Seminars

24 January 2023

Research evidence has an important role to play in the work of parliaments as they scrutinise, debate and pass legislation. Some parliaments have well-known mechanisms for accessing and harnessing research from the academic community, but there are many others whose work is less well-known.

This IPEN seminar will showcase a global mapping tool (hosted on the IPEN website) which highlights how parliaments across the world access and harness research from academia and the breadth of activity being carried out. Each entry on the map shows how parliaments across the world access, synthesise or produce academic research to inform parliamentary activity. The map shows that many parliaments provide research to parliamentarians on request, some produce peer-reviewed evidence syntheses and reports, and some provide direct links to the academic community.

Speakers: Vicky Ward (University of St Andrews), Lydia Harriss (UK Parliament, Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology), Mark Monaghan (Loughborough University)

This online seminar is open to all members of the International Parliament Engagement Network. Find out more about the network.

5 December 2022

This event on 5 December launched a Special Edition of the Australasian Parliamentary Review on the theme of ‘Connected Parliaments — Digitalisation, Innovation and Engagement’.  The Review is the premier journal for parliamentary studies in the Australasian region.

The Special Edition theme has been chosen in recognition of the rapid and dynamic changes that impact the way the public engages with the work of parliaments, and the way parliaments embrace new technologies and other innovations. This Special Edition includes perspectives and contributions from a wide range of lived experiences from around the world – including from parliamentary staff, scholars of parliamentary practice and public law, as well as community-based organisations.

Programme:

• Panel 1: The Importance of Public Engagement for Parliaments
• Panel 2: Engaged Parliaments in Action
• Panel 3: A Deeper Look at Connection, Innovation and Engagement
• Discussion: Where to next for research & practice in this space? (facilitated by Sarah Moulds, University of Southern Australia and editor of Connected Parliaments Special Edition)

Featuring presentations from:

• Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds)
• Andres Lomp (Parliament of Victoria)
• Rodolfo Cezar Ranulfo Vaz (Brazil)
• Jean-Paul Gagon (University of NSW)
• Alex Prior (London South Bank University)
• Rachel Tan (University of Waikato)
• Iain Walker (newDemocracy)
• Jennifer Gallagher (Parliament of NSW)
• Andrew Cole (Parliament of South Australia)

This event was a collaboration between IPEN and the Australasian Parliamentary Review.

9 November 2022

This seminar focuses on creative ways parliaments can use to connect with remote communities. It will explore three different examples of practice from Serbia, South Africa and South Australia.

We will hear about how the National Assembly of Serbia shapes their field hearings to local communities, by always including in these visits local CSOs and local media, as well as local government representatives.

We will also hear about the education programme in the Parliament of South Australia and how they manage to cover considerable distances to engage with remote communities.

From South Africa we will hear about their innovations in reaching rural communities using different media, tools, and structured engagements to enrich the use of constituency offices as satellite parliamentary offices. 

Speakers: Tijana Ignjatović (Committee Clerk, National Assembly of Serbia); Ressida Khatoon Begg (Division Manager, Parliament of South Africa); Natalie Young (Community Education Officer, Parliament of South Australia)

19 October 2022

This seminar focuses on how we can monitor the diversity of people who engage with parliaments. The public is now central to much of the work that parliaments do, but how can parliaments know that they’re reaching beyond the usual suspects?  Why does that matter? This seminar will present key findings from work to monitor the characteristics of people who engage with the Welsh and UK Parliaments. It will identify what challenges we face when we want to monitor diversity, and what parliaments can do to build a better picture of the people they engage. 

Speakers: Zoe Backhouse (Engagement Officer, Petitions Committee, UK House of Commons); Helen Finlayson (Committee clerk, Welsh Parliament); Jenny Ruddock (Audience development and insight manager, UK Parliament).

5 October 2022

This Public Engagement Hub seminar explores how parliament can promote inclusivity and diversity in their public engagement activity. It presents the Inclusion Checklist of the Global Parliamentary Report of Public Engagement, whilst drawing from examples of how the Parliament of Victoria, in Australia, has promoted diversity and inclusivity in their engagement work.

Speaker: Andres Lomp (Parliament of Victoria, Australia)

22nd September 2022

This seminar addresses how parliaments with few resources can implement effective public engagement. This affects small parliaments and those with limited resources overall. In these parliaments public engagement often needs to be delivered by very small teams, with limited budgets. The seminar will explore how the small team of the Parliament of the Isle of Man has developed capacity for delivering innovative public engagement programmes despite its very small team. This will be supplemented by reflections from an UNDP official on his experience supporting public engagement in the pacific islands.

Speakers: Ruth Donnelly (Tynwald, Isle of Man) and Frank Feulner (UNDP Pacific Office)

15 June 2022

This tutorial will outline the different elements that make for the public engagement journey, demonstrating why engagement is not simply about receiving information or about participating.

Thinking of public engagement as a journey encourages us to reflect on how different elements such as information, education and participation link together, and the effect they have on the citizen.

The tutorial will be led by Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds, UK) and will include group work to encourage participants to reflect on how their institution could meet the public engagement journey.

Speakers: Cristina Leston-Bandeira

8th September 2022

This seminar will focus on broadcasting parliamentary business. Drawing from the experience of the Irish Oireachtas TV, it will explore different possible models available for parliaments to broadcast and the consequences of these for public engagement.

Speakers: Donnacha McKeon, Broadcast and Channel Manager for Oireachtas TV

NOTE: This seminar has been postponed and a new date will be announced in due course.

13 July 2022

This seminar focuses on digital tools which facilitate the input from the public into the process of drafting legislation.

This type of tools has been very popular in recent years, with many parliaments bringing them on board, particularly in Latin America. However, it is not always clear how effective these tools are.

This seminar will explore the case of the Congreso Virtual platform in Chile, a joint effort developed by the Parliament of Chile and civil society. It will also include a broader reflection on the effectiveness of this type of tools by Maria Baron, President of the Directorio Legislativo, which has championed the use of technology to enhance public input into legislation for over a decade.

Speakers: Maria Baron (Directorio Legislativo), Rocio Noriega, and Maria de los Angeles Cifuentes (Congreso Virtual, Chile)

27 April 2022

In this seminar, the UK House of Commons Chamber Engagement Team will explain how they have changed their approach to online engagement over the last year. Having begun on social media, the team have now developed a new and more targeted system to engage the public with debates.

The seminar will look at how, by working in close collaboration with other teams in the House of Commons, the team were able to develop a model keenly focussed on political neutrality, effective evaluation, and closing the feedback loop.