Identify a few parliamentarians in your region who are committed to fighting corruption and promoting good governance. Approximately 6-12 members covering most countries or sub-regions should do. They should constitute themselves as an Interim Steering Committee (ISC) for the chapter.

Each of ISC members should recruit a personal network within their parliament or sub-region to bring the total to 30 or more. In this way, an informal network exists and the work of creating a chapter can be more broadly shared.

Identify an NGO that is willing to act as the secretariat. A respected multi-lateral organisation can be particularly helpful to carrying out a regional chapter’s program (For example the OAS plays this role for LAPAC. Many national chapters have established a relationship with a Transparency International national chapter and found it very successful.

The ISC then prepares a draft regional constitution. The GOPAC Secretariat maintains a generic draft at the address below.

It is useful to have an initiating event, inviting broad participation of regional parliamentarians to formally create the organization, establish an interim Board of Directors, and discuss priorities.

At that event, the Interim Board of Directors should discuss incorporation, formal secretariat support, and a program of activities to address the anti-corruption discussed.

Find funds to carry out initial activities, incorporate, and begin delivering results. In some cases the GOPAC Secretariat can advise on finding funding and other matters.