Legislative Scrutiny, AI and Digital Lawmaking (Hybrid Certified Course 2027)

Overview

This course explores the theory and practice of legislative scrutiny and the role of technology and AI to assist these efforts. With a special emphasis on impact assessments of legislation both before and after it has been enacted, the course examines how the legislative and executive branches of government can upgrade the quality of legislative scrutiny and leverage technology to improve feedback loops, implementation monitoring and citizen engagement.

Building on the 2026 course and drawing on recent parliamentary innovations and technological developments and expert case studies, the 2027 course is designed to equip parliamentary actors, researchers and policy makers with the knowledge and tools to lead innovation in a fast-changing governance landscape.

Course organisers and partners

The course is organised by WFD and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) of the University of London, in partnership with a wide range of organisations with expertise in law making, parliamentary practice and technological innovation, including Accountability Lab, Africa Regional Convening on Parliament and Legislation (AFRIPAL), International Association of Legislation (IAL), International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN), Political Tech Summit, Popvox Foundation, and UK Political Studies Association Specialist Group on Parliament (PSA Parl).

WFD is a non-partisan foundation, an executive agency of the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the UK public body for international democracy support. WFD works around the globe on topics such as parliamentary strengthening, inclusion, accountability, environmental democracy and elections. WFD recently published the Guidelines for AI in Parliament and the book Cybersecurity for Parliaments.

Who is the Course for? 

• Members of parliament and parliamentary staff
• Legislative drafters and legal advisors
• Policy analysts and civil servants
• Technology officers in governments and parliaments
• Tech initiatives interested in democratic governance
• Political party representatives interested in law and tech governance
• Civil society organisations involved in law and tech governance
• Academics and researchers in public policy, governance and technology

Course Themes

1. The legislative cycle and legislative scrutiny: From policy making to legislation, enactment and implementation; the role of legislative scrutiny throughout the legislative cycle.

2. Pre-legislative scrutiny, impact assessment and ex-ante evaluation: Pre-legislative scrutiny; impact assessment and its role in legislative scrutiny; ex-ante evaluation of legislative proposals; the use of technology to support evidence-based lawmaking and ex-ante scrutiny.

3. Legislative implementation monitoring, evaluation and post-legislative scrutiny: Monitoring legislative implementation; evaluating legislative outcomes; post-legislative scrutiny; measuring the impact of legislative scrutiny and committee work; the use of technology to support implementation monitoring and legislative review.

4. Comparative practice and case studies in legislative scrutiny: Case studies and comparative experiences in pre- and post-legislative scrutiny, implementation monitoring and technology in legislative evaluation.

5. Citizen engagement, consultation and participatory lawmaking: Consultation and citizen engagement in the legislative process; technology-enabled participation, feedback mechanisms and stakeholder engagement.

6. Technology-enabled parliamentary committee work and research: The use of technology in committee work, parliamentary research and legislative scrutiny; the impact of technology on parliamentary procedures and oversight practices.

7. Cybersecurity in the legislative process: Cybersecurity risks, vulnerabilities and resilience in parliamentary and legislative environments.

8. Legislation and technology in authoritarian contexts: The use of technology in the legislative process in democratic and authoritarian settings; opportunities, constraints and governance implications.

9. Digital lawmaking: legislation as code and rule as code: Legislation as code, rule as code and machine-readable legislation; implications for legislative drafting, implementation and compliance.

10. Agentic AI in parliament and lawmaking: Agentic AI in parliament and legislation; current and emerging applications of agentic AI supporting legislative scrutiny, lawmaking and parliamentary services.

11. Parliamentary AI assistants and AI applications for legislatures: Building parliamentary AI assistants; overview of current and prototype AI assistants supporting legislative drafting, post-legislative scrutiny, research and parliamentary operations.

12. Legacy systems and digital maturity in parliament: Legacy systems in parliaments; evaluation of the digital maturity of parliamentary services and its relevance for lawmaking, scrutiny and parliamentary modernisation.

13. Data governance and legislative data infrastructure: Data readiness; data governance; machine-readable data; legislative data management and the data foundations required for digital lawmaking and AI.

14. Institutional innovation and digital transformation in lawmaking: Fostering institutional change through the application of technology and AI; strategies for parliamentary innovation, organisational transformation and technology adoption in lawmaking institutions.

Methodology

• The course will be a Certified Course by the University of London. Participants must attend all modules of the course in order to receive certification.
• The course will be conducted in English and include expert presentations, case studies from different legislatures, interactive sessions, facilitated group discussions and a group assignment.
• Groups and individuals who speak another language and intend on using their own interpreters or AI-enabled online interpretation support are advised to contact the organising team in advance at PLS@wfd.org    
• Several sessions will feature inputs from partner institutions, parliaments and practitioners. Contributions will also be drawn from guidance documents and practical experiences relating to legislative scrutiny, parliamentary practice and the use of technology in governance.
• Registered participants will receive the Course Manual and get access to the WFD Learn platform, where all relevant course resources will be uploaded.

Course Format and Dates

• The course will count 25 teaching hours and will be delivered in two parts. The first group of 8 modules will be delivered online during February 2027, while the second group of 6 modules will be delivered in hybrid mode, enabling participants to either join online or attend in person in Berlin.
• The 8 online modules will count 2 hours each, scheduled on Monday and Friday morning at 9 -11 AM (UK time) on February 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22 and 26.
• The 6 hybrid modules will last 1.5 hours each and are scheduled for 2–3 March 2027, with 3 modules on 2 March and 3 modules on 3 March, taking place between 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (Berlin time). 
• The hybrid part of the course will take place in the days immediately preceding the Political Tech Summit 2027, which will be held in Berlin on 4–5 March 2027. 
• This timing allows participants to attend both the course and the Summit, expanding opportunities for engagement with current discussions on legislative scrutiny, technology, artificial intelligence and democratic governance. Course participants who wish to attend the Political Tech Summit need to additionally register for that event via its dedicated website.

Costs and Logistics

There is a different registration fee for participants attending the course fully online and those attending the second part of the course in-person in Berlin. This enables us to cover the additional costs for running the in-person event in Berlin.

In addition, there is a substantial discount for early-bird registration, for registering groups of 5 or more participants, for CSOs, and for individuals signing up via one of the partner organisations. 

Discount codes can be requested from one of WFD’s partner organisations: Accountability Lab, AFRIPAL, IAL, IPEN, Political Tech Summit, Popvox Foundation, PSA Parl, University of London (IALS). 

Please use the provided "ticket access code" at checkout. 

• Online standard: £730
• Online early bird and groups ( 5+): £585 (20% discount from online standard)
• Online partner organisations: £510 (30% discount from online standard)
• Hybrid attendance (online and in-person in Berlin) standard: £1,095
• Hybrid attendance (online and in-person in Berlin) early bird and groups (5+): £875 (20% discount from hybrid attendance standard)
• Hybrid attendance (online and in-person in Berlin) partner organisations: £765 (30% discount from hybrid attendance standard)

All tickets are inclusive of VAT, where applicable.

While there are no strict limitations to the number of participants who want to join online for the entire course, places for in-person attendance may be limited and may be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

We welcome CSO participation in the course. If you are a CSO interested in taking part, please contact at PLS@wfd.org 

Travel and accommodation costs: Participants attending the in-person component in Berlin will be responsible for arranging and covering their own travel, accommodation and meal costs. Lunch, snacks, and coffee will be provided during the in-person sessions in Berlin for attendants. 

Visas: Participants who require a visa to enter Germany may request a visa invitation letter. Participants are responsible for initiating visa procedures in a timely manner.

Details of the course can be found here: Certified course on legislative scrutiny, AI and digital lawmaking | Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Contact: If you have questions, need an invoice after making payment or want more information, please contact PLS@wfd.org.

WFD staff or partners receiving funding from WFD programmes who would like to participate in the event, please reach out to PLS@wfd.org.