hvemstemmerhvad.dkhttp://www.itsyourparliament.eu

Egypt, Arab Rep.

El Sadat Association for Social Develop-ment and Welfare

http://www.el-sadat.org

Human Rights Association for Commu-nity Development in Assuit

http://www.assuithumanrights.org/English_Site/index.php

Egyptian Democratic Institute —

Justice and Citizenship Center for Hu-man Rights

None

Mogtamaana for Development and Hu-man Rights Association

—


El Salvador

Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desar-rollo Económico y Social

http://www.fusades.orghttp://www.observatoriolegislativo.org.sv

European Parliament

Stowarzyszenie 61 http://www.art61.plhttp://www.mamprawowiedziec.pl

Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek http://www.prodemos.nlhttp://www.stemmentracker.nl

KohoVolit.eu http://www.kohovolit.eu

Parlorama.eu http://www.parlorama.eu

Political Memory http://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/Political_Memory

Qvorum Institute http://www.qvorum.ro/enhttp://parlamentultau.ro

VoteWatch.eu http://www.votewatch.eu

Buhl & Rasmussen http://www.itsyourparliament.eu

France

Mon Député http://mon-depute.fr

Regards Citoyens http://www.regardscitoyens.orghttp://www.nosdeputes.frhttp://www.nossenateurs.frhttp://www.nosdonnees.fr

Georgia

Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democ-racy, and Development

http://www.cipdd.org

Civil Society Institute http://www.civilin.org/Eng/index.php

Transparency International Georgia http://www.transparency.ge/en

Germany

Abgeordnetenwatch.de http://www.abgeordnetenwatch.de

Open Data Network http://opendata-network.org

Politik-Digital.de http://politik-digital.de/

Ghana

Ghana Center for Democratic Develop-ment

http://www.cddghana.org

Guatemala

Acción Ciudadana http://www.accionciudadana.org.gt

Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales

http://www.asies.org.gt

35Appendix

Centro de Investigaciones Económicas Nacionales

http://www.cien.org.gt

Honduras

Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos

http://www.ciprodeh.org.hn

Fundación Democracia sin Fronteras http://www.fdsf.hn

Hong Kong SAR, China

SynergyNet http://www.synergynet.org.hk/en_index.php

India

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan http://www.mkssindia.org

MumbaiVotes http://www.mumbaivotes.com

Praja http://www.praja.org

PRS Legislative Research http://www.prsindia.org

Satark Nagrik Sangathan http://www.snsindia.org

Indonesia

Forum Masyarakat Peduli Parlemen Indonesia (FORMAPPI)

http://formappi.tripod.com

Indonesian Parliamentary Center http://pusatparlemenindonesia.blogspot.com

Indonesian Center for Law and Policy Studies

http://www.pshk.or.idhttp://www.parlemen.net/site/index.php

Ireland

KildareStreet.com http://www.kildarestreet.com

Israel

Open-Knesset http://www.ohloh.net/p/open-knesset

Italy

Openpolis Association http://www.openpolis.ithttp://www.openparlamento.it

Relazioni Istituzionali e Comunicazione http://www.es-comunicazione.it

Jordan

Al-Hayat Center for Civil Society Devel-opment

http://www.hayatcenter.org

Al Quds Center for Political Studies http://www.alqudscenter.org/english

Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center http://www.ujrc-jordan.net

Center for Strategic Studies http://www.jcss.org/default.aspx

Kenya

Mars Group Kenya “Mwalimu Mati” http://www.marsgroupkenya.orghttp://blog.marsgroupkenya.org

Muslims for Human Rights http://muhuri.org


Mzalendo http://www.mzalendo.com

Sodnet http://www.sodnet.org

The Institute for Social Accountability http://www.tisa.or.ke

Kosovo

Consortium for Strengthening Civil Soci-ety Advocacy

—

FOL Movement http://levizjafol.org/ENGLISH/lastest

Kosova Democratic Institute http://www.kdi-kosova.org/en/index.phphttp://www.votaime.org

Kuwait

Kuwait Transparency Society http://www.transparency-kuwait.org

Lebanon

Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace

http://www.kleudge.com/flpcp

Nahwa al-Muwatiniya http://na-am.org/ahttp://www.lpmonitor.org

Liberia

Liberia Democracy Watch http://liberiademocracywatch.org

Liberia Democratic Institute http://www.ldi-lbr.org

National Youth Movement for Transpar-ent Elections

http://www.naymote.ushahidi.com

Youth Campaigners International http://ycii.org

Lithuania

Atviras Seimas http://atviras-seimas.info

Mano Seimas http://www.manoseimas.lt

Macedonia, FYR

Citizens’ Association MOST http://www.most.org.mk/index.php/en

Malaysia

The Nut Graph http://www.thenutgraph.com

Mexico

500 sobre 500 http://www.500sobre500.com

Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad

http://www.consorcio.org.mx

Fundar: Centro de Análisis e Investig-ación

http://www.fundar.org.mxhttp://www.curul501.org

Hagamos Quórum http://www.hagamosquorum.com

Sonora Ciudadana http://www.sonoraciudadana.org.mx

37Appendix

Moldova

Centre for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption

http://www.capc.md/en

Institute for Development and Social Initiatives

http://www.viitorul.org/index.php?l=en

Montenegro

Centar za Demokratsku Tranziciju http://www.cdtmn.org/index.php?lang=en

Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector (MANS)

http://www.mans.co.me/en

Morocco

Centre des Droits des Gens http://www.centredesdroitsdesgens.org

Le Médiateur pour la Démocratie et les Droits Humains

http://www.mediateurddh.org.ma

Namibia

Institute for Public Policy Research http://www.ippr.org.na

Netherlands

Institute for Public Policy (Stemmen-tracker)

http://www.stemmentracker.nl

Politix.nl http://www.politix.nl

New Zealand

CommoNZ Parliamentary Database http://commonz.wotfun.com

Theyworkforyou.co.nz http://theyworkforyou.co.nz

Nigeria

Policy Analysis and Research Project http://www.nassnig.org/parp/activities.php

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre http://www.cislacnigeria.org

Pakistan

Aurat Foundation http://www.af.org.pk/mainpage.htm

Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives

http://www.cpdi-pakistan.org

Free and Fair Election Network http://www.fafen.org/site/v4

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Develop-ment and Transparency (PILDAT)

http://www.pildat.org

Paraguay

Centro de Información y Recursos para el Desarrollo

http://www.aquieneselegimos.org.py

Instituto de Derecho y Economía Ambiental

http://www.idea.org.py/english

Peru

Asociación Civil Transparencia http://www.transparencia.org.pe


Manos Limpias http://www.manoslimpias.es

Reflexión Democrática http://www.reflexiondemocratica.org.pe

Philippines

Caucus of Development NGO Networks http://code-ngo.org/home

Center for Legislative Development International

http://www.cld.org

Makati Business Club http://www.mbc.com.ph/engine

Poland

Stowarzyszenie 61 http://www.mamprawowiedziec.plhttp://www.art61.pl

Stefan Batory Foundation http://www.batory.org.pl

Regional

African Legislatures Project http://www.africanlegislaturesproject.org

Arab Center for the Development of the Rule of Law and Integrity

http://arabruleoflaw.org

KohoVolit.eu http://KohoVolit.eu

Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency

http://www.transparencialegislativa.org

South Asians for Human Rights http://www.southasianrights.org

Romania

Advocacy Academy —

Asociatia Pro Democratia http://www.apd.ro

Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center http://www.edrc.ro/en/index.html

Institute for Public Policy http://www.ipp.ro/eng/pagini/index.php

European Institute for Participatory De-mocracy (Qvorum Institute)

http://www.qvorum.ro/en

Russian Federation

GOLOS Association http://www.golos.org/?lang=en

The Information Science for Democracy Foundation

http://www.indem.ru/en/index.shtml

Serbia

Center for Research, Transparency, and Accountability

http://www.crta.rs/wp/enhttp://www.istinomer.rs

Slovak Republic

Fair-Play Alliance http://www.fair-play.sk/index_en.php

South Africa

Idasa http://www.idasa.org.za

Parliamentary Monitoring Group http://www.pmg.org.za

39Appendix

Sweden

Open Source Project: Citizen Intelligence Agency

http://cia.sourceforge.net

Switzerland

Politools: Political Research Network http://www.politools.net

Taiwan, China

Citizen Congress Watch http://www.ccw.org.tw/?cat=77

Tanzania

Legal and Human Rights Centre http://www.humanrights.or.tz

Policy Forum http://www.policyforum-tz.org

Sikika http://www.sikika.or.tz

Turkey

TÜMIKOM (Association of Committees for Monitoring Parliamentarians and Elected Officials)

http://www.tumikom.org/english/index.php

Uganda

Africa Leadership Institute http://www.aflia.org

Uganda Debt Network http://www.udn.or.ug

United Kingdom

Democratic Audit of the United King-dom

http://www.democraticaudit.com

Hansard Society http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk

mySociety http://www.theyworkforyou.com

Public Whip http://www.publicwhip.org.uk

Revolts.co.uk http://www.revolts.co.uk

United Nations

UNDemocracy.com http://www.undemocracy.com

United States

Center for Responsive Politics http://www.opensecrets.org

Civic Impulse http://www.civicimpulse.comhttp://www.govtrack.ushttp://www.govtrackinsider.com

Congressional Management Foundation http://www.cmfweb.org

Friends Committee on National Legislation

http://www.fcnl.org/index.htm

League of Women Voters http://www.lwv.org

Legistorm http://www.legistorm.com

MAPLight http://maplight.org


National Institute on Money in State Politics

http://www.followthemoney.org

Progressive Punch http://progressivepunch.org

Project Vote Smart http://www.votesmart.org

Public Citizen: Congress Watch http://www.citizen.org/congress

Sunlight Foundation http://earmarkwatch.orghttp://www.capitolwords.orghttp://opencongress.orghttp://opensecrets.org

Taxpayers for Common Sense http://www.taxpayer.net

Transparency Data http://www.transparencydata.com

Voter Information Services http://www.vis.org

WashingtonWatch.com http://www.washingtonwatch.com

Venezuela, RB

Movimiento Identidad Ciudadana —

Yemen, Rep.

Yemen Parliament Watch http://www.ypwatch.org/index.php?lng=en

Zambia

Caritas Zambia http://www.caritaszambia.org.zm/index.php

Zimbabwe

Veritas Trust —

Source: Author’s compilation.

Note: — = not available.

41

1 For more information about NDI, see the organi-zation’s website at http://www.ndi.org. 2 For more information about WBI, see the insti-tute’s website at http://wbi.worldbank.org/wbi. 3 For the purposes of this paper, parliament is a common term for a representative legislature and, ex-cept as otherwise indicated, includes national legisla-tures regardless of the type of governmental system. Similarly, member of parliament (or MP) is used as an all-inclusive term for legislator, deputy, representative, senator, assemblyperson, or other members of legisla-tive bodies. 4 Two efforts to understand the effects of PMO activities are Banerjee and others (2010) and Hum-phreys and Weinstein (2010). 5 PMOs could participate through a questionnaire provided by e-mail or by filling out a questionnaire at http://www.surveymonkey.com between December 2009 and February 2010. More information about the survey, including a copy of the questionnaire, can be found in Mandelbaum (2011). 6 See the network’s website at http:// transparency.globalvoicesonline.org/. 7 For more information on tools, strategies, and techniques for civil society organizations conduct-ing other forms of political process monitoring, see Pompi and Kohlmoos (2011).8 The figure of 82 national parliaments does not in-clude, for example, parliaments of such jurisdictions as Hong Kong SAR, China; Northern Ireland, United

Kingdom; Scotland, United Kingdom; Taiwan, China; and Wales, United Kingdom. 9 Because of the focus of the NDI and WBI on po-litical institution strengthening in developing coun-tries, the project concentrated its efforts on identify-ing PMOs in developing countries. However, because of the goal of sharing good practices in parliamentary monitoring, PMOs in consolidated democracies were also included, and those counted may be more illustra-tive than comprehensive.10 These 63 PMOs monitor a total of 60 national parliaments and come from all regions of the world, al-though Asia is somewhat underrepresented in the sur-vey data. Seven of the eight PMOs in Sub-Saharan Af-rica monitor six national parliaments. One PMO, the African Legislatures Project, monitors all 20 national parliaments in its region. 11 Eight percent of PMOs monitor regional or su-pranational legislative institutions (such as the Euro-pean Parliament), with 1 percent doing so exclusively. 12 The OECD DAC’s website is at http://www.oecd.org/department/0,2688,en_2649_33721 _1_1_1_1_1,00.html. 13 These countries may also be referred to as devel-oped countries, whereas countries that do not partici-pate in the OECD DAC may be referred to as partner or developing countries. A list of OECD DAC members is available at http://www.oecd.org/document/38/0,3343,en_2649_34603_1893350_1_1_1_1,00.html. One PMO, called EPVote, which is based in

Endnotes


Luxembourg and monitors the European Parliament exclusively, was included among the PMOs in OECD DAC countries.14 Differences reported between PMOs based on OECD DAC member country status and those using parliamentary informatics are statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level unless otherwise specified.15 Making freedom of information requests is sig-nificant at the 90 percent confidence level.16 Parliamentary informatics is defined as the “appli-cation of information technology to the documenta-tion of legislative activity” and also refers to the use of ICTs by parliaments themselves. The parliamentary informatics page on Wikipedia serves as a reference point for organizations and individuals participating in such activities to identify themselves. The Wikipe-dia entry is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_informatics. 17 This difference is significant at the 90 percent confidence level.18 International community, in this context, refers to in-ternational organizations and institutions that fund and conduct activities to strengthen democratic governance or social accountability. They include development or-ganizations, such as the World Bank Institute and the U.S. Agency for International Development; democ-racy assistance organizations, such as U.S. and European party foundations; and international parliamentary as-sociations, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. 19 Many of the standards frameworks for demo-cratic parliaments can be found on Agora, a portal for parliamentary development: http://www.agora-parl.org/node/2705. 20 For information on the 2009 eDemocracy Sum-mit, see http://berlininoctober.e-demokratie.org/ index.php?title=Main_Page. 21 For more information, see http://www.trans parencialegislativa.org.22 For more information about Fundación Di-rectorio Legislativo, see http://www.directorio legislativo.org/. For more information about Fun-dar, see http://fundar.org.mx/.23 See the website of the Al Quds Center, http://www.alqudscenter.org/english/, for more information.24 Author interview by phone of Benjamin Ooghe-Tabanou, Regards Citoyens, January 26, 2010.

25 For more information, see http://www.directorio legislativo.org/publicaciones/. 26 Author interview by phone of Noel Alonso Mur-ray, Fondación Directorio Legislativo, January 14, 2010. 27 For more information, see the organization’s website, http://www.snsindia.org/. 28 See the websites of these organizations for more information. The website of the Institute for Pub-lic Policy is http://www.ippr.org.na/. KDI’s web-site is http://www.kdi-kosova.org/en/. The web-site for Openpolis Association is http://www.openpolis.it/. See KDI (2009) for an example of one of its scorecards. An example of an Openpolis in-dex is available at http://parlamento.openpolis.it/ parlamentari/camera/indice/desc. A discussion of the Openpolis activity index is available at http://guglielmo.posterous.com/the-new-index-of- parliamentary-activity-part-0.29 For more information about these organiza-tions, see their websites. NosDéputés.fr can be found at http://www.nosdeputes.fr/. Go to http://www.re-gardscitoyens.org/ for Regards Citoyens.30 AFLI’s website is http://www.aflia.org/.31 The Parliamentary Scorecard 2007–2008, the ba-sis for this discussion, and the Parliamentary Score-card 2008–2009 are available at http://aflia.org/ publications.php. 32 See the publications section of the AFLI website: http://www.aflia.org/publications.html. See also Pu-kol and Kaduuli (2008).33 For information about Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente, visit the organization’s website at http:// votainteligente.cl/. The video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fovPgBS2FKM. 34 For more information about PRS, visit the orga-nization’s website at http://www.prsindia.org/.35 For more information about PMG, visit the orga-nization’s website at http://www.pmg.org.za/.36 The GovTrack.us website is http://www. govtrack.us/. For more information about Civic Im-pulse, go to http://www.civicimpulse.com/.37 See PRS’s website at http://www.prsindia.org/aboutus/products-services/. 38 An example of the tool is available at http://www.nosdeputes.fr/loi/2760. 39 See the VoteWatch.eu website at http://www.votewatch.eu/.

43Endnotes

40 For more information about the African Legis-latures Project, visit its website at http://www.african legislaturesproject.org/. 41 For more information about PILDAT, visit its website at http://pildat.org/.42 The IPU’s toolkit, as well as a range of other in-formation on standards, is available through the Agora webpage on parliamentary standards, http://www. agora-parl.org/node/474. For more information about the toolkit, see http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/asgp09/dscr-IPU.pdf. For more information about IPU, go to http://www.ipu.org/english/home.htm.43 Author interview by phone of Aasiya Riaz, PIL-DAT. December 22, 2009. 44 More information about these organizations is available on their websites. For Participa, go to http://www.participa.cl/. For Poder Ciudadano, visit http://poderciudadano.org/. For Acción Ciudadana, go to http://www.accionciudadana.org.gt/. 45 For more information about the alliance’s activi-ties, see its website, http://www.fair-play.sk/.46 The website address is http://www.mysociety.org/.47 Author interview with Gregor Hackmack, Abge-ordnetenwatch.de. April 8, 2010. The website address is http://www.abgeordnetenwatch.de/.48 For more information, see Congreso Visible’s website at http://www.congresovisible.org/.49 Author interview by phone with Tom Steinberg, mySociety, February 19, 2010. 50 Author interview by phone with Iftekhar Zaman, Transparency International Bangladesh, November 25, 2009. Transparency International Bangladesh’s website is at http://www.ti-bangladesh.org/.

51 Transparency International Georgia’s web ad-dress is http://transparency.ge/en/.52 For more information, see http://www .directoriolegislativo.org/institucional/premio-a-la-innovacion-legislativa/. 53 Congreso Visible magazines are available at http://congresovisible.org/. 54 See, for example, http://www.pildat.org/ eventsdel.asp?detid=353. 55 The institute’s website is http://www.tisa.or.ke/.56 For information on developing a strategic plan-ning framework for parliamentary monitoring more broadly, see NDI’s Political-Process Monitoring : Activist Tools and Techniques (Pompi and Kohlmoos 2011). 57 See TheyWorkForYou.com at http://www.they workforyou.com/help/#numbers. 58 See, for example, KDI (2009).59 See http://www.prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/vital-stats/. 60 See http://prsindia.org/index.php?name= Sections&id=5&parent_category=&category=60&action=bill_details&bill_id=1011.61 Author telephone interview with Noel Alonso Murray, January 14, 2010.62 For more information about these organiza-tions, see their websites. The website of the Assem-blée Parlementaire de la Francophonie is http://apf.francophonie.org/; that of the Commonwealth Parlia-mentary Association is http://www.cpahq.org/; and that of the Southern African Development Commu-nity Parliamentary Forum is http://www.sadcpf.org/.

45

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