International

Europe

POST is a partner of the European Parliament Technology Assessment (EPTA) network. The currently 22 members of EPTA give advice to their parliaments on topical issues such as nanotechnology, brain research, mobility pricing or future energy systems.Their projects use various methods and draw on insights from citizen panels, stakeholders, workshops as well as the foremost experts in the relevant fields.

Africa

POST ran a programme to help African parliaments strengthen their capacity in science and technology. The programme started in 2008 and ran until mid 2018.

African parliaments have to deal with many complex technical issues ranging from controlling infectious diseases to managing natural resources.

However they often lack the resources to handle these issues. Effective parliamentary scrutiny of scientific and technological issues is an essential part of holding governments to account.

POST staff have been involved in a number of activities to help African parliaments develop their capacity to handle scientific and technological issues.

Kenya and Malawi

POST is collaborating with the African Institute for Development Policy as part of the DFID funded SECURE health consortium which seeks to strengthen the capacity of policymakers to utilize research evidence in health policymaking in Kenya and Malawi.

In 2015 and 2016 POST hosted two Parliamentary research staff from each parliament on one-month internships to help develop their skills in handling research evidence and briefing their parliamentarians.

Uganda

POST ran a capacity building programme in the Parliament of Uganda from 2008 to 2012 with support from the Gatsby charitable foundation. An evaluation was published in 2015.

Activities were centred on the Parliament of Uganda and included:

• Conducting detailed research to understand what challenges the Parliament of Uganda faces when dealing with science and technology.
• Training parliamentary staff, to build their skills in providing reliable information on science and technology to their MPs.
• Building MPs' interest in science and technology, and strengthening their links with Ugandan scientists.