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Irrespective of their occupation or professional background prior to election, few new parliamentarians arrive fully equipped for their parliamentary roles and legislative functions. They are faced with a myriad of complex issues in a context where there are many competing priorities for their attention. The primary objective of capacity building is to assist members to become effective parliamentarians. Yet, the barriers of effective capacity building for parliamentarians can be high and may often seem insurmountable.
What knowledge, skills and abilities do parliamentarians need to do their job? How do parliamentarians learn? How can, and should, parliament help them to acquire the necessary skills? These are some of the questions to be addressed during the conference.
The conference will enable a dialogue between parliamentarians, Secretaries General, parliamentary officials, academics and practitioners. By sharing experiences, participants will obtain new information and perspectives on the effective design, delivery and evaluation of capacity building programmes for parliamentarians.
The conference is co-organized by the IPU, the Association of Secretaries General of Parliament and Monash University (Australia). The conference will build on the research project ‘Parliamentary careers: design, delivery and evaluation of improved professional development’ conducted by a team of researchers at Monash University in partnership with the IPU and other partners.
Between 100 and 150 participants are expected to attend the Conference on 20 October. A smaller Expert seminar of academics and practitioners will take place on 19 October, whose conclusions will be presented at the opening of the proceedings on the following day.
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