Legislatures and Information Needs – Some Critical

Reflections

Rasheed DramanExecutive Director

African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA)

What is in this Presentation

1. Executive Monopoly of Information2. State of Parliamentary Research in Africa 3. Typology of Parliaments and Information

Needs4. Challenges to Legislative Research in Africa5. Strategies to Mitigate Challenges6. Final Thought

Questions

• Why does a legislature need research?

• Can’t it rely on the executive, academics, CSOs, think tanks?

1. Executive Monopoly of Information

• Young democracies in Africa face the challenge of 'information asymmetry‘.

• Information available is mostly provided by the government

• Often in very complex and understandable format

• As a result, most African Parliaments usually have difficulty in questioning in a substantive manner, the content of government choices, decisions and actions

2. Evidence-based Decision for Strong Democracies

• Democratic Parliaments require diverse information to address increasingly technical problems of policy – Evidence-based decisions on complex issues – Assemblies can play a more effective role in

governing• Thus, for effective decision-making, MPs and

Committees need well researched information

State of Parliamentary Research in Africa

• According to the International Federation of Libraries Association (IFLA), many parliaments, particularly in the developing world, do not have a research service

• This is largely the case in most of Africa

• In the West African sub-region, only Nigeria and Ghana have some ‘functioning’ research service

State of Parliamentary Research in Africa - 2

• In Eastern and Southern Africa only a few countries have research services - Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Even the Parliament of Botswana does not have a Research Department

• The state of parliamentary research is a mirror of the level parliamentary development/democracy on the continent

State of Parliamentary Research in Africa - 3

• A weak parliament has no business with research information

• By contrast, a strong and assertive parliament will at all times be ‘hungry’ for information in order to conduct its oversight and other functions

Typology of Parliaments and their Information Needs

• The rubber stamp legislature: Little need for information other than the time and place to vote. Always waiting to simply endorse Executive decisions

• The emerging legislature: needs information in order to participate effectively in the legislative process; here, a parliamentary library is established, with reference materials, a research service may be created and permanent staff provided for parliamentary committees

Typology of Parliaments and Information Needs - 2

Typology - 3• The informed legislature: typically has a

parliamentary library and research service which provides reference services, produces reports, offers a clipping service that is distributed to all members and may track the progress of key legislation. At this level, the parliamentary information service is providing a full array of services and is distinguished from the next level only by the scale of resources and the fact that it stops short of providing substantial research and analysis services that identify policy options and their impacts

Typology - 4

• The transformative legislature: has substantial resource requirements and typically has a generous allotment of personal staff, strong and well-staffed committees and large research groups capable of developing policy options

Exercise

• On the basis of the typology, place your Parliament in one of the categories and justify your choice.

• Is research in our Parliament demand or supply driven?

Question

• How does legislative research differ from academic research?

Legislative vs. Academic Research - 2• Legislative research has to be: applied in nature,

draw on a wide range of existing knowledge, synthesise it in a form that is useful for busy parliamentarians, and apply it to the understanding and solution of specific problems

• Indeed, some question whether the term ‘research’ is the best one to use at all. ‘Policy analysis’ suggested as more accurate idea of what is involved.

Tabular RepresentationDimensions Academic Res. Applied AnalysisPurpose •Build Theory

•Original Discovery•Solve a problem•Clarify Alternatives

Discipline •Depth in academia•Pure Science

•Multi-disciplinary•Administrative/Legal

Timing When uncovered When neededAccessibility Technical language

JargonShort, clear, writing for Generalist

Audience Academic Peers and Specialists

Generalist Policy Makers

Setting Solo, Academic Team, Practical

Questions

• What type of support should the Research Service provide?

• What type of products?

• Should it be publically available?

Written Products

• 1-2 page fact sheets• Short descriptive reports• Bill comparisons• Detailed histories of issues• In-depth memoranda on a specific issue• Analytical reports• Full policy analyses, with options and impacts

Oral Products and Services

• Oral briefings• Seminars on current issues• Training on legislative procedures• Legislative Process Institutes and role playing• Seminars for new Members• Roundtables on emerging issues

Who are the Clients?

• Members of the legislature (both chambers)• Legislative Committees• Legislative Leadership • Staff of committees and MPs• Cabinet agencies• Press and TV• Scholars• General Public

Qualities of Excellent Legislative Research

• Objectivity and Balance: inform, don’t take sides• Timeliness: Never miss deadline, anticipate issues• Authoritativeness: best sources, careful review• Relevance to legislative Agenda• Confidentiality : don’t betray your client• Institutional Memory: know the parliament’s

tradition• Loyalty to Legislature: doing the needful

The 3-Step Process

(1)Define the Issue Sort out underlying causes of problem from symptoms

and political messages

(2) Alternative Solutions – No Recommendations Several real options required, but not too many to be

confusing

(3) Assess the Impacts (consequences) Who is affected, likely costs, implementation challenges?

Challenges to Legislative Research in Africa

Structural Issues1. Most parliaments in the sub-region do not

consider research as important2. Non-existent research departments3. Composition and nature of our Parliaments –

mostly to endorse the actions of the Executive4. Constitutional/legal framework on Committee

Mandate5. Executive Dominance6. Access to information: internal/external

Challenges - 2

How a Parliament values Research: US Congressional Research

• 675 staff: lawyers, economists, reference librarians, social, natural, and physical scientists

• At least 1:1• 2012 Budget: $106.79 million: 88% on salaries,

benefits• Widely viewed as objective source of

information

Challenges - 3

Issues Specific to Researchers:1.Absence of requisite research skills2.Lack of initiative to constantly update

themselves?3.Research departments not seen as ‘lucrative’?4.Independence/non-partisan approach to work

by Parliamentary researchers

Strategies to Mitigate Challenges

• Legislative Research should be a priority for African Parliaments

• Parliaments should invest in research• Parliaments must provide a conducive

atmosphere for research• Parliaments need to assert and make

themselves relevant

Final Thought• Transformative Parliaments invest in, value and use

research information to exercise their Constitutional mandate, i.e. the US Congress

• For African Parliaments to assert themselves, have unbiased and not Executive-fed information, they urgently need to invest in their research services

• Unfortunately, apart from South Africa, I am yet to see a very good example of properly equipped and functioning research department