This is the report of the 934th Wilton Park Conference. Three days of lively discussion and debate took place around different aspects of the parliamentary strengthening agenda, particularly in emerging democracies. Participants underlined the need to take national context as the starting point for any intervention and to move away from ‘one size fits all’ approaches. The conference included several examples of how parliaments and parliamentarians were at the forefront of efforts to promote conflict prevention and peace-building and address issues around poverty reduction, gender inequality and other forms of social exclusion. The conclusion was also made that parliaments do not operate in a vacuum and the relationship with a range of countervailing and complementary institutions—such as the executive, civil service, judiciary, civil society and the media—would heavily influence their overall effectiveness.