3.9. Recommendations - Priorities in development of DIAL

• Recommendations - Assisting use of DIAL by DMC users

• The highest priority should be given to the provision of access to legislative texts. The coverage of DIAL Index and DIAL Search should be expanded to include treaties (and other international agreements) and major law journals (particularly in areas of likely subject relevance). Provision of access to Parliamentary debates should not be a priority.
• Priority in the development of DIAL resources should be given to providing access to legal resources from European countries with historical and linguistic ties to DMCs (particularly the United Kingdom, France and Germany), the United States, Canada, Australia, countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia undergoing similar transformations to market economies, ASEAN countries, China, India, and other DMCs.
• Priority should be given to provision of English language materials, but access to materials in other languages is also important.
• The legal subject areas which are of most current interest to legislative personnel are very varied, although the following areas were most commonly mentioned: banking and finance; market regulation; infrastructure and privatisation; and intellectual property. The Bank or the management of Project DIAL should make their own assessment of priorities for any areas of subject concentration for DIAL Index and DIAL Search, perhaps guided by user feedback including through the DIALogue facility.
• The Bank should encourage countries to make their own laws available via Internet, preferably for free access. This is likely to increase considerably the use of facilities such as those in Project DIAL, as it is one of the main determinants of overall Internet usage by lawyers.

Recommendations - Assisting use of DIAL by DMC users

• In any follow-on RETA, provision should be made for some training of primary audience users in selected DMCs.
• The party that operates the permanent DIAL facility should also have a major role in development and delivery of training in Project DIAL use.
• The training facilities that are developed should include both on-line training via the Internet, and face-to-face course, and should include the two methods in combination.
• A priority should be given to `train the trainer' courses, where those DMC officials who receive DIAL training have made some commitment to `pass on' that training to other users in their country.
• Any subsequent development of the DIALogue facilities should include provision for those who receive DIAL training to become Authorised Users of DIALogue, so that the DIALogue Discussion facility (in particular) can develop (in part) as a forum on the effective use of the DIAL research facilities.
• Where the Bank has a role in the provision of training for legislative or judicial officials from DMCs, consideration should be given to inclusion of a component on use of DIAL in that training.
• The Bank should seek cooperation from other organisations that provide training for legislative or judicial officials from DMCs to consider inclusion of a component on use of DIAL in that training.
• In any follow-on RETA the Bank should make provision for the DIAL facilities to at least be publicised to the secondary audiences in DMCs, even though the provision of training to those diverse audiences would be impractical.
• One `key legislation agency' should be chosen for each selected DMC in the follow-on RETA.
• It should be a condition of the choice of agency that it make some commitment to the provision of internet access costs for its legislative staff, and that it has some willingness to communicate and encourage DIAL use among other legislative officials in the country.