Developing Regulatory Impact Assessment in Azerbaijan: Learn from International Best Practices

1. Developing Regulatory Impact Assessment In Azerbaijan Context and justification of a RIA scheme Baku, 21-22 September 2016 Charles-Henri Montin, Smart Regulation Adviser for EU, OCDE, World Bank (former Senior Regulatory expert, Ministry of finance, France) http://montin.fr/baku 1

2. 1994 2010 2004 2007 2014 C.H. Montin, Baku

3. How to act on regulatory quality POLICIES INSTITUTIONS TOOLS C.H. Montin, Baku

4. The three ages of regulatory quality Regulatory management Due process Consistent legally Accessible Inform stakeholders Regulatory Reform (1995) Effective Efficient Competitive Consult stakeholders Regulatory governance (2010) Integrated objectives Cycle approach Incl. M&E Involve stakeholders GOOD BETTER SMART BR ≠ Deregulation BR = dynamic LT process acting on policies, institutions and tools C.H. Montin, Baku

5. RIA at the centre of regulatory policies United Kingdom Better Regulation Impact assessment Regulatory Policy Committee Publication One-in, two-out European Union Smart Regulation RIA Impact assessment Board France Regulatory Quality Evaluation préalable Conseil d’Etat Legistics Constitutional basis for RIA C.H. Montin, Baku

6. RIA supports better regulation: within regulatory governance C.H. Montin, Baku

7. The OECD checklist for decision making C.H. Montin, Baku

8. Trend in RIA adoption across OECD jurisdictions source: OECD website C.H. Montin, Baku

9. The definition of RIA • Definition: “RIA is a systematic policy tool used to examine and measure the likely benefits, costs and effects of new or existing regulation” • Why is RIA important? • It introduces the evidence base into the policy decision making • It can help establish whether regulation is the best available means to address the policy objective • It is a tool at the service of the general objectives of the national regulatory policy C.H. Montin, Baku

10. Benefits of RIA • Analytical tool • Provides a method to ask the right questions • Employs CBA and other quantification techniques to check that proposed policy/regulation is • Effective • Efficient • Communication tool • Provides a means of informing decision makers of alternatives in a rational manner free of ideology or bias • Enhances transparency, accountability, credibility, trust, legitimacy • Learning tool • Sets a base line for ex post facto evaluations • Contributes to policy coherence C.H. Montin, Baku

11. RIA supports the policy-making process (context of RIA) C.H. Montin, Baku

12. Common challenges in implementing RIA • Related to the tool: • Problem identification (not the same as the objectives) • Availability of data • “Proportionate analysis” (criteria, transparency) • Quantification (costs, and especially benefits) • Risk assessment • Related to the structure/process • Scope of application / selection of proposals • Governance of RIA, Quality control (oversight) • Presentation / Communication • Integrate RIA up-stream (early in decision-making) • Integrate RIA down-stream (“closing the loop”) • Administrative capacity, Training • Multi-level context • Trade-off political decision vs technical expertise C.H. Montin, Baku

13. OECD good practices (1) • 1. Political commitment and endorsement at the highest levels • Legal basis for RIA • Clear ministerial accountability • 2. Allocate responsibilities for the RIA programme • Operational responsibilities with the services • Inter-service coordination • Central quality oversight C.H. Montin, Baku

14. OECD good practices (2) • 3. Target and prioritise RIA efforts • Scope of application / thresholds for when to do RIAs • Sectoral impacts • 4. Develop comprehensive guidelines • Mandatory • Both on process and on technical aspects • 5. Carry out sound analysis • Strategies for data collection • Consistent but flexible methodologies C.H. Montin, Baku

15. OECD good practices (3) 6. Consultation / Transparency / Communication : publish RIAs 7. Training officials to build the right skills to produce RIAs 8. Apply RIA to both new and existing regulation C.H. Montin, Baku

16. Developing RIA practice step-by-step • The main steps for developing RIA practice: • Define national methodology using foreign best practice • Build capacities in regulating agencies • Set up quality control mechanisms or structures • Create training programme for RIA drafters • Launch pilot studies • Monitor for continuous improvement with practice. C.H. Montin, Baku

17. Mapping out a RIA system based on international good practices C.H. Montin, Baku

18. Critical success factors for RIA structure • Clear objectives, legal basis, awareness • Good process • Training of RIA drafters • Network of officials in ministries • Review body for quality control • Continuous learning (“learning by doing”, iterative process) C.H. Montin, Baku

19. Conclusions • Impact assessment has developed over the last 20 years and is now a widely used tool; UK and EU currently have best practice models • It presents challenges to operate it meaningfully (integrate into decision making) but also a lot of knowledge has been shared and this can help build a national scheme. • Policy-makers naturally address the costs and benefits of political choices. RIA offers rigour by adding the quantitative assessment of all options, including non-regulatory. C.H. Montin, Baku

20. Relevance to Azerbaijan • Do you perceive advantages to developing RIA in your country? • What could be the main obstacles to the introduction of RIA ? • Who would be likely to support the development of RIA in Azerbaijan? C.H. Montin, Baku

21. To learn more about RIA (systemic issues)… • OECD “text-books” • “Building an institutional framework for RIA” • “A tool for policy coherence” • RIA governance (UK) • BR framework • UK Government RIA site ; • RIA guidelines (EU) • European Commission RIA site • Guidelines • Write to C.H. Montin chmontin@regulatoryreform.com • All presentations on http://montin.com/baku C.H. Montin, Baku