#AWOA2019: Alternative Modes of Evaluating EU Impact Assessments and Regulation

2019 Annual Workshop Osservatorio AIR: Alternative Modes of Evaluating EU Impact Assessments and Regulation

The workshop aims to advance available techniques and approaches for evaluating Impact Assessments (IA) and regulation. A comprehensive analysis of the quality of IA and regulation should aim to capture the relationship between policy makers on the one hand, and business, scientific communities, independent regulatory agencies, and private consultancies on the one hand. Especially in times of an externalization and pluralization of policy advisory landscapes, it is also relevant to ask which knowledge feeds into IAs and regulations and of which quality it is. Another key dimension of empirical research is the institutional environment that affects the production of knowledge.

The workshop sheds light on these aspects of the regulatory process by reflecting on alternative approaches to assess the quality of IA and regulation.

The following research questions will guide the workshop:

  • What are emerging models for evaluating IA and regulation and what are their advantages and disadvantages vis-à-vis more common methodologies?
  • To what extent does scientific literature increase the knowledge of regulators?
  • What is the role of consultancy in producing knowledge for regulatory reform? To what extent policy makers control such external production of knowledge?
  • To what extent can comparative analyses of IA and regulation conducted by different institutions on the same policy issues contribute to our understanding of the quality of the policy appraisal system?
  • What are the main policy recommendations for evaluating IA systems stemming from “alternative” models for evaluation IA and regulation?
  • How can we design composite indicators that capture the institutional quality of regulatory governance?

Date and location

Rome, 7 June 2019
Sala Polifunzionale, Presidency of the Council of Ministers | Via Santa Maria in Via, 37/a

Programme

09.30 | Welcome by Efisio Espa (National School of Administration)

09.50 | Opening by the chairs Valérie Pattyn, Fabrizio De Francesco and Fabrizio Di Mascio

10.00 | First session: Assessing the role of knowledge in analysis of national regulation

The use of scientific evidence in the implementation of EU legislations and competition policy: The case of the Italian competition authority’s market studies
by Johan Christensen (University of Leiden), Fabrizio De Francesco (University of Strathclyde) and Fabrizio Di Mascio (University of Turin)

Exploring alternative forms of impact assessment: Is a focus on mechanisms promising?
by Peter Dahler-Larsen (University of Copenhagen)

11.00 | Guest lecture: Regulatory impact assessments under judicial review: Benefits and burdens, by Patricia Popelier (University of Antwerp)

11.30 | Second Session: Evaluation of IAs through actors of knowledge

Private consultancies in EU regulatory governance: Policy knowledge practice in the case of the liberalisation of rail passenger services 
by Fabrizio De Francesco (University of Strathclyde) and Valérie Pattyn (University of Leiden)

The knowledge behind Brexit. A descriptive bibliographic analysis of Brexit impact studies in the United Kingdom and the European Union
by Valérie Pattyn, Athanassios Gouglas and Juliannede Leeuwe

12.30 | Presentation: Shaping Regulatory Learning: Co-Creation of World Bank RIA Innovation Awards, by Claire Dunlop and Claudio M. Radaelli

14.30 | Third Session: Evaluation of IAs and the institutional context

A new approach to the measurement of regulatory management systems in comparative perspective: Lessons from the Protego (Procedural tools for effective governance) project
by Claire A. Dunlop (University of Exeter), Jonathan C. Kamkhaji (University of Exeter), Claudio M. Radaelli (University College London) and Gaia Taffoni (University College London)

The role of Impact Assessments in the feedback loop of evaluation
by Daniele Lamarque (European Court of Auditors)

15.30 | Group discussion

16.00 | Wrap up by the Valérie Pattyn, Fabrizio De Francesco and Fabrizio Di Mascio

Partners

Italian National School of Public Administration (Scuola Nazionale dell’Amministrazione)