Strengthening Parliaments' Practice for Meaningful Public Engagement

Professor Leston-Bandeira's research has shaped international frameworks on parliamentary public engagement and parliaments' approaches to public engagement by strengthening understanding of what makes for meaningful public engagement and identifying the key challenges to participation. In a context of low levels of trust in politics, parliaments have become increasingly under pressure to provide for better citizen engagement. However, many lack the know-how to do this. Prof Leston-Bandeira’s research has made a critical contribution towards strengthening officials’ understanding of what makes for meaningful engagement, raising in particular the importance of reaching out beyond the usual suspects, closing the feedback loop and integrating engagement with parliamentary business

In 2020 Prof Leston-Bandeira co-founded the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN) with the UK Parliament. IPEN is a pioneering international knowledge exchange network between academics and parliamentary officials, focused on parliaments and public engagement. IPEN has 500 members from 80+ countries and has hosted over 60 events to date.

Prof Leston-Bandeira also worked closely with the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) in the production of its 2022 Global Parliamentary Report on Public Engagement. The IPU is the global organisation of national parliaments, representing 196 countries, and it sets international standards of parliamentary practice. She also regularly provides expertise to parliaments across the world such as in Australia and Brazil, as well as to international organisations such as the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). In 2023 she co-produced a research project with the Petitions Committees of the UK and Welsh Parliaments on breaking barriers to public engagement. In 2024 the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) commissioned Leston-Bandeira to develop a suite of eight Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments. The suite establishes a set of eight principles for meaningful engagement and addresses core areas of engagement such as youth engagement and engaging with underrepresented groups.

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Key publications

Leston Bandeira Gilbert, C., Caluwaerts, D.,  Vermassen, D. (2024). Reimagining Engagement between Citizens and Parliament. In Reimagining Parliament. Bristol University Press.

Leston-Bandeira, C.,  Siefken, S. T. (2023). The development of public engagement as a core institutional role for parliaments. The Journal of Legislative Studies. doi:10.1080/13572334.2023.2214390