Local legislative bodies, the Myanmar State and Regional parliaments were formed in 2011 and are constitutive sub-national governmental institutions. These are new institutions for a historically centralised country like Myanmar. Although these institutions are significant federal entities, scant attention has been paid to their strengthening. In the wake of the 2015 General Election, the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF) began a Performance Analysis of State and Regional Parliaments in order to better understand the current performance status of these 14 local legislative institutions and document the challenges and opportunities they face. Initial findings suggest that significant structural, geo-political and personal determinants constitute both barriers and opportunities for the institutional building of all State and Regional Parliaments. This talk will cover the study’s key findings and recommendations in the hope of bring significant attention and practical efforts towards strengthening these federal entities.