Introduction

Members of Parliament need to have access to timely, up-to-date, accurate and well-researched information for effective decision-making. This unit points to the importance of legislative research in providing independent sources of information to MPs and the need for MPs to also have access to government sources of information for a complete picture on issues. This unit explains the different methods and types of research as well as the skills required by parliamentary staff to undertake such research. It stresses the importance of considering the political, ethical and technical considerations in all legislative research.

Members of Parliament seek better ways to select goals, design and choose alternatives to achieving the goals, and see that the alternatives are considered. To do this effectively, they need appropriate, timely and accurate information. Having access to up-to-date information is essential in order to highlight policy alternatives and to draw attention to policy consequences. This becomes especially important at the committee level where members carry out in-depth analysis and debate issues. Parliamentary staff, therefore, must have a clear understanding of the information needs of Members of Parliament, and should possess the requisite researching skills to provide independent sources of information on national issues.

Independent research services are essential to supporting the work of parliamentary committees for two key reasons. First, while the executive branch often gets help from a large professional staff from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the Legislature does not usually benefit from that kind of support. Thus, it is critical for parliament to explore all possible avenues to help bridge this gap of expertise and ensure that MPs have access to accurate and up-to-date information to perform their work effectively. Secondly, and equally important for parliament, is not to rely solely on information provided by the Executive but to complement it with independent sources in order to understand what the alternatives are, and to have a total picture of every issue before passing laws and making policy choices.  For these reasons, parliaments need to explore sources of information from their legislative researchers, other independent research, and also seek information from government sources.