Upcoming Events at SUNY/CID

April 6, 2010—SUNY/CID International Speakers Forum: Gianfranco Pasquino

June 7-12, 2010—CID Bologna Summer School Program

Featured Project

Strengthening Democratic Linkages in Uganda

Awarded in June 2007, LINKAGES is a 3.5 year $7 million USAID-funded activity, implemented by SUNY/CID and its subcontracting partner RTI International, which aims to improve transparency and accountability in Uganda by increasing civil society participation and improving democratic representation in key government institutions. LINKAGES innovative approach aims to foster existing and new vertical and horizontal policy-making linkages. These policy-making linkages between and among levels of government and civil society will enable advocacy for a more effective and coordinated response by local and national governments to grassroots needs. Its core activities are carried out in collaboration with select committees and issue-based caucuses within Parliament, local government councils and administrative staff in our ten target district and 50 target sub-counties, and representatives of civil society, both at the national and local levels. In July 2009, LINKAGES received Kingdom of the Netherlands co-funding for a fourth component to assist the Ugandan Police Force with its six-month national consultative phase of its comprehensive police review.

Post-war peace building and recovery in northern Uganda is one of several key cross-cutting issues in the LINKAGES activity. Of the LINKAGES ten target districts, six are part of the government of Uganda’s Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) for Northern Uganda. In these districts, additional assistance has been provided to enhance local government and civil society’s capacity to effectively monitor spending and track implementation of PRDP activities.

From the Newsroom

Haiti Team at Work Supporting Parliament’s Response to the Earthquake

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, staff of SUNY/ARD’s USAID-funded Project to Support the Haitian Parliament (PAPH) have been working around the clock to assist the Parliament in its response to the crisis. The approach has been two-pronged.

International Institute for Legislative Budget Staff Held in Nairobi Kenya

Five Parliaments recently sent staff delegations to Nairobi, Kenya to attend an international workshop on legislative budgeting and oversight. Legislative staff from Indonesia, East Timor, Liberia, Afghanistan and Kenya spent five days exploring the role of legislatures regarding national budget making and expenditure oversight. The Institute was sponsored by USAID and the US Congressional House Democracy Partnership. It was organized by SUNY CID in collaboration with its SUNY Kenya Parliamentary Support Project and the Kenya National Assembly.

The Institute aimed to enhance legislative strengthening efforts in partner countries by providing the legislative staff of these parliaments the opportunity to learn about comparative budget review and oversight processes.

SUNY/CID and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association sign MoU

On November 10, 2009, SUNY/CID entered into a long-term relationship with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) to collaborate on a variety of research and information exchange activities.

Welcome to SUNY/CID

The Center for International Development is one of a handful of university-based centers around the world grappling with practical international development challenges while conducting research and disseminating knowledge in a spirit of inquiry and exploration. SUNY/CID has provided technical assistance overseas on more than 100 projects in over 40 countries since 1986. We are especially proud of our reputation as a leading implementer in the field of legislative development and are conscious of the value and responsibilities that a university affiliation brings to such politically sensitive work.

I am privileged to serve as the Center’s first Director since SUNY/CID became part of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany in 2007. I welcome you to our newly reconstituted web site and invite you to return here often to learn about developments in our work, our scholarship and our public presentations.

— Malcolm Russell-Einhorn

Featured Publications

Establishing a Parliamentary Budget Office as an Element of Good Governance

Jeffrey D. Straussman, Dean, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
Ari Renoni, Research Fellow, SUNY Center for International Development

Straussman and Renoni examine USAID-funded projects in Afghanistan, Kenya, Jordan, and Morocco to assess the role of parliamentary budget offices in the practice of legislative strengthening.

Rules of Procedure for National Assemblies: An Introduction

Stan Bach, Senior Specialist in the Legislative Process, Congressional Research Service

The rules of procedure of a national assembly are as important to the assembly as the constitution is to the nation. The rules establish a framework for governance for the assembly just as the constitution does for the nation. Bach focuses on the nature and sources of rules of procedure for democratic national assemblies.

See CAP Notes...