Delivering impactful programmes and policy support

In 2022-2023, WFD continued to deliver effective global, regional, and country programmes to support democracy in existing WFD priority locations, whilst expanding our reach to locations such as the Solomon Islands, Armenia, and Thailand. 

WFD also provided policy support through research and expert advice services. To achieve this goal, we produced over 150 resources, including landmark research, reports, and recommendations on women’s political leadership, engaging with authoritarian states, environmental democracy, and the cost of politics, as well as tools to support effective parliamentary public debt management.

At the Summit for Democracy in March 2023, the Prime Minister announced the creation of an FCDO Centre of Expertise on Democratic Governance and Elections as part of the UK’s commitments to action to strengthen democracy. The centre is a key part of WFD’s 2022-2025 strategy and in 2022-2023, WFD and its senior leadership team focused on establishing this centre to provide policy support and advice to UK embassies and high commissions.

Almost 5,000 people around the world – many of them MPs, parliamentary staff, and political party members – participated in the 58 programmes that WFD implemented in 2022-2023, across 60 countries and territories. These programmes focused on:

• women's political leadership
• democratic action on climate and the environment
• accountability and transparency
• inclusion and equality of participation
• electoral integrity
• disinformation and political discourse
• political parties and political pluralism

Convening supportive coalitions for democracy

In 2022-2023, WFD continued to contribute to actions that are helping to set standards for democratic governance around the world. As members of a project team coordinated by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, our staff helped to develop a set of Indicators for Democratic Parliaments based on the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, WFD staff were part of a group of leading experts convened by the Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to draft Guidelines on Democratic Law-making and Better Laws.

WFD marked the occasion of our 30th anniversary through a campaign which communicated the organisation’s experience, relevance, and impact, and raised awareness of its new strategy. Evaluation shows that the digital aspect of the campaign broke WFD records for reach and engagement among key audiences.

The occasion of WFD’s 30th anniversary also provided an opportunity to engage UK parliamentarians on issues of democracy around the world. Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, Speaker of the House of Commons and WFD’s Patron, hosted a reception to mark WFD’s anniversary which was attended by over 75 guests, including more than 30 current and former MPs.

Moreover, MPs from across the political parties represented in the UK Parliament and the devolved administrations met and exchanged skills with MPs from across the world as part of WFD programmes. UK MPs and parliamentary staff met and shared their experiences with counterparts from the Bangsamoro (in the Philippines), Maldives, Georgia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Sri Lanka, Morocco, and many others as part of WFD programmes.

In 2022-2023, WFD also actively contributed to the European Partnership for Democracy, the Global Democracy Coalition, the AGORA Portal for Parliamentary Development and Parliamentary Development Community of Practice, the Summit for Democracy cohorts on technology, elections, and gender, the Political Party Peer Network and the Thinking and Working Politically Community.

In 2022-2023, WFD also secured additional funding from a range of donors, including non-UK funders, to expand our impact.