A Toolkit for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Parliamentary Public Engagement

Abstract

There is a growing acceptance among Australian parliaments that enhancing the quality and diversity of engagement between the public and Australian parliaments is essential to preserving trust in democratic institutions and managing community expectations of transparency and accountability for parliamentary lawmaking and government decision-making. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital engagement techniques became increasingly attractive to parliaments with the potential to improve both the quality and efficiency of public engagement in lawmaking, savings, and possible improvements in democratic participation. To capitalise on these potential benefits, and to avoid any unjustifiable risks, parliaments must understand the importance of connecting the people to their parliaments and which practices and technologies could be used to improve the quality and diversity of public engagement with parliaments in Australia. Drawing upon insights shared during a series of international workshops on public engagement by the International Parliamentary Engagement Network (‘IPEN’), this article aims to describe the key ingredients for effective evaluation of public engagement by parliaments and share the toolkit developed by the IPEN workshops.