Welcome to the Global Legislative Openness Survey
The Open Government Partnership's Legislative Openness Working Group (LOWG) is gathering information on parliamentary openness around the world. This survey is the first in a series of questionnaires which will be used to compile a global database of comparative information on parliamentary openness. It focuses on what information parliaments make public and on how they publish that information. A subsequent survey will address the openness of the legislative process to citizen engagement.
The LOWG's survey work is intended to collect information on parliamentary adoption of emerging international norms and standards on parliamentary openness, including documents such as the
Declaration on Parliamentary Openness and the Santiago Declaration on Transparency and Integrity in Parliaments and Political Parties. The global comparative database on parliamentary openness resulting from this survey work is intended to help parliaments, government officials, civil society organizations and other stakeholders identify areas of success and weakness, support advocacy on parliamentary openness, and provide a global platform to share best practices across countries and regions.
Survey Overview and Instructions
The survey is organized into the following sections, each of which will gather information on a different aspect of parliamentary information:
I. General Accessibility of Parliamentary Information
II. Information on Plenary Sessions
III. Information on Parliamentary Committees
IV. Information on Parliamentary Parties and Members
V. Information on Parliamentary Administration and Budget
The survey is composed of 93 total questions and will take approximately 1-2 hours to complete. Survey respondents are able to save their progress and complete the survey later by clicking the "Save and continue survey later" button at the bottom of the screen. If respondents elect to save and continue the survey later, they will be asked to enter an email address and will be sent a link where they can complete the survey. Limited personal information is being collected in order to identify who completed the survey and to conduct follow-up as necessary to clarify responses and ensure that the collected data is accurate.
Throughout the survey, respondents will be prompted to provide links to certain information that is available online. This will assist the researchers in ensuring that the collected information is objective and complete. Additionally, respondents will occasionally be asked to answer open ended questions or to provide examples of good practice, which will allow the resulting data to provide a more full picture of global best practice in the area of parliamentary openness.
In parliaments with more than one chamber, practices and procedures may differ widely between chambers. As a result, survey respondents are asked to provide answers for only one chamber of parliament at a time. If a respondent is able to provide information on more than one chamber, we ask the respondent to complete a second survey.
To ensure accuracy and to recognize diverse perspectives, government officials, parliamentary staff, civil society organizations, and other experts are encouraged to participate. In cases where there are discrepancies or disagreements, efforts will be made to resolve them in a way that is accurate and fair, either by further research to resolve the discrepency or by noting a divergence of views on a particular issue.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the survey or how the information you provide will be used, please contact Greg Brown at gbrown@ndi.org, who is providing staff support for the LOWG's survey efforts.
