Basic information for all members of parliament
Parliament should create a data pipeline that results in a official, public and regularly updated database of basic information for all current and pastmembers of parliament.
User stories
As a citizen, I would like to be able to quickly find out the average age of the members of the party I am thinking of voting for, in order to be better informed when I cast my vote.
As an MP, I would like to be able to submit and update a biography that includes my personal and professional history, in order to better inform voters.
As a journalist, I would like to be able to quickly and easily access official member information, in order to research and write more informative and compelling articles.
Why this is important
Access to an official database of basic information for past and present members is critical when looking to conduct analysis, oversight and research on parliamentary performance.
How things currently stand
Parliament currently releases information about it's members through various channels. These include but are not limited to parliament's website and member lists (.pdf). The problem with this data is that it it excludes a few critical fields like gender, date of birth. It also lacks a few that would be very useful for citizens to have like biographical information and employment background. In it's current state, this data requires manual sourcing, download and refining in order to populate a database, which can introduce errors and requires time and resources.
What this recommendation will enable
- An official and up to date source of members information
- Analysis of historical data by gender and age
- Useful data for voters when researching members
Progress made so far
ParliMeter has reached out to the Secretary to Parliament (Mr. Xolile George) and the division manager of parliaments Knowledge and Information Services (Dr. Leon Gabriel), to push for collaboration on this work. No progress has been made on establishing whether this data exists within Parliament.
In the mean time, ParliMeter has been working with PMG to add and update as much of this detail to their existing API as possible. While this is not an official source for this data, it is freely available to the public.
Have your say
If you have any questions about this recommendation or if you have information you feel could contribute towards its progress, please submit your comment here.
Make your voice heard
Every recommendation starts with a question
This list is always evolving to reflect the expressed needs of ParliMeter's users. If you have a question or an idea that you think requires intervention to implement, please tell us about it!
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