Strengthening democracy around the world

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is the UK public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world. For more than 30 years we have actively helped democracies to grow stronger, so that freedom and prosperity can flourish. We help solve problems of democracy so that democracies can address challenges that people face around the world – from climate change to corruption.

Discover our strategy

Discover WFD at 30

Where we work

We operate directly in more than 30 countries and territories across the world.

What we do

Information about our programmes, research and policy.

Research

We produce research that aims to build an evidence base for and improve the quality of democracy support.

Resources

Our resources, including practical guides, reports, briefings and studies.

Events

Browse through the latest upcoming events, or access content from past events.

Who we are

Read about our history and values.

Themes we work on

Accountability and transparency

We are supporting parliaments to check how governments spend public money and assess the impact of legislation.

Elections

We support electoral integrity, by encouraging reforms that contribute to free and fair elections and organising election observation.

Environmental democracy

Our environmental democracy programmes help bring about the action needed to address climate change.

Inclusion

Our work on inclusion focuses on the political participation and leadership of young people, LGBT+ people, and persons with disabilities.

Openness and participation

We help to open up access to decision-making, from helping parliaments speak to citizens to advising on citizens' assemblies.

Women's political leadership

We support women leaders to fully and equally participate in decision-making, an essential step in bringing about better outcomes for everyone - including women and girls.

Latest

Report

Achieving gender equality in political party financing in Albania

Political parties play an important role in democratic development. Therefore, it is essential for parties to promote women in their candidate lists and provide women candidates with appropriate training, support, and funds. In many countries, the adoption of party quotas has increased women’s participation in politics, but this has not sufficed to ensure their meaningful representation and their voice in politics.

Briefing

Malaysia: Social Media Pack on Violence Against Women in Politics

The recent 2022 General Elections in Malaysia saw a backsliding in women’s political leadership (WPL). This social media pack contains concise information on women's political leadership in Malaysia surrounding the 15th General Elections, in the form of ready-to-use English and Malay social media posts.

Make a change; call for greater representation!

The cover of the report on recommendations for parliamentary action on climate change in Indonesia

Other

Recommendations for Parliamentary Climate Action in Indonesia

This report offers a data-driven analysis on how the lack of engagement with parliamentary actors has left a big gap between the formulation of climate action commitments put forward by the Indonesian government and their effective implementation. The report is available in Indonesian with a separate annex document in English outlining the research methodology, Indonesia's climate policy long list and short list, as well as a quantified scoring of the ambition level of Indonesia’s climate commitments against countries with similar characteristics.

Other

Evaluation of WFD’s work on Post-Legislative Scrutiny, 2017-2022

WFD's evaluation of its work on post-legislative scrutiny (PLS) has clear lessons for parliaments and other democracy support organisations, demonstrating the value of PLS as a concept and oversight tool.

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