Democratization out a quantitative needs analysis for the Parliament, focusing in particular on communication and equipment. This exercise resulted in a publication that was distributed and discussed in a series of working sessions with parliamentary staff, members of parliament, and donors to tailor future assistance programmes. Through its publications, monthly donor coordination meetings, and its weekly briefings to the Parliament’s leadership, the Centre has established itself as the Georgian Parliament’s main communication channel between international donors and the parliamentary leadership in matters of reform. Throughout 2007, ODIHR continued to cooperate closely with OSCE field operations in South-Eastern Europe in the area of parliamentary assistance, in particular with regard to public participation and access, improving internal organization and procedures, developing the role and capacity of standing committees, and assisting national parliaments in the co-ordination of donor efforts. In addition to fostering co-operation and exchange of experiences in South-Eastern Europe, ODIHR actively supports the use of experts from these field operations in other parts of the OSCE region. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, for example, ODIHR assisted the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje in carrying out a qualitative needs assessment of the Parliament’s research and analysis capacities. The purpose of this assessment, which was carried out by a parliamentary expert from the OSCE Presence in Albania, was to present a range of options available in establishing a parliamentary analysis service, one of the key instruments for increasing the quality of legislation and for empowering deputies. Building local capacity for political analysis One of the fundamental elements of sound democratic governance is a broad and well-informed public debate on government policies. Such a debate can only be effective if participants (such as journalists, politicians, and academics, as well as the public at large) have the necessary 28 Annual Report 2007 information at their disposal. Debates serve a number of purposes that are crucial for the proper functioning of a democratic society: 1) they provide oversight of government and careful scrutiny of its proposals; 2) input from the public, both expert and non-expert, improves the quality of policies and the policy-making process; and 3) policies developed through a consultative process are easier to implement as a result of the greater sense of ownership. Such informed debates on public policies are only effective if the policies are subject to expert comment; discussions are conducted in an appropriate manner; and the resulting information, comments, and feedback are properly processed. This complex mechanism involves many actors such as government, parliament, administration, media, interest groups, institutes of learning, and the public itself. Professional policy think tanks have a role in facilitating and contributing to this debate. The role of think tanks and of political science is still weak in a number of OSCE participating States, leaving the government as the sole policy-making and policy-discussion institution. Political science by its very nature has a critical function: to assess political reality. In an effort to strengthen democratic governance through public debate and professional analysis, ODIHR co-operated closely with the Institute for Public Policy in Bishkek throughout 2006 and 2007. ODIHR assisted the Institute in updating and publicizing its website, a factor in increasing its own public profile, as well as that of the role of independent analysts in the policy debate. The Institute’s 53 policy reports on domestic politics, foreign policy, and economics are now available on the website. The profile of the Institute and think tanks in general has increased and expert comment and advice is increasingly being sought by the media, as well as by government officials. ODIHR is currently seeking to expand and diversify the base of political think tanks in Kyrgyzstan by brokering partnerships with experienced young actors in this field to ensure greater