Justice, Democracy and the Rule of Law Seminar
Brussels, 17 – 20 June 2013
Parliamentary development in EU
support to democratic governance
Jonathan Murphy
Consultant on parliamentary development
Chief Technical Adviser to the Project in support of Constitutional, Parliamentary
and National Development in Tunisia
PRESENTATION CONTENTS
1. Parliamentary development in democracy support
2. Support to the democratic transition in Tunisia
3. Performance indicators in parliamentary development
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1. The logic of parliamentary development
PARLIAMENTS AND DEMOCRATIC
DEVELOPMENT
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Parliaments and democracy
• Parliaments – places where issues are debated and decided - have existed
in various forms in different regions of the world for several thousand
years
• Although historically there have been attempts to build democracies
without parliaments, parliaments exist in all modern democracies
• Parliaments represent the formal link between the citizen and civil society
and the state
• Substantial research evidence (example Valerie Bunce, 2008, Stephen Fish,
2009) demonstrates link between strong parliaments and stable
democracies
• The classic roles of parliaments include legislation, oversight of the
executive, and representation of the citizen.
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Criticisms of parliaments
• Parliaments are weak and marginalized vis-àvis the executive
• Represent a purely formal and processual type
of democracy
• Civil society can be the foundation of a
participatory democracy
• Parliaments are themselves elite institutions
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Responses to critiques
• Although parliaments in emerging democracies
often have these weaknesses, the need is to
strengthen rather than build parallel legitimacies
• Donors have an important role both directly in
supporting parliamentary development and in
avoiding undermining parliaments in aid practices
• Civil society is essential to democracy, but
parliaments are the key channel to bring the
voice of civil society to the policy-making level
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EU support to parliaments
 EC has been supporting parliamentary development for
the past twenty years
 Over the past decade there have been over 50 EUsupported parliamentary development projects in 30
countries
 EU has also supported several regional parliaments, as
well as included parliament development within a
number of budget support programmes
 The total value of EC support to parliamentary
strengthening over the past decade is over €100 million
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Thinking about Parliamentary Development
1. Impact takes time
2. Performance assessment must be integrated in project
design and implementation
3. Relationship between effective parliaments and democracy
key in project design and evaluation,
4. Parliaments’ place in an international institutional ecosystem
strongly influences organizational behaviour and ambitions
5. Parliamentary development, like all international
development, needs to be country owned and driven.
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2. CASE STUDY: Project in support of Constitutional,
Parliamentary and National Development in Tunisia
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Project background
• Project established after the Tunisian Revolution
launched the Arab Spring in January 2011
• Contains three elements – 1) support to the Constituent
Assembly in the development of the new Constitution, 2)
Longer term support for parliamentary institutional
development, 3) Support to national dialogue through
civil society
• Funded by Japan, Belgium, Sweden, EU, Denmark,
Norway
• Delivered by UNDP
• Budget of $18 million from 2012 to 2015
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Project achievements
• Underpinned the national consultation process on the
constitutional drafts; built consensus on the need for
continuing citizen engagement in political processes
• Supported development of financial and administrative
autonomy
• Built partnerships with parliaments including the EP
and several EU member state parliaments –
sustainability strategy
• Developed understanding of role of political opposition
and of parliamentary groups in the Assembly
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Transition challenges
• Country has never known democratic system; risk
of authoritarian reflex
• Divergence in societal vision between
‘Mediterranean secularist’ and ‘Arab Muslim’
• Difficult economic situation exacerbated by
absence of strong government
• Potential security risks
• Weak or discredited state institutions including
parliament and parliamentary administration
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Delivery challenges
• Large programme funded over short time during
busy period for dual-responsibility Assembly –
pushing at limits of absorption capacity
• Some misalignment between donor funding cycle
and realities of the extended constitutional
process
• Need to implement rapidly while respecting UN
administrative processes
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Cibles et indicateurs
Cible 1. Les capacités de rédaction des textes constitutionnels et législatifs de l’Assemblée constituante sont renforcées
Indicateurs :
1.1. Les membres des 6 commissions constituantes sont formés aux
procédures et techniques d’élaboration des textes constitutionnels et
utilisent les connaissances acquises dans leur travail ;
Cible 2. Les citoyens dans les différentes régions du pays sont
sensibilisés sur le processus constitutionnel et bénéficient de
l’opportunité d’exprimer leurs attentes en la matière
Indicateurs :
2.1. Un plan de consultation publique, permettant de collecter les
attentes des groupes vulnérables et des régions défavorisées dans le
cadre du processus constitutionnel, est élaboré et mis en œuvre
2.2. Des auditions publiques sur le processus constitutionnel sont
organisées dans au moins 5 régions défavorisées par l’Assemblée
constituante
2.3. 3 auditions thématiques au moins sont organisées par
l’Assemblée constituante sur les questions essentielles, telles que
l’intégration des DH, de l’égalité de genre et des autres principes
démocratiques dans la constitution
2.4. 5 projets au moins sont mis en œuvre en partenariat avec la
société civile pour le dialogue constitutionnel et l’éducation civique
des groupes vulnérables
-
-
-
-
Résultats
42 membres et conseillers de l'Assemblée ont été
formés sur les techniques de consultation publique
300 représentants de la société civile ont participé à
la consultation sur le 1er projet de Constitution
Les
questeurs
et
les
fonctionnaires
de
l'administration parlementaire ont été sensibilisés
sur l'indépendance financière de l'Assemblée et son
intégration dans la Constitution
300 participants ont été sensibilisés à l'importance
de la constitutionnalisation de l'égalité de genre et
de la participation politique des femmes
320 représentants des universités ont participé à des
consultations sur le projet de Constitution
25 élus ont été formés sur le processus législatif et
constitutionnel, sur la base des bonnes pratiques
internationales.
1034 citoyens et représentants de la société civile
ont été impliqués dans le processus de consultation
nationale avec 80 élus de l'ANC dans 12
gouvernorats du pays.
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3. Measuring Impact
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN
PARLIAMENTARY DEVELOMENT
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Importance of measuring impact of
democratic development initiatives
• Democratic development often seen as lacking in
focus and with questionable impact
• Contrasted with ‘direct’ support to alleviate
poverty
• Nevertheless poor governance is routinely
identified as a key cause and exacerbating factor
in poverty
• Need to better understand how and why some
approaches work better than others
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Challenges in performance and impact
measurement
• Problem of macro-outcome measurement (for example,
the quality of democracy overall) impact on which is
unlikely to be measurable through a small PD project
• Alternatively measurement of outputs (number of
people trained, delegations sent on study missions, etc.)
• Objective is to identify meso indicators: change factors
that improve institutional funding and are linked to
institutional efficiency and effectiveness
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Levels of evaluation and performance measurement
1. Programme Theory Evaluation
Documentation of intervention logic, actor chain and internal
transformations and external interventions
Established at program development stage, reassessed at interim evaluation,
based on data from monitoring reports and ongoing output monitoring and
measurement . Overall programme logic viability evaluated at final evaluation
2. Outcome or Impact Evaluation
Assessment of progress towards
major programme objectives
Major programme objectives determined at project development and included
in project design and logical framework, documented through programme
reporting, monitored through monitoring reports and and evaluated at final
evaluation
3. Output monitoring and measurement
Programme reporting based on indicators and activity plans in
project design (Action Fiche and logical framework)
Data gathered on continuing basis by programme management, permitting
assessment of progress to major programme objecrtives,.Major divergence
from staged indicators triggers re-assessment of objectives. Consolidated data
feeds into external mid-point and end-point evaluations
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Programme logic evaluation
• A crucial step in effective measurement is a clear
theory of change and logic of intervention
• Monitoring and evaluation must assess the extent to
which the programme logic supports the actions
outcomes that are sought, and the interventions
undertaken to bring them about.
• As programme design hypotheses are confirmed or
rejected, projects need to be revised, with anticipated
outcomes as well as interventions adjusted.
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Main areas of PD intervention
activities
1.
Legislation
5.
Administration
2.
Oversight
6.
Inclusivity
3.
Budget
7.
Institution-building
4.
Representation
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Example of outcomes in Oversight
strengthening
• Parliament consistently and effectively uses
the available range of oversight tools
• Improved dialogue and collaboration with
civil society on policy oversight issues
• Enhanced expert capacity of legislative
committee staff to provide expert support
and advice on oversight
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Outcome
Indicative activities supported
Outcome indicators
1.
Training provided to parliamentarians,
committee, and party caucus staff on
oversight tools and their use
Measurable:
Parliament consistently
and effectively uses the
available range of
oversight tools
Exchange missions of oversight
committees (for example, Public
Accounts Committees) with homologue
parliaments with established oversight
capacity
Preparation of oversight handbook for
MPs
Tracking increased use of each
oversight instrument, e.g.
questions, interpellations, missions
of enquiry, etc.
Assessment/ Measurement
methodology
Should be captured by standard
legislature record-keeping. If not,
provide support to establish such
a system
Qualitative:
Increased focus on oversight in
committee deliberations
The qualitative indicators require
analysis before and after
Support establishment of annual
intervention. This should include
planning process and linked
Improved
quality
of
oversight
assessment through focus group
parliamentary budget line item for each
processes (for example more inmethodology (also involving
legislative committee, permitting
external actors including media
oversight work (e.g. hearings in the field, depth reports on policy
implementation)
and civil society). Should be
engaging experts)
initiated before programme
Where oversight tools are inadequate
Adoption of new analytical tools
commencement and be
due to weaknesses in parliament’s
(for example increased emphasis on incorporated in monitoring and
constitutional powers and/or internal
programme effectiveness in
evaluation cycles
regulations, support analysis of texts and oversight rather than simply formal
development of amendments (see
compliance with regulations)
Institution-Building section 7)
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Outcome
1.
Indicative activities
supported
Enhanced public awareness Support to development of a
of (and access to)
professional parliamentary media
parliamentary activities and through training and exchanges
policy debates
with institutionalized democracies
with organized parliament press
Outcome indicators
Measurement/
Assessment
methodology
Measurable:
Number of stories on
parliamentary business in print
and online as well as broadcast
media and electronic media
Support in establishment of a
parliamentary radio network and/or
Listening and viewing figures for
enhanced diffusion of parliamentary
parliamentary broadcasts
debate on state, private, and
community broadcasters, as well as
Public awareness and
through the internet
understanding of parliament’s role
Support development of an
and activities (too unspecific)
effective parliamentary
communications directorate with
professionalized leadership and
clear mandate to enhance
communications channels
Initially through project team but
to be integrated into
responsibilities of parliamentary
communications directorate
Should be captured by networks’
own audience figures; if not,
public surveys would need to be
conducted (which can gather key
information in a variety of
domains but is expensive,
especially if implemented
nationally)
Public surveys / focus groups
Qualitative:
Assessment of support to media
strengthening
Formative and summative
evaluations of developmental
support and outcomes
Assessment of effectiveness of
communications directorate in
terms of its objectives
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