There are many Commonwealth organisations working in the area of government and public governance; the main ones are:
– Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM)
– Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA)
– Commonwealth Hansard Editors Association
– Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)
– The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)
– Conference of Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers
– Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance (CCEG)
Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM)
L’Esplanade Laurier, 300 Laurier Avenue West, West Tower, Room A-1245, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6Z2, Canada
Tel: +1 613 996 5026 | Fax: +1 613 947 9223 | Email: capam@capam.org | www.capam.org
CAPAM is a membership organisation dedicated to strengthening public management and consolidating democracy and good governance throughout the Commonwealth. It achieves this by building networks across the Commonwealth, through which it exchanges experiences on new developments, innovations and the reform of public administration.
Foundation: 1994
Officers: President: Paul Zahra (Malta); Vice-President: Dato’ Sri Dr Ali bin Hamsa (Malaysia); Honorary Treasurer: Hon Amal Pepple (Nigeria); Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer: Gay Hamilton
Activities: Conferences and seminars designed to promote networking and to advance innovation in public management, including: the Biennial Conference; the annual Senior Leaders Forum; customised in-country executive seminars; and thematic regional seminars. The International Innovations Awards, a pan-Commonwealth programme established in 1997, recognise organisations that have made significant contributions to improving governance and services in the public sector.
Publications: Commonwealth Innovations Review (quarterly); CAPAM Featured Reports (conferences); e-Library of case studies and materials on good practice in public administration; online access to International Review of Administrative Science.
Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA)
c/o Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX, UK
Tel: +44 20 7747 6473/4 | Fax: +44 20 7747 6225 | Email: cata@commonwealth.int | www.cata-tax.org
CATA is an intergovernmental organisation established by Commonwealth finance ministers to promote the improvement of tax administration in all its aspects within the Commonwealth with particular emphasis on developing countries. The long-term objective is to provide training to tax officials in technical and administrative skills, adopt best practices and to build capacity in tax administrations enabling member governments to evolve well-designed, equitable and revenue-optimising tax systems backed by efficient, modern and effective tax administrations.
Foundation: 1978
Officers: President: George Blankson (Ghana); Chairman: Tan Sri Dr Shukor Mahfar (Malaysia); Vice-Chairman: Peter Steeds (UK); Executive Director: Tutu Bakwena (Botswana)
Commonwealth Hansard Editors Association
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, UK
Tel: +44 20 7219 3388 | Fax: +44 20 7219 0290 | Email: sutherlandl@parliament.uk www.commonwealth-hansard.org
The Commonwealth organisation of the editors of Hansard, the official reports and records of the proceedings of Commonwealth parliaments.
Foundation: 1984
Officers: Secretary: Lorraine Sutherland
Activities: A triennial conference for the discussion of reporting techniques and procedures, in particular the management of the latest developments in information, printing and publishing technology. Particular emphasis is placed on assistance to smaller and newly emerging Commonwealth states.
Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)
CLGF headquarters, 16a Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AP, UK
Tel: +44 20 7389 1490 | Fax: +44 20 7389 1499 | Email: info@clgf.org.uk | www.clgf.org.uk
Pacific Regional Office, GPO Box 159, Suva, Fiji Islands
Tel: +679 330 0257 | Fax: +679 330 2729 | Email: clgfsuva@connect.com.fj
The CLGF works to promote and strengthen democratic local government throughout the Commonwealth and to encourage the exchange of good practice in local government structures and services.
CLGF is based in London with regional project offices in the Pacific, India and South Africa. It works through its 170 members in 40 Commonwealth countries, particularly the national local government associations, ministries dealing with local government, individual local authorities, and regional and international partners. It brings together practitioners from all spheres of government who are involved in local government to pool experiences and share good practice.
Its members include local councils and municipalities, local government associations and ministries of local government. Trade unions, training and research institutions and professional or employers’ associations are welcome as associate members.
Foundation: 1995
Officers: Chairperson: Mayor Lawrence Yule, President of Local Government Association, New Zealand; Vice-Chairpersons: Hon Adolf Mwesige, Minister of Local Government, Uganda; Cllr Philip McPhee, President, Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities, The Bahamas; Secretary-General: Carl Wright; Deputy Secretary-General: Lucy Slack; Director of Communications: Sue Rhodes; Regional Project Manager (Pacific): Karibaiti Taoaba; Project Officer (India): Anuya Kuwar; Project Officer (Southern Africa): Nyasha Simbanegavi
Activities: CLGF encourages local democracy through local election support and monitoring, exchange of experience and good practice, technical projects and partnerships to strengthen local government capacity and implement the Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance, and knowledge sharing on innovations and good practice in local government. It organises symposiums and workshops on democracy and local government issues in all regions of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme funds technical co-operation partnerships between local authorities.
CLGF is the voice for local government in the Commonwealth, advocating decentralisation and good local governance and the role of local government in tackling poverty, delivering the MDGs and other global issues at key Commonwealth and international forums. The Forum holds the biennial Commonwealth Local Government Conference. The seventh conference was held in Kampala, Uganda, in May 2013 (visit www.clgc2013.org).
Publications: CLGF Bulletin (2/3 p.a.); CLGF enews – a regular update on what’s happening in local government throughout the Commonwealth; Commonwealth Local Government Handbook (a complete guide to local government systems in Commonwealth countries with case studies of innovative reforms in local government structures and services, published bi-annually); E-journal of Commonwealth Local Governance and Democracy (from early 2008); Aberdeen Agenda: Commonwealth Principles on Good Practice for Local Democracy and Good Governance; research, workshop and conference reports.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)
Secretariat: Suite 700, Westminster House, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA, UK
Tel: +44 20 7779 1460/20 7219 4666 | Fax: +44 20 7222 6073 | Email: hq.sec@cpahq.org andrew@cpahq.org | www.cpahq.org
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association links members of national, state, provincial and territorial parliaments and legislatures across the Commonwealth. Its mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance. It seeks to build an informed parliamentary community able to deepen the Commonwealth’s democratic commitment and to further co-operation among its parliaments and legislatures.
Foundation: 1911 (as the Empire Parliamentary Association)
Officers: President: Hon Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu MP (Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, South Africa); Chair of the Executive Committee: Rt Hon Sir Alan Haselhurst MP (Member of the House of Commons, United Kingdom); Secretary-General: Dr William F Shija
Activities: The CPA pursues its objectives by means of: annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conferences, regional conferences and other symposiums; interparliamentary visits; parliamentary seminars and workshops; publications, notably The Parliamentarian and newsletters on CPA activities and parliamentary and political events; and Parliamentary Information and Reference Centre communications. Active CPA Branches now exist in more than 180 national, state, provincial and territorial parliaments and legislatures, with a total membership in excess of 17,000 parliamentarians.
Conference of Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers
5th Floor, 131 Queen Street, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6, Canada
Tel: +1 613 993 0330 | Fax: +1 613 995 0212 | Email: cspoc@parl.gc.ca | www.cspoc.org/contact-e.asp
The Conference provides speakers and presiding officers of national parliaments in the Commonwealth with a unique opportunity to gather together in a forum of their own to exchange information and express views on matters of common concern. (Note: speakers, or presiding officers, are the members of parliament who chair parliamentary proceedings; they must be above party concerns in their duties as chairs, and expert interpreters of the rules of procedure by which their parliaments operate.)
Foundation: 1969
Contact: Eric Janse, Secretary to the Standing Committee
Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance (CCEG)
c/o Rajkumar Prasad (CEO), B 5/2, IIND Floor, Model Town-I, Delhi 110009, India
Tel: +91 981 006 3137 | Email: rajkumar@electronicgovindia.net | www.electronicgovindia.net
The mission of CCEG is to promote electronic governance by providing a knowledge base of best practices and policies for information technology implementation in public-sector organisations. CCEG also advises and provides expertise to governments around the world on e-governance, e-government and e-democracy. It delivers courses on the implementation of e-governance. Membership comprises representatives of government agencies and non-profit organisations from all regions of the Commonwealth. CCEG has a board of directors, a patron’s committee and an advisory council. The Centre works with the Commonwealth Secretariat’s programmes on e-governance and e-government, while drawing expertise and financial resources from the developed countries of the Commonwealth. It is a designated think-tank of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Officers: Chair, Advisory Council: Michael Turner (Canada); Vice-Chair, Advisory Council: Rogers W’O Okot-Uma; Chief Executive and Chair of Board of Directors: Professor Thomas B Riley
