Oversight Tips

Identify your committee’s research activities

The first step is determining your goals for your upcoming legislative session. This can include:

• the number of studies you wish to undertake;
• the number of hearings your committee will hold;
• the number and nature of the reports and recommendations you wish to present to the legislature; and
• whether you will follow-up on your work.

Identifying your committee’s activities will give you a realistic impression of what research support is needed.

Determine if there is a gap between your committee’s needs and your current research and analysis capacity

Once you have determined your PAC’s workload, you can assess this against the resources currently available to you. If there is a significant disparity between the two, you may want to look into acquiring additional resources.

If your PAC already has a researcher, ask yourself: does this person have the capacity to conduct the work?

If your PAC does not have a researcher (as is the case for some jurisdictions), a clerk of the committee can also be responsible for conducting some research (e.g., preparing briefing notes, drafting reports, follow-up analysis). Their contribution can add considerable value but must be balanced with other responsibilities that dedicated researchers do not have.

Want to learn more? Stay tuned for part two of this series to learn about how to obtain additional research support.