IPU Innovation Tracker

A quarterly electronic bulletin from the Centre for Innovation in Parliament

Welcome to the Innovation Tracker!

The Innovation Tracker is a blog about recent innovations in the way parliaments do their work. It is where MPs and staff find ideas for solving some of the problems they face in running an effective parliament. It covers all types of innovation in parliament, including (but not limited to) digital technologies.
The Innovation Tracker also provides regular news from the Centre for Innovation in Parliament, a partnership between the IPU and parliaments to support parliamentary innovation through improved use of digital tools.

All parliaments are invited to contribute ideas for inclusion in the Innovation Tracker via this online form or by e-mail to [email protected]. The Innovation Tracker is published online every three months in English, French and Spanish.

We’ll also be tweeting regularly about innovation in parliament using the hashtags #parliament #innovation. We look forward to hearing from you! 

The Spanish versions of the Innovation Tracker are published on the website of the Hispanophone Hub (cip.camara.cl) which is hosted by the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, in the framework of CIP. Translations are kindly provided by IPU GRULAC. 

Latest issues

IPU Innovation Tracker 21

In this issue, we report on parliamentary innovations in three areas: broadcasting, training on AI tools, and the TikTok platform. We also provide updates on the activities of the IPU Centre for Innovation in Parliament hubs, which bring together parliaments around common interests.
Read more

Issue 20

Austrian Parliament building.
In this issue, we report on new ways of doing business: real-time reporting on parliamentary proceedings in Austria and citizen-initiated legislation in Thailand. We also share tips from parliamentary experts from the launch of the IPU’s Guidelines for AI in Parliaments.
Read more

Issue 19

mauritius
In this issue, we report on how parliaments operating in challenging environments are bringing innovation into the heart of their functioning. The three examples – from the National Assembly of Mauritius, a group of Pacific small island developing States, and the National Assembly of Malawi – all show how a combination of political will and technical capacity can modernize parliament and further open up the institution to the people.
Read more

Issue 18

jamaica
In this issue we get an MP’s perspective from Jamaica on how tech matters in daily parliamentary work, as well as an example from Austria of how data visualizations can help MPs and the general public to navigate the national budget. Importantly, this edition also introduces the first set of “Use cases for AI in parliaments” created by the parliaments in the IPU’s Centre for Innovation in Parliament (CIP) community that are at the forefront of experimenting with AI in parliamentary work.
Read more

Issue 17

Brazil deputees
In this issue, we report on developments within the Centre for Innovation in Parliament and its hubs, including: a new Issue brief on Using generative AI in parliaments, an initiative by the Parliamentary Data Science hub to co-create guidelines on AI governance, and a new chapter in the history of the Southern Africa regional hub.
Read more

Issue 16

AI in parliaments
In this special edition of the Innovation Tracker we look at the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in parliaments, and how the technology can transform a wide variety of settings, including parliaments. We hear from three experts leading parliamentary work on AI, and look at two case studies of AI at work in parliaments.
Read more

Issue 15

namibia
In this edition we look at two aspects of digital transformation in parliaments. Firstly, the all-digital chamber and the potential positive impacts on delivering services to members, achieving increased openness and a greener working environment. Second, we look at the considerations that parliaments have for adopting the cloud (or not).
Read more

Issue 14

Parliament of Malawi
In this edition we look at the highlights of the discussions during the launch of the World e-Parliament Report. We look at how the Chamber of Deputies of Italy and the Parliament of Malawi digitally transform parliamentary processes and work, and announce the 3rd edition of the Transforming Parliaments webinar series.
Read more

Issue 13

brazil chamber
In this edition of the Innovation Tracker, we look at the current state of open data in parliaments, and how parliaments can provide better open data. We have updates from our Public Engagement, Open Data, IT Governance, and Southern Africa regional hub, and an announcement on the launch of the World e-Parliament Report 2022.
Read more

Issue 12

Bahrain
The 12th edition of the Innovation Tracker explores how the Chilean Chamber of Deputies is engaging with the public, as well as how the parliaments of Bahrain and Italy are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their work. Also in this issue, we present updates on recent hub activities and events.
Read more

Issue 11

Norway
The 11th edition of the Innovation Tracker highlights the continued knowledge exchanges on innovation over the past months, as parliaments emerge from the pandemic.
Read more

Issue 10

zambia
The tenth edition of the Innovation Tracker spotlights how new tools for remote working in the National Assembly of Zambia have inspired other parliaments in the region. Other articles focus on Automatic Speech Recognition and digital broadcasting and a new webinar series titled "Transforming parliament".
Read more