Business Reform Implementation Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Investment climate officials, Regulatory reform managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-PP-008

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with public administration, government processes, business regulation or private-sector development.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Business reform programmes often stall between a policy announcement and reliable frontline delivery. A ministry may simplify a law while municipal offices retain old procedures; a digital portal may be launched without interoperable registers; or a reform committee may approve actions without named owners, funding, milestones or evidence of results. These gaps increase compliance costs for firms, weaken public confidence and limit investment, formalisation and job creation.

This course equips participants to design and manage reforms that improve the business enabling environment. It covers diagnostic methods used to identify administrative burdens, reform governance, stakeholder consultation, regulatory impact assessment, process simplification, digital service design, priority reform packages, delivery planning and performance management. Participants learn to convert enterprise constraints into sequenced reforms with clear mandates, legal actions, process changes, technology requirements, budgets, risks and measurable service improvements. Attention is given to business entry, licensing, construction permits, tax administration, property registration, cross-border trade and insolvency services.

Instructor-led sessions combine focused briefings with public-sector cases, group analysis, reform simulations and structured application planning. Participants work with practical tools including B-READY indicators, RACI matrices, regulatory impact assessment, service blueprints, implementation roadmaps and results frameworks. They leave with a reform implementation pack containing a diagnostic, governance structure, stakeholder plan, roadmap, risk register, performance dashboard and 90-day action plan adapted to their own institutional setting.

The course is suited to public officials and advisers responsible for investment climate, regulatory reform, public service delivery, digital government and private-sector development. It is also relevant to development partners and business membership organisations supporting government reform programmes.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose business environment constraints using B-READY indicators, firm journey evidence and problem trees
  • Design reform governance arrangements using charters, RACI matrices, decision logs and escalation routes
  • Conduct stakeholder consultations using power-interest mapping, interview guides and feedback matrices
  • Prepare regulatory reform proposals using regulatory impact assessment and Standard Cost Model estimates
  • Redesign administrative services using process maps, service standards and risk-based controls
  • Develop digital service requirements covering interoperability, data protection and service continuity
  • Build costed reform roadmaps using work breakdown structures, critical paths and risk registers
  • Measure reform delivery using indicator dictionaries, dashboards, verification protocols and PDCA reviews

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Ability to turn business complaints into evidence-based reform problem statements
  • Practical methods for coordinating actions across ministries, regulators and municipalities
  • Confidence to prepare reform roadmaps with owners, costs, risks and milestones
  • Skills to assess whether digitalisation removes burdens or merely digitises weak procedures
  • A reusable implementation pack for a current or planned reform initiative

For your organisation

  • Clearer prioritisation of reforms based on firm constraints and service evidence
  • Stronger accountability for cross-government commitments and implementation decisions
  • Reduced administrative burdens through simplified procedures and risk-based controls
  • More credible reporting on reform progress, service quality and user outcomes
  • Better alignment of legal changes, process redesign, digital systems and frontline capability

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can diagnose business environment constraints and define evidence-based reform priorities.

  • Business enabling environment indicators: interpreting B-READY pillars, scores and evidence
  • Problem-tree analysis linking firm constraints to administrative root causes
  • Regulatory life-cycle mapping from policy intent through frontline transaction
  • Baseline selection using service data, enterprise surveys and legal inventories
  • Segmenting users by firm size, ownership, location and vulnerability
  • Reform hypotheses stated as measurable improvements in time, cost and predictability

Participants can establish governance structures that assign authority, accountability and escalation routes.

  • Reform charters defining mandate, scope, decision rights and escalation routes
  • RACI matrices assigning accountable owners for cross-ministerial reform actions
  • Steering committee terms of reference, meeting cadence and decision logs
  • Interagency delivery units coordinating regulators, municipalities and digital agencies
  • Political economy mapping of winners, losers, veto players and incentives
  • Risk registers linking implementation threats to named mitigations and owners

Participants can plan and document consultations that produce usable evidence for reform decisions.

  • Stakeholder mapping with power-interest grids and influence pathways
  • Consultation plans distinguishing notification, consultation, co-design and redress
  • Business association interviews structured through semi-structured discussion guides
  • Citizen and SME journey evidence disaggregated by gender and geography
  • Grievance mechanisms with service standards, case classification and response tracking
  • Publishing consultation feedback matrices explaining accepted and rejected proposals

Participants can prepare proportionate regulatory reform proposals supported by evidence and legal analysis.

  • Regulatory impact assessment problem statements, options, costs, benefits and risks
  • Standard Cost Model estimates for administrative information obligations
  • Legal gap analysis against constitutional, statutory and delegated authority
  • Sunset clauses, review clauses and proportionality tests for new rules
  • Drafting implementation regulations with enforceable obligations and unambiguous definitions
  • Regulatory guillotine reviews identifying redundant licences, certificates and approvals

Participants can redesign business-facing processes to reduce delays, rework and unnecessary controls.

  • End-to-end process mapping using SIPOC, swimlanes and customer journeys
  • Time-and-motion studies measuring queue time, touchpoints, rework and handoffs
  • Root-cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Service standards specifying elapsed time, documentation, fees and escalation
  • Risk-based inspections using segmentation, scoring criteria and inspection protocols
  • One-stop shop design separating front-office intake from back-office decisions

Participants can specify digital service reforms that improve transactions while protecting data and continuity.

  • Digital service blueprints linking user steps, systems, data and ownership
  • Once-only principle requirements for reusing verified business information
  • Interoperability architecture using unique identifiers, APIs and authoritative registers
  • Data protection impact assessments for reform-related personal data processing
  • Electronic payment controls, reconciliation procedures and audit trails
  • Service continuity plans for outages, manual fallback and incident communication

Participants can structure reforms for high-impact business transactions and regulatory services.

  • Business entry reform sequencing for registration, tax, social security and licensing
  • Construction permit reforms applying risk categories, checklists and inspection scheduling
  • Property registration improvements through cadastral data, service standards and dispute handling
  • Tax compliance simplification using prefilled returns, e-filing and taxpayer segmentation
  • Cross-border trade facilitation under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement
  • Insolvency service reforms covering case management, creditor notices and timelines

Participants can build a sequenced, costed implementation roadmap with practical delivery controls.

  • Theory of change linking activities, outputs, outcomes and assumptions
  • Reform roadmaps sequencing legal, process, technology and capability dependencies
  • Work breakdown structures translating commitments into manageable work packages
  • Critical path method identifying schedule constraints and decision milestones
  • Costed implementation plans covering capital, operating and change-management requirements
  • Procurement specifications for digital platforms, advisory services and independent verification

Participants can monitor implementation and use performance evidence to make corrective decisions.

  • Indicator dictionaries defining formulas, sources, frequency, owners and disaggregation
  • Results frameworks separating output indicators from outcome and impact measures
  • Baseline and target setting using historical trends and feasible delivery capacity
  • Service dashboards tracking completion times, rejection rates, costs and complaints
  • Verification protocols combining administrative records, mystery shopping and firm surveys
  • PDCA reviews converting performance evidence into corrective action decisions

Participants can prepare frontline adoption measures and a 90-day plan for reform implementation.

  • Change impact assessments identifying altered roles, skills, incentives and workloads
  • ADKAR plans addressing awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement
  • Frontline training plans tied to revised procedures and service standards
  • Communications matrices matching messages, channels, audiences and response owners
  • Benefits realisation tracking against reform hypotheses and intended user outcomes
  • 90-day action plans with commitments, sponsors, milestones and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Business environment diagnostic template
  2. Reform governance charter and RACI matrix
  3. Stakeholder consultation and feedback matrix
  4. Regulatory impact assessment template
  5. Costed reform implementation roadmap
  6. Reform performance dashboard and 90-day action plan

Who should attend

  • Investment climate officials — responsible for reducing barriers to business formation and operation
  • Regulatory reform managers — coordinating legal, institutional and administrative reform actions
  • Public service delivery directors — improving permits, registrations, inspections and customer service
  • Digital government leaders — translating service reforms into workable digital delivery requirements
  • Municipal administrators — managing local licences, permits, inspections and business-facing services
  • Development programme advisers — supporting reform diagnostics, implementation plans and results reporting

Skills and tools covered

Regulatory reform designBusiness process simplificationReform programme governanceStakeholder consultationDigital service designResults-based monitoring

Tools and standards

Business Ready (B-READY) framework, Regulatory Impact Assessment, Standard Cost Model, ADKAR change management model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce reform methods, followed by public-sector cases, facilitated group analysis and simulations of implementation decisions. Participants examine business journeys, diagnose bottlenecks, draft governance arrangements, assess regulatory options and build delivery roadmaps. Cases cover central government, municipal administration and digital service delivery. Facilitators use peer review to test assumptions, identify political and operational risks, and strengthen proposed indicators. Each participant develops application priorities for a live or anticipated reform assignment.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with public administration, government processes, business regulation or private-sector development. Experience working with permits, licensing, inspections, investment promotion, digital government, municipal services or development programmes is useful. Participants should be able to read policy documents, discuss institutional responsibilities and interpret basic operational data such as processing times and service volumes. Prior training in economics, law, project management, information technology or regulatory impact assessment is not required. The course does not assume authority to approve reforms.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have basic familiarity with public administration, regulation, service delivery or private-sector development. No prior training in law, economics, regulatory impact assessment or project management is required.

Bring a current policy issue, service bottleneck or planned reform initiative if you have one. Useful materials include service procedures, reform plans, process maps, performance data or relevant legislation, although none are mandatory.

The course is designed for officials and advisers responsible for investment climate, regulatory reform, permits, licensing, inspections, digital government and public service delivery. It also suits development partners and business membership organisations involved in reform support.

Policy analysis courses focus mainly on policy formulation, while project management courses address general delivery disciplines. This course concentrates on business-facing public-sector reforms, combining regulatory simplification, process redesign, digital service requirements and reform governance.

Participants can use the templates to diagnose a business transaction, assign reform ownership, consult affected users and build an implementation roadmap. The final 90-day action plan identifies practical first steps for an existing or proposed reform.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. The five days progress from diagnosis and governance through regulatory and process reform, digital delivery, implementation control, monitoring and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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