Phnom Penh, 18 July 2025 — The Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia) has successfully concluded a week-long regional online training held from 14 to 18 July 2025 on “Parliamentary Research for Legislative Analysis: Experiences from Italy and Canada”, empowering parliamentary staff from Cambodia and Lao PDR to support the lawmaking function of their institutions.
The training brought together relevant parliamentary officers from parliamentary research, legislation, parliamentary committees and inter-parliamentary relations service.
During the training, participants were introduced to practical tools, methodologies, and good practices in legislative research and analysis. Mr John CHRISTOPHER, Advisor to PCAsia, drew on his experience with the Canadian Parliament to lead sessions on structured approaches to parliamentary research, law evaluation, and policy reporting.
From the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mr Bernardo POLVERARI, Head of the Research Service, and Mr Giovanni RIZZONI, Head of the Unit for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, together with senior officials, Ms Rossi FRANCESCA, Mr Marcello SPIRANDELI and Ms Eliza GAMBARINI, shared practical techniques for legal review, identifying inconsistencies in draft laws, integrating stakeholder input into the legislative process and inclusion of gender impact assessments.
Sessions also included discussion of applied techniques in drafting legislative analysis reports and proposing policy alternatives, along with peer discussion on the applicability of practices in the Cambodian and Lao contexts.
The week concluded with a learning reflection and knowledge sustainability session, encouraging participants to maintain ongoing connections through peer exchange platforms and thematic knowledge groups initiated by PCAsia.
