Strengthening Cambodian Legislators' Capacity for Outreach and Public Consultations

The Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia (PIC) supports stronger democratic governance in Cambodia. PIC does this, in part, by building the capacity of the Cambodian parliament to engage in participatory governance and to conduct meaningful public consultation. Effective public consultation is seen as a vital part of fulfilling parliamentarians’ legislative, representative, and oversight functions. This report was commissioned by PIC to contribute to the organization’s work in this regard. The report consists of two parts. Part I reviews best practices for participatory government and public Consultation in the sub-Mekong region, drawing from these countries and providing recommendations that stem from the countries’ successes and failures. This section of the repot takes a broad, high-level look at approaches to participatory governance, and as such, recommendations are also high-level. However, they should provide a starting point for PIC to dig deeper into where and how to improve participatory governance in Cambodia, based on the experience of other countries in the region. Part II provides more specific, practicable suggestions for how to strengthen PIC’s existing Public Consultation Guidelines, a technical document intended to guide parliamentarians as they inform and seek input from Cambodian citizens.