Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

2010 Category 2: Australia
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
2010 Category 2 — 1st Place Winner
Building Resources in Democracy,
Governance and Elections (BRIDGE)
Australian Electoral Commission
Description
A professional-development curriculum for election officials, providing insights into
the principles, skills and challenges involved in conducting well-run elections.
Summary
The number of democratic states has grown rapidly in the past 20 years, resulting in
a dramatic increase in the number of elections worldwide. Young democracies, however,
typically lack experience and expertise in holding free and fair elections.
In December 1999, at the invitation of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC),
a number of prominent electoral experts from around the world (the Expert Advisory
Group) met in Canberra to discuss the potential structure and content of a short capacity-building
programme for electoral administrators. As a result, the Building Resources
in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) program was developed
and implemented for the global good. The AEC’s BRIDGE partners are the
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), the International
Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UN-
EAD). The AEC, as lead agency, has funded a permanent BRIDGE office in Melbourne
since the inception of the project.
The original curriculum framework for BRIDGE (Version 1) grew out of the particular
experiences of the members of the Expert Advisory Group. Since the first use of
BRIDGE in the field, however (in East Timor in 2001), all BRIDGE implementers
and facilitators have been tasked with seeking out new examples and activities to
incorporate into the curriculum. Examples of best practices and alternative approaches
in election management have been collected from all over the world, from more
than 50 contributors with diverse cultural, linguistic and electoral backgrounds. This
has given BRIDGE Version 2 a richness and depth that make it even better equipped
to meet the needs of clients.
Regional expert advisory groups are also employed to ensure buy-in and a sense of
ownership. The members are key decision makers from the client groups, which en-
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