The sustainability of an EMB can be addressed by a thorough needs assessment, in which a country examines its current electoral management capabilities and the financial, human and technological resources necessary to organize and conduct free, fair and credible elections. An assessment may be undertaken by the EMB itself, but may in some circumstances be more credible if it is conducted by a private audit firm or an independent NGO. Donors also usually undertake needs assessments in planning assistance programmes.
The task of identifying needs can give rise to a range of complexities, and is not always straightforward. An EMB seeking to assess its own needs may lack the breadth of experience to enable it to anticipate looming challenges that ought to be addressed, and may not have the objectivity and detachment needed to document shortcomings in its own structure or performance. External assessors, on the other hand, may have their own agendas and/or prejudices, personal or organizational, which may colour their conclusions, and donors may consciously or unconsciously identify needs that can be met by solutions they can supply. More broadly, the use of the term ‘needs assessment’ might be thought to imply a prior assumption that needs will be found and action required.
Furthermore, any identification of ‘needs’ is likely to involve value judgments and assessing the risks associated with failing to take action; these are matters on which even experts might legitimately disagree. In some situations, needs assessments run the risk of being used to advance extraneous agendas or belabour bureaucratic opponents.
A needs assessment can be used to identify the elements of EMB sustainability at three levels: systemic, organizational and individual. They are normally based on an expert analysis of the electoral environment, and identify and consider strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
A system-level needs assessment covers the broader issues of the legal and institutional environments in which elections take place in order to determine the extent to which they help or hinder EMB sustainability. It includes a review of all parts of the legal and policy framework that are relevant to elections, as well as the EMB’s functions and stakeholder relationships that are derived from this framework. The main legal instruments to be reviewed are the constitution, the laws dealing directly with electoral processes, the political party laws and other laws relating to institutional frameworks, the subsidiary regulations and administrative policies. The assessment may need to cover parts of the legal framework that are indirectly relevant, such as citizenship laws, criminal codes, public sector employment laws or policies, or government procurement rules and practices. It may also address the EMB’s linkages and relationships with other bodies, such as the host ministry of a governmental EMB, government ministries that provide financial and logistical support to the EMB, local and international associations, and bodies that serve as EMB networks for support and resource sharing.
At the organizational level, a needs assessment looks at an EMB’s strategies and management culture and considers its processes of planning, policy-making and implementation; its management structure; the division of roles and responsibilities; communication and cooperation; and standards of financial reporting and staff performance. It helps the EMB calculate the amount of resources required to organize any specific electoral event. The EMB can then work out what portion of the amount needed can be met from the national budget and how much, if any, would be needed from other sources. The assessment may also examine the nature and level of technical assistance required.
At the individual level, a needs assessment covers issues such as staff competence, available opportunities for staff development, and staff loyalty to the EMB’s objectives and mission.
Where there is a record of credible needs assessment reports over time, a comprehensive picture of an EMB’s capacity begins to emerge, and it can be more accurately evaluated in terms of sustainability.
