In 1999, WFD helped establish a shared service to provide pooled administrative and project-management capacity to the political parties with fewer seats in the House of Commons, which would have otherwise been unable to implement international programmes. 

Since then, the Multi-Party Office (MPO) has supported the Liberal Democrats, the Democratic Unionist Party, Plaid Cymru, Ulster Unionist Party and the Green Party to undertake international engagement and development programmes around the world. More details of these programmes can be found below. 

Multi-Party Office programmes are partnerships that share experiences, learning and best practice. Smaller UK parties work with their sister parties and regional networks to enhance internal party rules and procedures, strengthen party branches, improve membership outreach practices, adopt evidence based and inclusive policy development processes, and increase opportunities for participation by historically marginalised groups.

In the Western Balkans, MPO in partnership with the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) has supported strengthening the capacity of newly elected Green representatives to deliver Green policies and to promote sister party alliances. 

MPO organised an exchange visit for local Councillors from Green sister parties in Serbia. The objective of the visit was to share experiences and understand how to promote election strategies. Green Party communication, campaigning strategies for local elections, and how to attract and mobilise young people in the party were all key learning points for the delegates. 

The MPO is supporting the Green sister party in Serbia with a programme aimed at campaigning for an online safety act to prevent online violence against women. This programme has shared UK technical expertise with relevant stakeholders in Serbia and held a capacity building workshop to promote the issue and exchange expertise.

The SNP partnership with the Zambia Caucus on Environment and Climate Change

SNP WFD’s programme in Zambia works with political parties to provide them with the tools and guidance to become more effective actors on environmental and climate change issues. The programme is responding to locally led demand articulated by the ZPCECC’s formation. It calls on political parties to learn from others in how to strengthen their structures, processes, and personnel in adapting to the fast-evolving environmental challenges in the country. SNP WFD engaged with the six political parties in Zambia in developing individual political party environmental strategic plans. The parties involved include the three in parliament -United Party for National Development (UPND), Patriotic Front (PF), Party of National Unity & Progress (PNUP) - and the three female-led parties - Forum for Democracy & Development (FDD), National Democratic Congress (NDC), and New Heritage Party (NHP).

Partnership with the Green Left Front in Serbia

Collaboration and knowledge exchange with the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) offer valuable opportunities to enhance policy development processes and gain insights into effective local campaign strategies for sister Green parties such as the Green Left Front in Serbia. The expertise and experiences of the Green Party of England and Wales can provide invaluable guidance and the visit for Green Left Front members to the UK provided opportunities for networking and learning. The programme involved one day in Oxford and three days in Stroud working with the GPEW in the lead up to the local elections in England and Wales on 1st May 2025. 

The activities for the week included door-knocking and leafleting, learning in-depth about the GPEW campaigning strategy, performing the role of teller on polling day, meeting and networking with GPEW members. One of the key takeaways for the Green Left Front was around how effective leafletting and canvassing can be for campaigning.