24 Political Ideology Barometer

Setting New

AS gtuidae nto bdesat prracdticse in monitoring and evaluation

International Office UK Liberal Democrats 2

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International Office UK Liberal Democrats

8-10 Great George Street London SW1P 3AE United Kingdom [email protected] http://www.libdems.org.uk/international

@LibDemInternat LibDemInternat 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword - Iain Gill p. 4 Head of International Office - UK Liberal Democrats

Theory of Change p. 5

From Innovation to Integrated Projects p. 6

Outline of PMEL Processes p. 7

Partner Identification Checklist p. 9

Needs Assessment: Guidance and Checklist p. 11

Political Ideology Barometer p. 13

Appendixes p. 18 4 FOREWORD

Iain Gill Head of International Office

The Liberal Demo- Council specifically designed to support the rights of crats International LGBT people and to promote a strong human rights Office works with the agenda within the party. Meanwhile in South Africa, Westminster Foun- we have worked closely with the Democratic Alliance dation for Democ- through their Young Leaders Programme, an initiative racy (WFD) to un- to create a pool of young politicians with the skills to dertake democracy lead their country in the future. Evaluations carried out development work by both DfID and the FCO have consistently praised with our sister-par- the work of the Liberal Democrats overseas as the ties around the most effective and impactful projects across the West- world, primarily with minster Foundation for Democracy. partners in Eastern Europe, Africa and A crucial part of delivering successful and impactful the Middle East. projects is ensuring a high standard of project design, monitoring and evaluation throughout all phases of an Through providing technical support in constituency international programme. Over the past years, he have campaigning, training candidates and policy develop- developed a number of innovative processes and tools ment, we enable our sister-parties to fight elections which we use to make certain that our project partners more effectively and hold governments to account. In meet a number of minimum standards, and that our addition to this, we promote the participation and rep- projects are carried out on the basis of a rigorous level resentation of women, youth and minority groups such of political context analysis. This has been essential for as the LGBT community through strengthening internal making sure our projects are well adapted to meet the party processes and cultural practices. Through devel- specific conditions and requirements of our sister-par- oping trust-based relationships with political parties ties and address the cultural environment. With the Po- and regional liberal networks such as the Africa Lib- litical Ideology Barometer, the Liberal Democrats have eral Network and the Arab Alliance for Freedom and taken the lead in pioneering a new approach to project Democracy, we have supported the growth of liberal management in political party assistance projects. democracy around the world for many years. Through constant innovation and sharing strategies Our projects over the last two years have included elec- and experiences of successes with our international tion support to the Botswana Movement for Democra- partners, we hope to take spark a wider discussion in cy, assisting it to become the official opposition party how to deliver high standards of projects in democracy in the country. We have also overseen the expansion development. of the ALN to 44 member parties, making it the largest network of liberal parties outside of Europe. In Serbia, Yours, we helped our sister-party to establish a Human Rights THEORY OF CHANGE 5 partnerships Human Rights Human Effective policies and manifestos on human on human and manifestos policies Effective rights and expertise sharing networks Regional rights human promoting and report on observe to Mechanisms national, across issues rights human levels and local regional Discrimination on the basis of race, race, of basis on the Discrimination age, gender, orientation, sexual disability, effectively is and nationality religion challenged fundamental safeguard to Legislation by is and upheld rights enacted human parties liberal and are exposed abuses rights Human and regional parties liberal by challenged networks - Theory of Change Democracy: and supporting regional networks and networks regional supporting and making processes making - represented groups groups represented - party - represented groups represented - represented groups are groups represented - Liberal Parties support and creating and creating support Inclusive and Representative International Multi Liberal parties are inclusive and are inclusive parties Liberal society within groups all of representative under from People positions up leadership take to empowered under of models Role politics and promote formulate parties Liberal groups all of needs address that policies inspire future generations to engage in in engage to generations future inspire Liberal parties implement inclusive inclusive implement parties Liberal and policy consultation groups represented and aware are culturally parties Liberal represented under engaging in competent groups roll networks and regional parties Political political build to programmes leadership out under amongst skills Liberal parties mentor and support and support mentor parties Liberal under from and activists candidates an inclusive and participatory development approach development and participatory an inclusive with Liberal Democrats International: transitional liberalism promotingand human rights and equal opportunities everyone for technical assistance and election and election assistance technical Democracy party strengthening - Providing Providing ulti M Liberal parties offer viable choices to the the to choices viable offer parties Liberal to governments and hold electorate account one prevents parties between Competition and corruption dominance party liberal by enacted is legislation Progressive government in parties and manifestos policies Effective on and expertise knowledge Institutional oversight legislative and communications Campaigning election effective wage to strategies campaigns and constitution party Comprehensive democracy party internal grassroots of and mobilisation Engagement society and civil membership Vision: Goals: Outcomes: Outputs: Approach: 6 FROM INNOVATION TO INTERGRATED PROJECTS

The Bosnia project has seen a range of bilateral and cross-party activities taking place across the year 2014/15. The UK political parties have engaged with their respective sister-parties on developing a communications and campaign strategy, providing technical expertise. These activities had to be delivered at a party-to-party level in order to preserve confidentiality in an inherently competitive political environment. How- ever, activities such as university seminars and work- shops on blogging involved input from several UK and Bosnian political parties, providing skills to female can- The Liberal Democrats are constantly evaluating our didates and raising awareness more broadly. projects and looking for ways to enhance our approach and raise our level of impact. As part of our commit- Working as part of an integrated project has enabled us ment to innovation, we engage in Integrated Projects to reach a higher level of impact by involving a greater through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. number of participants and facilitating dialogue across These projects bring together the strengths, inputs and ethnic, religious and political divisions. Collaborating in unique selling points of WFD and all UK political parties cross-party activities has also delivered greater value under one joint programme. Integrated projects involve for money (VFM), maximising the usage of resources, WFD working at the parliamentary level, and the UK preventing duplication and reducing the overall costs. political parties working with their respective sister-par- At the same time, the project has also included suffi- ties cooperating together towards one common goal. cient scope for bilateral work, to ensure that the unique relationships between the UK and Bosnian sister-par- The first integrated project was launched in 2014, with ties continue to flourish and contribute to the overall the aim of promoting women in politics in Bosnia and project objectives. Herzegovina. Coordinated by WFD, this project brings together the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Conserva- On the basis of these successes, new integrated proj- tive parties, each working with their own sister-parties ects have been planned for a number of other coun- with the aim of increasing gender equality. Activities tries including Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. have included trainings on blogging, communications The Liberal Democrats are committed to participating and campaign strategy, to prepare female candidates in future integrated projects, and look forward to en- from all political parties involved for the local elections gaging with WFD to make sure that we remain at the in October 2016. cutting edge of international democracy development. OUTLINE OF PMEL PROCESSES 7 This brief overview of our project planning, monitoring, minimum, we ask that this should consider: what went evaluation and learning (PMEL) processes outlines the well, what went less well and suggestions for improve- key steps and processes after a project proposal has ments on another such occasion. We need the feed- been approved. back sessions and reports to provide us with:

Key Elements of a MEL Cycle • evidence that the activity happened e.g. a training was conducted • the quality and quantity of what was done e.g. how long it lasted, number of participants, course curriculum, what went well/less well; summary of participant evaluation forms (if a training) • levels of sister party and participant satisfaction with the results e.g. participant feedback forms; news of changed behaviours from subsequent contact/reports

We are concerned that these feedback sessions are prioritised and retained whatever the time pressures as they provide vitally important information for our learn- Planning ing and for helping us to improve our future activities, to plan subsequent phases and to complete the quar- The project document may include an outline imple- terly reports for WFD. The quarterly reports that we mentation plan, but if the approval process has taken complete for WFD each quarter provide the cumulative time, we are likely to need to review it and also to pro- content needed for the final project completion report. duce more detailed activity-level implementation plans. The feedback reports and quarterly reports are likewise These planning processes will require collaboration be- key documents for the evaluation team tween the International Office project manager, the sister party focal point for the project and any third parties “Monitoring is the systematic and continuous assess- involved so that we are all agreed on who will do what, ment of the progress of a piece of work over time, and when, where and how this will happen. which checks that things are ‘going to plan’ and enables adjustments to be made in a methodical way.” Monitoring Sharpening the Development Process Monitoring enables us to demonstrate our account- Oliver Bakewell et al. ability for the different resources we are using, whether financial expenditure or people’s time and energy. Evaluation Once the implementation plan is agreed, we need to establish the monitoring plan and start this process at After our projects are completed, they are usually ex- once. In our projects, we should monitor both: ternally evaluated. At this point, the focus is on establishing whether we completed all the activities en- • the implementation of the activities – are we doing visaged, what happened afterwards (outcomes) and what we said we would do? what changes if any then occurred (impact). The po- • the results of our work – are we achieving the litical ideology barometer is our key tool for measuring changes we were hoping for? shifts in the sister party’s policies at this point. As well as assessing the project’s impact, the evaluators will If progress is not as expected, we should also ask our- consider the efficiency of the project and whether it selves why this is, and consider if there is anything that was well managed, its effectiveness, its relevance and we need to change or add. The International Office re- whether performance could have been improved; this lies on feedback sessions, conducted during each will take into account factors helping and and hindering activity, and on receiving the associated consultant/ the performance of the project. trainer feedback reports and participant evaluation forms for monitoring progress. At the end of each Learning activity we fund - whether a workshop, training course or mentoring visit – a dedicated, interactive feedback There are two key opportunities for encouraging session should automatically be programmed. As a reflection and for capitalising on and documenting 8 OUR MONITORING AND EVALUATION PROCESS our learning: at the end of each activity and in the final back and learning from all stakeholders involved in the reporting and evaluation stage. activities we fund.

Learning is nevertheless a continuous process and The flow chart below illustrates our monitoring and we are keen at all times to receive constructive feed- evaluation process: PARTNER IDENTIFICATION CHECKLIST 9 Rationale 1. Does the party meet the minimum standards of what constitutes a political party? In transitional democracies, it is common for political 1.1 Does the party have a written constitution parties to be new and embryonic. Parties may frag- and manifesto? ment, and the party’s leadership, ideology and direc- 1.2 Is it registered as a legal political party? tion can change rapidly. Working in these environ- 1.3 Does the party have an established name ments, it can be challenging to identify political parties and physical functioning office? that make appropriate partners on the ground. While 1.4 How many staff and how many members political parties in transitional democracies may not does it have? have a fully-fledged organisational structure and policy platform, we need to ensure that we: 2. Does the party have anything in its track record to exclude it? 1. Ascertain a political party’s legal status and sus- 2.1 Has it got or ever had any criminal or civil tainability court cases outstanding against it? 2. Share a commitment to liberal values 2.2 Has it ever been bankrupt or accused of 3. Minimise reputational risk to ourselves and the financial mismanagement? Westminster Foundation for Democracy 2.3 Are there any local or international legiti- macy issues? This information on a political party will be fed into the 2.4 Does it have any affiliations with religious Political Ideology Barometer to obtain an overall score. or political institutions that may under- mine its governance or values, or give Guidance on use of this checklist other cause for concern? 2.5 Does the party have any ideologies that This checklist is based on the NDI publication “Mini- are unacceptable and or may conflict with mum Standards for the Democratic Functioning of Po- liberal values? litical Parties”. It is used as a screening tool in the first 2.6 Are there any other reputational issues step of the process for identifying possible partners. that may pose a risk by association to The questions aim to establish whether a political party WFD and the Liberal Democrats? (Other fulfils the minimum requirements for what constitutes a scandals, corruption, discrimination etc). political party, and meets the necessary criteria to be defined as a liberal party. 3. What is the evidence that the party constitutes a liberal party? Both UK and local political and cultural norms will need 3.1 Does the party uphold the principles of to be considered. democratic elections, rule of law, a free market economy and self-determination This process is done through desk research and inter- for the individual? views in UK, through face-to-face meetings and/or by 3.2 Is the party committed to human rights, phone/skype. It may not be possible to answer all of equality, the right to worship, and free- the questions at this stage. dom from persecution? 3.3 Are the party’s policies in line with the Uni- A summary report should be prepared that sets out the versal Declaration of Human Rights and conclusions and supporting evidence and details any the Oxford Manifesto of 1997? outstanding information requirements. 3.4 Is there evidence that women, youth and minorities are represented in and/or sup- The information gained will be used to decide whether ported by the party? or not we would consider working with a political party and, if so, if it is worth proceeding to conduct a more 4. What is its position in the national political in-depth policy audit and risk assessment and, after context? that, a needs assessment. 4.1 What are its history and origins? 4.2 Does it have any particular distinguishing A further needs assessment checklist has been devel- characteristics – in terms of its mission, oped for more in-depth exploration of some of the is- leadership or structure? sues below and for identifying what type of programme 4.3 Are there any other liberal parties that it to embark on. competes with and how do they compare? 10 PARTNER IDENTIFICATION CHECKLIST 4.4 What is the view of the UK (or relevant EU) embassy and FCO on the party?

5. Does the party work with or receive support from any other UK or European political parties? 5.1 Have we or WFD ever worked with them before? If so, what was our learning from this? 5.2 Does the party have established links with liberal networks such as the Africa Liberal Network, Alliance of Liberals and Demo- crats for Europe, the Council of Asian Lib- erals and Democrats, or the Liberal Net- work for Latin America (RELIAL)? 5.3 Does the party have ties with other liberal political parties or partners such as the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the Dutch VVD and D66 parties, and the Swedish Centerpartiet? 5.4 Does the party have links or ties with any other overseas political parties or networks? How might these affect the decision to support them? NEEDS ASSESSMENT: GUIDANCE & CHECKLIST 11 Rationale The list of questions is not exhaustive and others The purpose of the needs assessment is to determine should be added as relevant. The partner identifica- the sister party’s needs for support and to establish its tion findings - from the partner identification checklist, interest in, and its capacity for, working with the Liberal the policy audit and risk assessment and the political Democrats. ideology barometer - should be reviewed in order to:

The needs assessment builds on information already • Identify any gaps and any areas for clarifying or ex- obtained, but generally only from documentary evi- ploring further dence, during the initial stage of partner identification. • Minimise any unnecessary duplication where there The needs assessment involves visiting the party to ex- is overlap. plore in more detail and depth the findings gathered to date, to fill in any gaps and to establish whether there is An optional format for summarising findings and con- a match between their unmet needs and what the Lib- clusions is also provided. eral Democrats are able to offer. There is deliberately some repetition of question areas across the two tools Governance in order to ensure that no aspects are omitted and that the initial findings are confirmed and expanded in more 1. Does the party have a constitution defining the par- depth and detail. ty’s hierarchy, election of the party leadership and conditions for membership? The party’s own participation in identifying its needs 2. Who are the key decision makers in the party? and priorities is important for the future results and 3. What formal rules and procedures govern and in- success of any support provided. The visit itinerary fluence party behaviour? (e.g. electoral system) should include interviews or meetings with a range of Are they used / adhered to? stakeholders in order to gain a good overview of the 4. How are the party’s policies developed and ap- party, its values and policies, how it functions and the proved? context in which it works: 5. Does the party have mechanisms to hold the leadership to account? • Party leadership 6. What informal rules govern and influence party be- • Representatives of different structures within the haviour? (e.g. religion, ethnicity, media) party (administration, 7. Are women, youth, minorities, people with disabil- • Local party representatives ities represented in the party and/or supported by • Member groups all levels of the party? • Other parliamentary contacts/officials • FCO/DFID representatives Strategic Leadership and Positioning • Political commentators 1. Does the party have a manifesto and full range of If there is already an emerging focus for our potential policies? How realistic are they? Are there any support, this may affect the list above with some stake- plans and strategies for translating them into prac- holder categories removed and others being added. tice? 2. Is the party sufficiently ‘Liberal’? What do they Guidance consider as ‘Liberal’? 3. What additional evidence is there to support this? This checklist is intended to guide the needs assess- 4. What are the party’s current political priorities? And ment. It is good practice for us to share it and talk it how do these sit within the overall political context? through with any stakeholders interested to do so, and 5. What is the track record and stability of the current likewise we should share the resulting needs assess- leadership? ment findings with key party participants in the pro- 6. Does the party belong to any national or regional cess. networks? 7. Does the party subscribe to internationalism? The checklist is divided into key areas, each with a se- 8. Where does the party want to be in 5 years’ time? ries of questions designed to help us to obtain the in- 9. What key changes / organisational developments formation we need for developing the direction and na- are needed for this? ture of our partnerships with political parties, in terms of political and financial support. 12 NEEDS ASSESSMENT: GUIDANCE & CHECKLIST ment processes and reporting? External relationships 3. What support, if any, have they received from other parties in the past and how did this benefit them? 1. What are the party’s relationships / affiliations with 4. What relevant resources (skills and knowledge) other parties and institutions: in-country, regionally are available to them from other sources, either and internationally? How influential are these on in-country or abroad? the party? 2. What are the UK embassy and FCO views of the Fit of needs with WFD and with what Liberal party? Are there any opportunities for joined up Democrats can offer working with other in-country initiatives supported by HMG? 1. Would responding to the organisational devel- 3. Are they known to FNF, NDI, Dutch, or Swedish opment needs of this party fit with WFD’s strate- foundations? If so, what type of projects have they gic objectives of promoting democracy overseas done/are they currently doing? and in particular increasing minority participation, 4. Is the party a member of Liberal International? supporting regional networks and promoting best 5. What is the party’s interface with civil society or- practice in good governance? ganisations? Does it encourage citizen engage- 2. Are we well placed to assist with the party’s needs? ment? What is our added value in relation to other possible sources of support? Political Understanding and Management 3. Where should we focus our efforts, and what progress can realistically be expected? 1. What is the structure of the party? 4. How can we match their expectations with our re- 2. How is it managed and organised? porting criteria and capacity? 3. How many members does the party have and what are plans and mechanisms, if any, for increasing Supporting documents to inform the membership? needs assessment 4. Does the party have representatives at local and/ or national level? 1. Initial report on partner identification and outstand- 5. Does the party hold regular conferences or general ing information requirements assemblies? What are the past and future dates 2. A summary of the party, including manifesto, con- for these? stitution and mission statement 6. What is the party’s policy on inclusion – relating to 3. Overview of the party’s economic and social policy disability, minorities and gender equality – and how and relationship with other institutions. is this reflected in the party’s leadership, structures 4. Scoring on the Political Ideology Barometer and and membership? subsequent Analysis 7. What technical skills and knowledge does the par- 5. Overview of country’s human rights record, gover- ty have/or have access to for formulating econom- nance and political system ic and social policies? 8. What skills and performance record does the party Analysis have in Public Relations and communications (internal and external) Final assessment analysis with recommendations on 9. What are the party’s skills, experiences and capac- next course of action. An optional Needs Assessment ity in campaigning? When are the next local and Findings & Analysis template is available. national elections and does the party plan to con- test them? 10. What key capacity-building needs does the party itself recognise? What are its priorities?

Resources / resource management and mobilisation

1. What access does the party have to financial resources? 2. What evidence is there of sound financial manage- POLITICAL IDEOLOGY BAROMETER 13 Introduction for the Liberal Democrats work in international political party assistance and particularly for identifying appro- Working in transitional democracies is often challeng- priate sister-parties overseas. We hope that in future ing. Political parties are often embryonic and ideologi- it may be used by other organisations involved in the cally fluid, and the party’s direction and leadership, as field. well as the political context of the country, may change rapidly. Some political parties may be no more than a Objectives few years old, emerging after years of dictatorship, for example after the Arab Spring. The overall objective of the PIB is to assist us in ensuring that our partners are committed to our values, and There have been numerous attempts to assess or in helping us agree which areas our projects should compare the democratic standard or level of corrup- focus on. Specifically, the PIB will assist us in: tion among governments including Transparency Inter- national’s Corruption Perceptions Index, the Friedrich 1. Establishing a party’s ideology: Ascertaining Naumann Stiftung’s Freedom Barometer and the Ibra- a political party’s principles, in order to give us a him Index of African Governance. However, all of these more informed insight into the type of party we are tools focus on the government or country level, rather working with. The PIB will allow us to establish a than specific political parties. baseline from which developments in the party’s ideology can be tracked. Over the past few years, the Liberal Democrats have 2. Project strategy: Determining whether a political been working to improve the standard of our moni- party is a suitable match as a sister-party, and en- toring and evaluation, and to further develop our pro- abling us to identify the key priorities of a sister-par- gramme design and implementation towards an evi- ty. The PIB will assist us in developing projects that dence based approach. It is out of this context that the meet the sister-party’s specific needs, and building idea of the Political Ideology Barometer (PIB) first arose relationships with the most relevant organisations in the Liberal Democrats International Office. within the liberal family. 3. Monitoring and evaluation: Demonstrating a Rationale clear rationale for our selection of sister-parties and programme design and, through repeat usage, The Political Ideology Barometer pioneers a new ap- tracking any changes that occur. proach, and is the first of its kind to concentrate on the 4. Identifying red flags: Alerting us to changes in a political party level. In this way, the PIB bridges the gap sister-party’s ideology, allowing us to take action between theory and practice in the area of international and avoid reputational risk to ourselves and the political party programming work. Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

Liberalism is distinctive as an ideology in that it can Developing the PIB: Process and Supporting span a broad spectrum. It is much more difficult to pin- Documents point on the ideological scale than other political philos- ophies such as socialism or conservatism. The liberal Developing the PIB involves several steps: family includes socially liberal parties on the centre-left, to economically liberal parties on the centre-right. 1. In cases where we are dealing with a new political party, the first step will be to screen the party as a Because of these challenges in assessing liberalism, potential partner against a limited number of core the Political Ideology Barometer is an invaluable tool criteria and decide whether we would consider 14 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY BAROMETER working with them. the state and private sector. Social liberalism includes 2. Provided that a political party meets these criteria, a commitment to human rights, the provision of health- the second step will be to conduct a policy audit to care, education and measures to tackle poverty and gauge the party’s ideology, and rate its economic inequality, and the right to worship. Finally, institutional and social policy, and relationship with institutions. liberalism consists of the separation of religious organi- 3. In cases where we are dealing with an existing sis- sations and the state, a pledge to facilitate the peaceful ter party, we will need to obtain information on the transition of government and the freedom to organise a party’s current policies to place it on the ideological political opposition. spectrum. 4. The final step for a new or existing party is to score Each political party’s policies will be analysed in relation it on the political ideology barometer to measure to the Pillars of Liberalism, to determine where the par- where it falls on the political spectrum ty falls on the ideological scale.

The PIB will be informed by the following supporting Information from these three documents will be collat- documents. ed in a standardised template for each political party’s profile. These profiles will encompass a snapshot of Minimum standards of what constitutes a politi- the party, establishing whether it fulfils the minimum cal party standards of what constitutes a political party, and information from the policy audit, detailing its economic In cases where we are working with a new political and social policies and relationship with institutions, party, the National Democratic Institute’s paper on the according to the principles laid out in the Pillars of Lib- ‘minimum standards of what constitutes a political par- eralism. ty’ is a useful starting point in establishing whether a political party is developed and coherent enough for The rating system us to consider working with. If a party passes this test and is identified as a potential partner, we will continue After reviewing data on economic and social policy to analyse the party’s ideology. and relationship with institutions, the party’s stance on each of these policy areas is rated on a scale from -5 Policy audit and risk assessment (far left) to +5 (far right). Then by taking an average of the three scores, we will obtain a final measure on the The PIB is also informed by a policy scan and risk as- ideological scale. sessment for each political party, both new political parties and existing sister-parties. This involves analys- ing the party’s manifesto, constitution and policy platform, as well as media coverage and external reports to gain a comprehensive overview of the party’s ideology. This information is used to place the political party’s ideology on the spectrum. -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

The Liberal Democrats have already carried out policy The rating scale has been designed to correspond to audits and risk assessments for 35 member parties of the amount of data that we can expect to obtain: we the Africa Liberal Network, to assess their eligibility to wanted a scale that would distinguish between major work within the network. This process will be replicated differences in policy but that would not demand very for new members of the ALN and sister-parties in other detailed information on many different indicators. We continents. therefore decided to use a scale from -5 to +51.

The Pillars of Liberalism In order to ensure a fair and unbiased judgement each party will be scored on the PIB by a panel of three peo- In order to establish a political party’s liberal credentials, ple, who will rank the party in each of the three areas, it is important to define what we mean by liberalism. and then compare and discuss their findings, before This document defines liberalism according to three agreeing on a final score on the PIB. key areas: economic, social and institutional principles. Economic liberalism encompasses the rule of law, 1. A scale from -3 to +3 would have been too simplistic but a scale property rights, free markets and openness to inter- from -10 to +10 would have demanded very detailed data on party policies that it is often difficult to obtain due to the nature of the political national trade, and transparent relationship between environment in transitional democracies. GUIDANCE FOR USING THE BAROMETER 15 Interpreting the scores will enable us to quickly understand the ideological differences between the parties. A political party’s overall score on the PIB will be de- rived from its scores on economic policy, social policy Guidance for conducting and using the Political and relationship with institutions. While a political party Ideology Barometer may have a favourable overall score on the PIB may conceal poor scores in one or more of the three cate- The PIB requires a number of information inputs and gories. Therefore it is essential that in interpreting the preparatory exercises shown below. An early step is results of the PIB, the scores on the three indicators to decide who will conduct each of these and establish are also taken into account. a timeline. Using the results The different steps

For new parties that we have not worked with before, 1. Identification of partners that meet criteria for a po- the PIB will enable us to decide whether we should litical party continue to explore the possibility of providing support and make a more detailed needs assessment visit. Where we are working with a new political party, this When it is agreed to provide assistance, the Political is initial screening assessment is a piece of desk re- Ideology Barometer can then be used throughout the search conducted by the International Office on poten- project cycle, from the assessment stage to project tial sister parties. This is done after we have decided management and monitoring and evaluation; it will be that the country’s overall political system and climate used both in cases where we are dealing with a politi- provide satisfactory conditions for us to work in. cal party for the first time, and in projects with existing partners. The partner identification checklist has been developed to assist us with the assessment process and it The Political Ideology Barometer’s enables us to make sets out the core criteria for us to consider. These are comparisons between parties and to track changes in based on the National Democratic Institute’s paper on a party’s ideology. A change in the party’s position on the ‘minimum standards of what constitutes a political the scale would tell us in which ideological direction the party’, which may also be consulted. The assessment party is moving. Comparing different parties’ scores is done using available documentary evidence and any

SUPPORTING STEPS/TASKS WHO WILL DO? DELIVERABLE BY WHEN? DOCUMENTS/ 1. Partner identifi- Partner identifica- cation: deciding if it Short report tion checklist NDI meets criteria for a detailed criteria political party

ALN Risk Assess- 2. Policy audit and Summary report ment Template and risk assessment example of analysis

3. Preparation of party profile using 1 3-5 page profile Botswana example and 2 above

This guidence note 4. Individual PIB Individual ratings Reports from tasks ratings given then and rationale 1,2 and 3 above share Pillars of Liberalism

5. Meeting to agree Summary report final PIB ratings with agreed rating 16 GUIDANCE FOR USING THE BAROMETER information we can source from personal contacts. The rating scale has 11 points ranging from -5 to +5. As yet there is no specific guidance for what a score of The resulting short report summarises the findings and 0 or -5 or +5 would mean for each of the dimensions. is used to inform the International Office’s decision While we recognise that the tool and its rating system whether or not we should proceed further with the pol- have some limitations, largely because of limited data icy audit and needs assessment. availability, we believe that the assessment process is useful because of the reflection it requires. In the fu- 2. Policy audit and risk assessment ture, we intend to produce some ratings guidance or examples, drawing on our learning from the initial as- This is conducted for both new political parties and ex- sessment exercises. isting sister-parties. Each assessor, working individually, rates the party on It involves a more detailed analysis of the party’s mani- its economic policies, social policies and institutional festo, constitution and policy platform, as well as media relationships; then these three scores are used to pro- coverage and external reports to gain a comprehen- duce an overall score. The provision of three separate sive overview of the party’s ideology. This information scores enables an understanding of the final score and will be used to place the political party’s ideology on of any differences that may underlie apparently similar the spectrum. scores.

The Liberal Democrats have already carried out policy The assessors should give a brief explanation of the audits and risk assessments for 35 member parties of rationale for each of their three individual ratings and the Africa Liberal Network; the report provides a useful also record the rationale for their final agreed ratings. template for further policy audits and risk assessment See Annex 4 for a simple optional template. exercises. Annex 1 contains the template and Annex 2 a worked example. 5. PIB agreed rating

It is often difficult for us to obtain sufficient documenta- After the individual ratings have been shared, the three ry or web-based information to provide a comprehen- individual assessors meet to compare and discuss sive overview. Any particular queries or gaps should their scores and to agree and record their four overall be highlighted for further exploration during a needs final ratings and their reasoning. assessment visit. The explanations will assist both the discussion for agreeing on final scores and also the listing of aspects 3. Preparation of party profile - assumptions or gaps - that should be explored during a subsequent needs assessment visit. Our next step is to use the information from the partner identification checklist and the policy audit and risk as- If the PIB is being completed for a sister party that we sessment exercise, to produce a 2-3 page party profile are already working with, they should either be involved summarising the key points. This serves as the basis in the process or the draft results should be shared and for rating the party on the political ideology barometer. discussed with them.

4. PIB Initial individual ratings 6. Use of PIB results

Three individuals are selected to rate the party from The PIB results provide us with a picture of the party’s their different perspectives on the PIB scale below. ideology that will enable us to decide if we think there Where possible, these will usually be the Head of Of- is potential for working with them and if we should con- fice, the Liberal Democrat Governor in WFD and the duct a more detailed needs assessment. relevant project manager. If it is decided to proceed, the PIB analysis should be The ratings are based on: shared with the party assessed. This is good practice for transparency and validation and provides a visual • a profile of the party (prepared using information of stimulus for facilitating discussions with the party. It the reports of the partner identification and of the may reveal differences of culture or of perspective that policy audit and risk assessment) are helpful for both sides to be aware of and to under- • the Pillars of Liberalism (see Annex 3) stand. If necessary, it will enable us to decide whether we are ready to agree to disagree on some aspects. GUIDANCE FOR USING THE BAROMETER 17

The PIB analysis has further multiple uses:

Planning/design of support

• discussing and agreeing with the party where support is most needed • agreeing what it will be most useful and appropriate for us to support • establishing the degree of travel/shift along the barometer that is wanted • briefing for trainers/advisors when planning trips and preparing materials

Monitoring change

• mapping shifts in party ideology from the start point established • discussing the implications of particular changes with the party

Comparison of different parties

• Mapping several parties onto the barometer at once to provide an overview of a group and relative positions of individual parties to the group

Evaluation

• Showing the changes/impact that our support has contributed to achieving

See worked example in Annex 5.

7. Repeat PIB analyses

We suggest that the PIB is reviewed at three-yearly in- tervals, unless the party is in a phase of rapid transition or it has had to respond to major events and changes.

For repeat assessments, we will not usually need to repeat the partner identification assessment and proba- bly not the policy audit and risk assessment: the quarterly reports on programme implementation and visit or trainer feedback reports may together provide us with enough information for updating the partner profile. Ideally, repeat assessments will be a participatory process in country involving party staff and members.

The preceding PIB analysis should be used as a point of reference. 18 TEMPLATE FOR PARTY PROFILES NAME OF THE PARTY

Key decision makers: Contact information:

Founded:

National representation: xX/ xxx xx.xx% (Year of elections)

Regional representation: PERCENTAGE %

Local representation: PERCENTAGE %

Party website:

Liberal International status:

ALN status:

Party profile:

Economic policy LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT

a) Rule of law and property rights b) Economic freedoms c) State intervention in the economy d) Trade policy

Social policy LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT a) Health care b) Education c) Commitment to human rights

Relationship with institutions LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT

a) Justice system b) Separation of the state and religious institutions c) Relationship with the military

Political barometer analysis

LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT Scores are assigned by a panel of three people, who will rank the parties in all three areas, and compare their findings before agreeing on the final score on the PIB, in order to ensure fair and unbiased judgement. TEMPLATE FOR PARTY PROFILES 19 DEMOCRACTIC ALLIANCE - SOUTH AFRICA

Key decision makers: Mmusi Maimane - Party Leader Helen Zille - Premier of the Western Cape James Selfe - DA Federal Chairperson International Officer Stevens- Mokglapa

Founded: 2000 (practically 1999 as a merge of Progressive Fed- eral Party and Nasionale Party)

National representation: 89/400 & 19/90 NCOP 22.23% (2014)

Regional representation: 20 / 90 National Council of Provinces (term lasts until a new provincial legislature is elected)

Local representation: 23.9% (Municipality elections 2011)

Party website: http://www.da.org.za

Liberal International status: Full Member

ALN status: Full Member

Party profile:

The Democratic Alliance (DA) traces it history back to the an- they are strongest in the Cape Town, where they received ti-apartheid movement and the Democratic Party (DP), but 60.9% of the vote. was founded in 2000 as a merger of the Democratic Party, In their 2014 election manifesto the DA express their core Federal Alliance and NNP (which left the alliance in 2001). values as a “Open, Opportunity Society for All”, including Since then DA has absorbed two other parties: the Indepen- the right of people to be free as long as they do not infringe dent Democrats and South African Democratic Convention. on the rights of others, while the society protects citizens through a social safety net and where race, ethnicity or Since its founding the Democratic Alliance has had sever- gender does not impede access to opportunities. The pol- al electoral successes in national elections, with 9.56% as icy areas in focus in the manifesto was fighting corruption, the Democratic Party in 1999, 12.37% in 2004 and 16.66% creating job, supporting business, land reform, education, in 2009, making it the second largest party in South Africa wellbeing, environment and security issues. through the last decade and the main opposition party to the ANC government. In the 2014 national elections the party LGBT: The Civil Union Act, which came into effect on 30 No- grew even further, to 22.23%. vember 2006, legalized same-sex marriage and also allowed for the legal designation of religious marriage officers without At the local level DA has also been successful, after the 2011 any religious restriction in accordance with the Constitution. municipal election the party controls 28 municipalities and 20 TEMPLATE FOR PARTY PROFILES Economic policy Social Policy LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT a) Rule of law and property rights a) Health care

The DA has a several policies to combat corruption, in- DA wants to ensure free access to health care needs cluding to not allow government ministers, public ser- to the most poor and marginalised, and to pursue the vants and their families to do business with the state, to goal of adequate universal access to health care for disallow people convicted for corruption from holding South African citizens. DA wants to apply a quality rat- public office. DA also intend to increase mandate, -ca ing system to all hospitals and conduct regular evalu- pacity and budgets of anti-corruption bodies. The DA ations in order to ensure that public hospital manage- will eliminate uncertainty about land reform and land ment teams are qualified and effective. ownership through a clear commitment to the principle of willing buyer willing seller, and by making sure that Use information technology to improve the system of the court remains the final arbiter in determining prices buying and distributing medicines so that patients can when land is expropriated in the public interest. collect medicines from any accredited pharmacy. Re- duce the mother-to-child transmission rate for HIV and b) Economic freedoms accelerate education programmes related to HIV/AIDS and general health issues. The DA will change labour laws so that agreements between unions and big companies are not extended b) Education to smaller players who were not part of the negotia- tions. They will reduce the regulatory burden of small DA think that while South Africa spends a significant businesses and reduce red tape which makes it harder amount on education, the results are unsatisfying. They to establish business in South Africa. want to train 15 000 more teachers each year and ensure that every child has “a textbook, a trained and c) State intervention in the economy motivated teacher, and enough time in the classroom to master schoolwork”. The education outcomes need The DA aims to keep corporate and individual tax rates to better match workplace needs, and the curriculum as low as possible and to “explore” privatisation of un- must regularly be reviewed to fit the modern economy. competitive state-owned businesses and increase tax revenue by broadening the tax base. However they Children in school must master the fundamentals of also suggest targeted support for labour-intensive sec- literacy and numeracy and young people should be tors (agriculture, fisheries, mining and tourism), - stim encouraged to finish school and dedicate themselves ulus for new growth industries and the green sector to their studies by paying a reward to social grant ben- and the creation of a youth wage subsidy programme eficiaries who have completed Grade 12 or performed to encourage the appointment of young work seekers. above set standard. DA also want to establish a National Venture Capital Fund to provide initial funding for start-ups and ear- c) Commitment to human rights ly-stage businesses. DA desire an independent and free-thinking civil soci- d) Trade policy ety, including a free and independent media and a free and independent political opposition that is loyal to the The DA wants to make it easier for South African busi- constitutional order which should protect every individ- nesses to trade with other countries, simplify import ual’s freedom. Race, ethnicity or gender should not im- and export rules and try to establish a regional com- pact ones access to opportunities, actions should be mon market. They want to eliminate exchange controls taken to achieve “genuine redress” for the social and to simplify the flow of capital and to establish one-stop economy legacy of Apartheid. border posts to make border crossing processes sim- pler. LGBT: The DA was the only party that when the Civil Union Bill was debated in parliament said that having Trade is to be a primary focus of South Africa’s foreign the word “union” instead of “marriage” for same-sex missions and DA want to facilitate trade agreements in couples was a form of discrimination. The party’s lead- agriculture with the rest of Africa. er, Helen Zille, has stated that she fully endorses the TEMPLATE FOR PARTY PROFILES 21 Constitution’s Bill of Rights and its commitment to the right of all to determine their sexual orientation, going on to say that everyone has the right to be themselves and live a life they value. Relationship with Institutions LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT a) Justice system

The justice system should have the necessary inde- pendence and resources, the courts must be free from political interference and be resourced to handle the number of cases coming through the system. A Ju- dicial Commission of Inquiry should be established to investigate police corruption and police involvement in drug dealing. b) Separation of the state and religious institutions

Post-apartheid South Africa’s Constitution guaran- tees the right to freedom of religion, belief and opin- ion among other freedoms. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) is a chapter nine institution established in 2004 to support democracy. c) Relationship with the military

The Democratic Alliance appears to have no links with institutions, nor is it funded by questionable or contro- versial groups, avoiding claims of corruption. This is due at least in part to the many regulations and legislation in South Africa designed to prevent corruption. The DA will increase the number of troops protect- ing South Africa’s borders and develop clear guide- lines when defence force may be called upon to assist in preventing public violence. Participation in foreign peacekeeping should focus on the safety in the region.

Political barometer analysis

1. Rule of law – property rights and freedom from corruption 2. Regulatory efficiency – business freedom, - mone tary freedom, labour freedom 3. Open markets – trade freedom and increased trade between nations 4. A limited/small government – efficient bureaucra- cy, fiscal freedom, transparent relationship of state and private sector

Social principles

1. A belief that the role of government includes ad- dressing social issues such as poverty, health care and education. This can include state support for housing and welfare for the state’s most marginal- ized citizens. 2. Social liberalism seeks to balance individual liberty and social justice. 3. A commitment to human rights, equality, freedom from persecution and the right to worship.

Institutional principles

1. Peaceful transition of government. 2. Separation of the church and the state. 3. The use of military by a nation is not to persecute its citizens or the political opposition and prevent politics from flourishing. POLITICAL IDEOLOGY BAROMETER 24 Name of Assessor: Party Assessed:

Documents/Inputs Used: Date:

Economic Policy Relationship with Institutions

Economic liberalism encompasses the rule of law, Institutional liberalism consists of the separation of reli- property rights, free markets and openness to interna- gious organisations and the state, a pledge to facilitate tional trade, and transparent relationship between the the peaceful transition of government and the freedom state and private sector to organise a political opposition.

LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT Rationale for Rating: Rationale for Rating:

Social Policy Overall rating of position on Political Ideology Barometer Social liberalism includes a commitment to human rights, the provision of healthcare, education and mea- Drawing on the three ratings above, please allocate an sures to tackle poverty and inequality, and the right to overall position on the PIB. worship.

LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT LEFT -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 RIGHT Rationale for Rating: Rationale for Rating: