In the face of global crises and complex policy problems, governments have been required to regulate faster and better and attempt to build a sense of shared policy ownership. Giving the opportunity to business, citizens and the public to shape, reform and challenge regulations is important to improve the design and quality of regulations.
The OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG) measure the quality of communication, consultation, and stakeholder engagement when developing regulations. The quality of stakeholder engagement in developing regulations has been improving slowly. 16 of 38 OECD countries (42%) plus the EU improved the quality of their stakeholder engagement for primary laws between 2018 and in 2021 (Figure 5.1), and 17 of 38 (45%) plus the EU for subordinate regulations (Figure 5.2). Systematic adoption improved through new requirements to conduct stakeholder engagement, and through conducting late stage consultations more frequently. Recent improvements include the increased use of virtual consultation meetings (in large part driven by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic), and the transparency of consultation processes. Since 2018, countries such as Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain have broadened consultation practices and made them more accessible.
Nonetheless, most OECD countries still have significant scope to improve stakeholder engagement. Despite recent changes, the area with the greatest scope for improvement, for both primary laws (Figure 5.1) and subordinate regulations (Figure 5.2), remains Oversight and Quality Control (mechanisms to monitor and ensure the quality of stakeholder engagement).
There is also scope to improve on Transparency. Informing stakeholders before consultations begin can save time, resources and energy. Only 6 of 38 OECD countries (16%) and the EU announce all forthcoming consultations on primary laws. Only 4 of 38 (11%) and the EU announce consultations on subordinate regulations (Online Table G.2.1). Governments can engage stakeholders in regulation development both at an early stage (to gather data and ideas on possible solutions to problems) and a late stage (to consult on draft regulations). Only 7 of 38 OECD countries for which data is available (18%), plus the EU, systematically engage with stakeholders at an early stage. This has not improved in recent years. By contrast, providing opportunities to stakeholders to comment on draft regulatory proposals is a longstanding practice. In 29 of the 38 OECD countries (76%) plus the EU, stakeholders are now systematically consulted at a later stage of policy development. Some countries require consultation more frequently with affected parties. However, significant opportunities remain to enhance the oversight of consultations, and to report on how consultations have influenced the final design of regulatory proposals (OECD, 2021).
