‘Policy Circle’ is an informal network of parliamentarians from national parties represented in the federal parliament. Niti Foundation has been acting as a secretariat to facilitate the policy circle. The primary goal is to strengthen federalism and democracy by supporting parliamentarians with evidence-based research and dialogues on policy issues of interest to the parliamentarians.
Objective
The goal of this initiative is to improve the overall policy processes for inclusive and just economic development. The specific objectives are:
- – To conduct policy discussions on critical national and popular issues.
- – Improve the quality of policy processes using data, deliberation and through direct action by enacting or amending laws and formulating policies based on evidence.
- – Improve the overall engagement of parliamentarians in policy substance and processes.
Institutional Arrangements
Core Group: The core group will be comprised of 5-6 parliamentarians from major political parties. The group will determine key policy issues for discussion, reach out to peripheral members and additional parliamentarians. One of the members will convene meetings. The topics will be decided by the head of the core group who will be selected during the first meeting. It will determine the theme one month in advance to give ample time to produce data and documents for discussion. The core group has been responsible and on the forefront in forming this Policy Circle.
Peripheral Group: An outer circle of 12-15 parliamentarians from different political parties will form a peripheral group. The peripheral group will actively contribute to the selection of the topics, discussion group, and take on active roles both inside and outside the parliament as decided in the meetings. The core group will collaborate with the peripheral group to identify and finalize the theme and modalities for each dialogue as well as the guest discussants. The group will have members from both the upper and lower houses.
Technical Group: Additionally, each discussion will involve 5-7 additional parliamentarians or experts (such as lawyers or sectoral experts) on a need- basis. This group of experts will serve as temporary members and may change as per the subject chosen for discussion.
Anchor Organization: Niti Foundation will act as the convener of the initiative, produce papers and data for discussion, and bear the costs of meetings and research temporarily. Niti will draft a short paper on the theme of choice and circulate amongst the discussants at least a week prior to each dialogue. Niti will work closely with the core theme members and the lead. Niti will participate in meetings to record the discussions and to provide follow-up support in a timely manner. It may suggest topics for discussions based on its ongoing research work.
