Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694864909603.pdf (Gambia)
The National Assembly of The Gambia Research Unit – Service Charter 1.

Statement of Service 4.

What we cannot provide The National Assembly of The Gambia Research Unit provides accurate, timely, and expert research and in- formation designed to help National Assembly Mem- bers be well-informed in the many aspects of their role.

All responses to enquiries are impartial and con- ﬁdential.
Members also have access to the Library, with a read- ing room and high-quality reference, electronic and information resources.

We provide the information Members need when they need it.

We analyse, select and advise Members to identify the information they need, and we aim to re- spond by agreed deadlines.
We cannot: • Draft speeches or articles; • Provide answers to questions arising from per- sonal, business or commercial interests of Mem- bers (or their staff, family or friends); • Answer requests for personal information about another Member or individual where this is not already in the public domain; • Answer requests where the value in collecting the information is outweighed by the time and effort involved.
We can give advice on alterna- tive ways of collecting the information needed or suggest other possible sources; • Provide case-speciﬁc legal, ﬁnancial or other advice to constituents; • Provide assistance with constituents’ academic 2.

Services we provide studies; or The Research Unit provides two key services.

A conﬁdential and impartial research enquiry service for Members on issues related to National Assembly business and constituency work.
Examples of what you can ask us for include: • a conﬁdential, impartial brieﬁng on a speciﬁc topic or policy area; • advice on the complexities of budget and ﬁnan- cial scrutiny; • a detailed brieﬁng in support of plenary or com- mittee work; • reliable statistics to lend weight to a point a Member wants to make in debate; • brieﬁng or clariﬁcation on a complex constituen- cy issue; • a literature review or analysis of existing research ﬁndings; or • information for speeches, visits or media appear- ances.
We also provide publicly available research brieﬁngs on topical issues to help Members in their legislative, representative and oversight roles.

This includes summaries of Bills being considered by the National Assembly.

3.

Service priorities Our aim is to provide Members with the information that they need.
With ﬁnite resources, the Service has to strike a balance between supporting the scrutiny and legislative functions of the National Assembly and supporting Members dealing with speciﬁc issues raised by individual constituents.

We will give highest priority to dealing with requests that relate directly to the formal business of the Na- tional Assembly.

During plenary sessions, we will only provide re- search relating to items discussed in plenary.
• Purchase publications or other materials for indi- vidual Members (although Members can sug- gest relevant new material to be purchased and made available via the Library).

5.

Deadlines We aim to meet requests for our services from Na- tional Assembly Members within deadlines that are agreed in advance.

We appreciate as much notice as possible, and where a deadline is very short it may be possible to provide only a limited service.
When demand for our services is high, we may need to agree a longer deadline with you when responding to constituency enquiries.

If you need a response ur- gently, we will provide information if it is readily avail- able, or signpost you to sources of information and advice and then negotiate deadlines for producing a detailed written response if this is still needed.

6.

Availability The services of the Research Unit are available during weekdays, 8am until 4pm.
Where necessary, the Unit will work beyond normal working hours.

7.

How to use the service You can submit a research enquiry by: • Completing a paper enquiry form in the Library; • Emailing your enquiry to lresearchservices@g- mail.com, or • Call the Library enquiry desk on +220 9976441 / 2381419.

Your enquiry will be logged and allocated to a re- searcher as soon as possible, and they will contact you by phone or email to discuss.

The information you request will be conﬁdential unless otherwise agreed.
In Partnership With: Funded by: