The Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia was founded in 2011 at the request of members of the Cambodian Parliament and its General Secretariats. It has two mandates:
- To contribute to the strengthening of the Cambodian Parliament through the capacity development of its members and parliamentary staff; and
- to share its experiences with others and other parliaments in the region and beyond.
PIC is independently run and funded, adheres to a policy of strict neutrality and is demand-driven so that it can fully align its activities to those of the Parliament. Capacity strengthening is at the core of PIC’s activities, and services include training, workshops, seminars and internships, as well as support for outreach activities such as expert hearings, public consultations and national and international fact finding and study missions.
There is a particular emphasis on strengthening the parliamentary research skills of parliamentary staff, some of whom take year-long internships with PIC while they learn-by-doing. The emphasis has always been on building the skills of parliamentary staff while producing the research information to inform parliamentarians in pursuing their legislative function. Other capacity strengthening topics include English, parliamentary communications, legal drafting, etc.
In contributing to strengthen the Cambodian Parliament and other parliaments in the region, PIC draws on the expertise of national, regional and international partners including parliamentary organizations in other parts of the world.