Regulatory Impact Assessment and Policy Reform Training Course

Participants can position an RIA within decision-making, legal and quality assurance arrangements.

• OECD regulatory policy principles establish accountability, transparency and quality controls
• Cabinet, ministerial and agency roles mapped through the RIA governance cycle
• Legal authority checks distinguish primary legislation, secondary rules and guidance
• Gatekeeping arrangements test RIA quality before ministerial or cabinet decisions
• Regulatory inventories identify overlapping mandates, obsolete provisions and reform priorities
• Publication requirements support scrutiny of evidence, consultation and final decisions

Participants can build an evidence plan and conduct targeted, documented stakeholder consultation.

• Stakeholder mapping ranks influence, exposure, expertise and consultation needs
• Distributional analysis identifies impacts by firm size, gender, region and income
• Administrative data quality assessed using completeness, timeliness, accuracy and access criteria
• Business surveys specify sampling frames, response bias and burden controls
• Consultation plans define questions, channels, disclosure rules and response handling
• Grievance and appeals data reveal recurring regulatory pain points

Participants can develop and screen credible regulatory and non-regulatory policy options.

• Policy option generation separates regulatory, economic, informational and self-regulatory instruments
• Status quo and non-regulatory options prevent premature rulemaking
• Regulatory design choices compare standards, licences, permits, bans and disclosure
• Risk-based regulation targets inspection intensity according to harm and compliance likelihood
• Sunset clauses, review clauses and pilot schemes manage uncertainty
• Options long list narrowed using feasibility, legality and implementation criteria

Participants can estimate and compare the material costs and benefits of policy options.

• Social cost-benefit analysis distinguishes financial, economic and transfer effects
• Standard Cost Model estimates administrative burdens from information obligations
• Discounting applies present-value calculations, time horizons and sensitivity rates
• Valuation methods address willingness to pay, avoided costs and shadow prices
• Break-even analysis tests assumptions where monetisation remains incomplete
• Cost-effectiveness analysis compares options against a defined outcome unit

Participants can assess how proposed regulations affect competition, trade, SMEs and investors.

• Competition Assessment Toolkit screens restrictions on entry, rivalry and consumer choice
• Investor journey mapping traces regulatory steps from establishment through operation and exit
• One-stop-shop reforms assessed for legal authority, service standards and accountability
• Domestic and foreign investor impacts tested against equal-treatment commitments
• Trade facilitation measures examine border procedures, documentation and release times
• SME tests identify disproportionate fixed costs, cash demands and compliance delays

Participants can prepare clear RIA documentation that supports accountable policy decisions.

• RIA narrative links problem evidence, objectives, options and recommended action
• Assumption registers document sources, confidence levels, owners and update triggers
• Evidence tables distinguish observed data, projections, expert judgement and gaps
• Executive summaries present material impacts, trade-offs and decision requests
• Plain-language drafting converts technical analysis into accountable ministerial advice
• Quality assurance checklists test traceability, proportionality and methodological consistency

Participants can translate a preferred regulatory option into an implementable compliance model.

• Theory of change connects legal provisions, outputs, outcomes and assumptions
• Implementation plans assign milestones, budget, systems, guidance and responsible owners
• Compliance cost mapping separates initial, recurring, enforcement and dispute costs
• Enforcement pyramids match education, warnings, penalties and prosecution to behaviour
• Inspector protocols standardise risk scoring, documentation and escalation decisions
• Digital service design reduces form duplication, manual verification and processing delays

Participants can design monitoring and evaluation arrangements that test whether reforms work.

• Results frameworks define inputs, outputs, outcomes, indicators and targets
• Baseline and counterfactual design support credible attribution of regulatory effects
• Key performance indicators track licensing time, compliance costs and inspection outcomes
• Ex post evaluation applies before-and-after, comparison-group and process methods
• Post-implementation reviews test whether benefits, costs and risks materialised
• Review schedules trigger amendment, consolidation, repeal or renewed consultation

Participants can organise a practical RIA and reform workplan for a current policy issue.

• RIA workplans sequence scoping, analysis, consultation, clearance and publication
• Decision logs record option choices, dissenting views and approval conditions
• Reform roadmaps prioritise quick wins, legislative changes and institutional actions
• Risk registers assign mitigations for data gaps, resistance and delivery failure
• Peer review protocols challenge assumptions, calculations, evidence and conclusions
• Individual application plans specify a live reform issue and first actions