2010 World eParliament Report: Findings Relevant to the eGov Community

The 2010 World eParliament Report is now available. The report — produced by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament — presents the results of a 2009 survey “of 264 chambers of unicameral and bicameral parliaments in 188 countries and [] two regional parliaments. 134 responses were received […].”

The survey addressed six aspects of eParliament technology and services:

• “1) Oversight and management of ICT;
• 2) Infrastructure, services, applications and training;
• 3) Systems and standards for creating legislative documents and information;
• 4) Library and research services;
• 5) Parliamentary websites; and
• 6) Communication between citizens and parliaments.”

The report presents a large number of findings and recommendations relevant to the legal informatics and legal communication communities.

Here are notable findings and recommendations respecting Web 2.0 technology:

• “Of the ten least widely used methods [by the surveyed parliaments] (10% – 16%), seven are interactive and include some of the newest technologies, such as Twitter and YouTube.
• It is likely that audio- and video-based one-way technologies will be predominant for the next few years.
• However, of the technologies that have the largest projected growth among parliaments, the top five are all interactive (online discussions, online polls, e-petitions, e-consultations on issues and e-consultations on bills).”
• The report urges parliaments to “[e]xplore and evaluate the use of interactive technology tools to connect parliaments with citizens and to offer them the means to express their opinions.”
• The report urges parliaments to “[f]oster the employment of all tools judged to be useful and effective in the parliamentary environment, including new media and mobile technologies, to provide citizens with improved access to the work of parliament and increased means of participation in the political dialogue.”

Here are findings and recommendations of particular relevance to the legal informatics community:

The report identified these “[b]arriers to access of key parliamentary documents” faced by members of the surveyed parliaments:

• “7,726 (28%) cannot access the text and current status of proposed legislation on their parliament’s websites. […]
• 8,373 (31%) cannot access a database with the laws passed by the parliament.”

Respecting “[s]tandards for transparency and accessibility”:

• “[…]Fully one third of parliamentary websites do not provide the text and status of proposed legislation.”

Respecting “[s]ystems and standards for parliamentary documents [including legislation]”:

• “Overall, only 25% of all parliaments use XML for any document.”

Respecting policies, the report urges parliaments to:

• “Ensure that citizens have access to all laws passed by parliament and the ability to follow the lawmaking process, including having access to the full text and status of all proposed legislation.
• • Develop a strategy to create, in conjunction with the executive and judicial branches, national databases containing all of a country’s laws in force updated on a timely basis and accessible to all citizens. […]”

Respecting “[t]echnical infrastructure and information support”, the report urges parliaments to provide:

• “[…]A document management system capable of preparing and managing all parliamentary documentation;
• Use of XML as the document standard.”

Here are other notable findings presented in the report:

Respecting “[c]ommunicating with the public”:

• “Members’ and committees’ use of e-mail and websites
• • 78% of parliaments reported that most or some members use e-mail to communicate with citizens, an increase over the findings from 2007 [as presented in the 2008 World eParliament Report].
  • 88% reported that most or some of the members reply to these messages, suggesting that the responsiveness of members to e-mail has also increased in the last two years.
  • 55% of parliaments reported that most or some committees use e-mail, again more than in 2007.
  • However, only 21% of parliaments have a system to help manage e-mail.
  • 51% of parliaments reported that most or some members have personal websites; of these, 75% said that one of the functions of personal websites was to seek comments and opinions from the public.
  • However, only a third of parliaments reported that most or some committees have websites, and just over half (52%) of these said that the purpose was to seek comments and opinions from the public.
• Other communication methods used or being planned
• • Besides e-mail and websites, the method implemented by the largest proportion of parliaments (43%) for communication is webcasting of plenary sessions.
  • The next most popular methods utilize audio or video technology (TV programmes, parliamentary TV channels and radio programmes).
  • Of the ten least widely used methods (10% – 16%), seven are interactive and include some of the newest technologies, such as Twitter and YouTube.
  • It is likely that audio- and video-based one-way technologies will be predominant for the next few years.
  • However, of the technologies that have the largest projected growth among parliaments, the top five are all interactive (online discussions, online polls, e-petitions, e-consultations on issues and e-consultations on bills).
• Challenges cited by parliaments
• • When asked about the challenges encountered in using technologies to communicate with citizens, the issue mentioned by the largest percentage of legislatures (37%) was the lack of familiarity of members with technology.
  • Many parliaments also reported that citizens were not familiar with technology (21%) nor had access to it (20%).
  • The challenge for citizens cited by the largest percentage of parliaments is that they are not familiar with the legislative process (32%).
• Communicating with young people
• • Over 70% of parliaments reported that they have initiatives underway to communicate with young people or are planning them. Most use web technology for this purpose, combined in many cases with some form of new interactive technology, such as games, blogs and social media.
• Impact on communication with citizens
• • 85% of parliaments reported an increase in communication with citizens using ICT-supported methods.

Respecting “[s]tandards for transparency and accessibility”:

• “Only one-third of the items in the […] category [of general information about a parliament and its members] were found on the websites of most parliaments. […]
• Fully one third of parliamentary websites do not provide the text and status of proposed legislation.
• 81% of parliaments do provide documentation about plenary activities.
• Significantly less than 50% provide information about committee activities and about their oversight and budget review work.
• Completeness is still lacking, as measured by the number of relevant items linked to proposed legislation: only half of all parliaments link bills to at least five of the 18 most relevant information items and documents identified in the survey.
• Only 36% said they provide explanatory material about proposed legislation and procedural steps always or most of the time and 48% said rarely or never. […]
• 81% of parliaments reported that they have a search engine with at least one of five important features.
• Fewer than 50% reported that they had the capacity to broadcast or webcast live meetings of any parliamentary body, event or programme, although over 30% are planning or considering this capability.
• Only 32% have an archive that permits on-demand viewing of webcasts.
• Less than half offer alerting services for at least one type of document or activity.”

Respecting “[s]ystems and standards for parliamentary documents [including legislation]”:

• “There was only a minor increase from 43% to 46% of parliaments that have systems for managing proposed legislation.
• However, over 70% indicated that they have systems for managing plenary speeches.
• Over half of all parliaments reported having systems for at least five types of committee and plenary documents (minutes, hearings, reports, speeches and debates, and votes).
• Overall, only 25% of all parliaments use XML for any document.”

Respecting “[b]uilding a responsive and robust technical infrastructure”:

• 80% of parliaments provide members with either a desktop or a laptop computer; 48% are able to supply both.
• 97% of parliaments have Internet access, but not all of them provide Internet access to each member for their own use.
• 96% of parliaments have Local Area Networks (LANs); however, only 72% state that all members and committees are connected.
• The number of parliaments reporting that they lack reliable electrical power increased from 6% to 10%. […]
• Many parliaments provide ICT support for recording plenary activities, including speeches and debates (72%), calendars and schedules (66%), minutes (66%), and voting (60%).
• However, in many parliaments the calendars and schedules for plenary sessions would ideally be made available earlier than is currently the case.
• Application support for legislative work is less prevalent; of five legislative activities included in the survey, only two – a database of laws passed by parliament and a system for tracking bill status – are supported by at least 50% of parliaments.
• Support for functions directly related to budget, oversight, and communication is lagging even further behind.”

The report also identified these “[b]arriers to access of key parliamentary documents” faced by members of the surveyed parliaments:

• “7,726 (28%) cannot access the text and current status of proposed legislation on their parliament’s websites. […]
• 8,373 (31%) cannot access a database with the laws passed by the parliament.”

Here are some of the report’s notable recommendations:

Respecting policies, the report urges parliaments to:

• “Ensure that citizens have access to all laws passed by parliament and the ability to follow the lawmaking process, including having access to the full text and status of all proposed legislation.
• • Develop a strategy to create, in conjunction with the executive and judicial branches, national databases containing all of a country’s laws in force updated on a timely basis and accessible to all citizens. […]”

  Respecting communication, the report urges parliaments to:

  • “Explore and evaluate the use of interactive technology tools to connect parliaments with citizens and to offer them the means to express their opinions.
  • Foster the employment of all tools judged to be useful and effective in the parliamentary environment, including new media and mobile technologies, to provide citizens with improved access to the work of parliament and increased means of participation in the political dialogue.
  • Enable all members and their constituents to communicate by e-mail, as well as other interactive technologies, when feasible.
  • • Provide members with systems for managing e-mail so that they can be better informed about the views of their constituents and more responsive to their concerns.”

  Respecting transparency and accountability, the report urges parliaments to:

  • “Promote the development of websites that convey the work of the parliament in ways that are accurate, timely, and complete. Follow the IPU’s Guidelines for Parliamentary Websites to meet international standards for:
  • • General information about parliament;
    • Documents and information concerning legislation, oversight, and the budget, as well as the activities of members, committees and the plenary;
    • Tools available to users for finding and viewing information;
    • Best practices for usability and standards to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to parliamentary websites.”

  Respecting “[t]echnical infrastructure and information support”, the report urges parliaments to:

  • “Promote the development and maintenance of adequate technical infrastructures and systems in all parliaments to support their legislative, oversight, and representational work by providing:
  • • All members with a personal computer, LAN connection, and access to the Internet;
    • A document management system capable of preparing and managing all parliamentary documentation;
    • Use of XML as the document standard;
    • Mobile access for all members […];
    • Information and research services supported by ICT and linked to the legislative and policy issues that confront the parliament.”

  Respecting cooperation, the report urges parliaments to:

  • “Establish and maintain an online facility to map assistance for ICT in parliaments around the world with a view to share solutions and knowledge.”

  HT @bboissin.