Between 1998 and 1999, the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles on the Separation of Powers were first drafted. They were eventually revised and updated before being officially adopted at the 18th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in December 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. The Principles were the key foundation stones of the CPA Benchmarks.

The Parliamentary Centre and World Bank Institute (WBI) develop the Parliamentary Report Card methodology and related indicators of parliamentary performance in the budget process.

September 2004 – the CPA holds a panel discussion on Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures during the 50th CPA Annual Conference (Canada).

December 2004 – WBI/CPA host a meeting on Parliamentary Standards for Democratic Legislatures (Washington DC).

October 2006– the CPA holds a Parliamentary Study Group on Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures (Bermuda).

December 2006– the CPA publishes the Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures.

May – DFID, UNDP and WBI hold the first Donor Consultation on Parliamentary Development and Financial Accountability (Brussels).

September – CPA holds a Panel Discussion of the CPA Benchmarks during the 51st CPA Annual Conference (India).

November – SADC Parliamentary Forum holds a workshop on Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures in
Southern Africa (Pretoria) basing their approach on the CPA's Benchmarks. 

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) takes place in Kampala, Uganda and adopt the CPA Benchmarks. 

June 2009– the CPA, WBI and the Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI) hold a first workshop on Pacific Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures, following a CDI Professional Development Course for Parliamentary Speakers from Pacific Island Countries (Brisbane). A set of Benchmarks are produced for the Pacific Region.

September 2009 – the CPA drafts the CPA Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures: Self-Assessment Guidance Note.

November 2009 – the Parliamentary Studies Centre of Australia National University holds a workshop on Benchmarking of Parliamentary Performance (Canberra) for the New Zealand Parliament and the Australian National and State Parliaments. The Australian Capital Territories (ACT) Legislative Assembly had previously undertaken a CPA benchmarking exercise, staff from the Australian Parliament prepared a self-assessment using the IPU toolkit, and the South Australia Parliament undertook as CPA benchmarking exercise as part of the preparation for this meeting.

The CPA holds a Pacific Regional Benchmarks Meeting during the Forum Presiding Officers and Clerks (FPOC) Annual Meeting (Cook Islands). Preparation for the meeting including national benchmarking exercises in Kiribati, Nauru, Niue and Tuvalu.

January 2010 – CPA Regional Workshop on Benchmarks for Democratic Parliaments for the Asia, India and South-East Asia Regions (Dhaka). A set of Benchmarks are produced for these regions. 

2011 - CPA Regional Workshop on Benchmarks for Democratic Parliaments for the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region (Barbados) - to devise a regional set of Benchmarks

2014 - CPA Regional Assessment Workshop on Benchmarks for Democratic Parliaments for the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region (Barbados)

2015 - Second CPA Regional Workshop on Benchmarks for Democratic Parliaments for the Asia, India and South-East Asia Regions (Malaysia).

In addition, the CPA Benchmarks also formed the basis of adaptations by non-Commonwealth groups, including the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) and the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas (COPA) in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

10 years on from their original publication, the CPA begin looking at updating the existing 2006 Benchmarks. This was undertaken in collaboration with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), as well as the original core partners involved in the development of the Benchmarks i.e. World Bank, UNDP and NDI. These new Benchmarks sought to include Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 16 calls for the “effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

December 2016 - The draft Updated Benchmarks where shared with Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff attending the 62nd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in London. 

2016 - The World Bank Group publish a compendium and study of Benchmarking and Self-Assessment for Parliaments. 

November 2017 - During the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, Commonwealth Parliamentarians had an opportunity to discuss the CPA Benchmarks during one of the workshop sessions. The session was titled ‘CPA Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures: Progress in the past 10 years’.

The CPA form part of the Commonwealth Partnership for Democracy (CP4D) project which was funded by the the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and implemented by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). Other partners included CPA UK and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum. CP4D aimed to build trust in democratic institutions and support the political engagement of minorities and vulnerable groups in 18 developing countries across the Commonwealth. The £4m two-year programme was launched at the 2018 London meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government.

As part of CP4D, work continued to update the CPA Benchmarks and they were revised and updated in June 2018 by a second Study Group of CPA Parliamentarians representing different Commonwealth regions, which met at Wilton Park, West Sussex, United Kingdom.

September 2019 - The CPA General Assembly approve the updated Benchmarks and a presentation is given at the SOCATT meeting taking place on the sidelines of the Conference. Numerous Legislatures commit to undertaking an assessment as a consequence. 

October 2019 - Under the CP4D Project, the CPA publish a CPA Benchmarks Field Guide and Workbook to aid legislatures in undertaking unsupported self-assessments. The publication was developed with the support of Geoff Dubrow and Kevin Deveaux from CLIC Consultancy (Canadian Leaders in International Consulting).

Over the life of the project a total of 12 jurisdictions undertake Benchmark assessments under the new updated version (St Lucia, Grenada, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania, Malaysia, Belize, South Africa, The Gambia, Ghana and Pakistan). 

Other Legislatures independently take the decision to assess themselves against the updated CPA Benchmarks, namely: Australian Capital Territory, Isle of Man, Jersey and Queensland)

COVID-19 disrupts, but does not cease Benchmarking work. Three jurisdictions undertake assessments remotely.

The CPA Benchmarks are presented at a number of international meetings, including a panel event on the sidelines of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), in 2019, New York, and the 14th Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians at Wroxton College, Oxfordshire in 2019.

In 2021, the CPA form part of a consortium led by the IPU (Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Inter Pares, NDI, Directorio Legislativo, European Commission, UNDP and UN Women) to develop a set of parliamentary indicators. 

The CPA continues the CP4D work by financially supporting assessment work, assisting a total of five legislatures (Anguilla, KwaZulu-Natal, Montserrat, St Helena, Western Cape).

The updated CPA Benchmarks were noted by Commonwealth Heads of Government in at the Rwanda meeting in 2022.

January 2023 - the CPA present at the Commons and Speakers of the Overseas Territories Conference in Anguilla on the Benchmarks and how they have been employed in the UKOTs. The CPA agree to look at adjusting the 2018 Benchmarks to better suit smaller jurisdictions. 

February 2023, the CPA commission an evaluation review to examine the effectiveness of the Benchmarks and assessment work over the period of 2018-2022.

February 2023, the CPA support Malawi in undertaking their self-assessment. 

June 2023 - the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office agree to provid funding once again to CPA for Benchmarking work in the form of the Commonwealth Good Governance Project (GGP). This will enable seven jurisdictions in the Pacific, Asia and Africa to undertake supported self assessments. 

July 2023 - the CPA Deputy Secretary-General presents at a session of the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Regional Conference in Turks and Caicos Islands on the CPA Benchmarks and their application. 

August 2023 - The CPA begin work on developing an 'Advanced' set of Benchmarks to complement the updated 2018 Benchmarks. These seek to include more ambitious standards which integrate gender, accessibility and technology and innovation. A Working Group is established to help develop these Benchmarks.