Concept
Research evidence is a vital resource for parliaments as they scrutinise, debate and approve policies and legislation. Although parliamentary libraries and research services are found around the world, their role in helping parliaments to access and use academic research is under-appreciated and poorly understood. There have been suggestions, for instance, that around 90% of legislatures lack effective science advice mechanisms. Those that are most often recognised and valued are found in northern European democracies (Tyler & Akerlof, 2019).
This online workshop, hosted by the AGORA Parliamentary Development Community of Practice, aims to show a different picture of this landscape. Parliamentary Academic Fellows with the UK’s Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology Dr Vicky Ward and Dr Mark Monaghan will share work they have done to map the services helping parliaments across the world to access and harness research evidence. Many of these are much more sophisticated than has previously been presumed, and a large number are to be found outside northern Europe.
As well as hearing about Vicky and Mark’s work, the workshop will provide an opportunity to share and learn more about the work of parliamentary research services and their role in building strong parliaments around the world. It will bring together parliamentary research and development practitioners and scholars in a friendly, open and interactive online environment that enables sharing, learning and connecting with peers.
To find out more about mapping and connecting parliamentary research services around the world, we encourage you to read this publication.Kindly complete the below registration form and help us make this workshop a success! 