Impact Assessment
This activity was built on previous work in developing a methodology for assessing the impact of laws and regulations on business in Croatia.
Specific activities included:
• Preparation of Manual/Guide on Impact Assessment
• “Training the Trainers” in Impact Assessment, who will then teach others in partner institutions
• Visits to EU countries to study their Impact Assessment methodologies
• Carrying out Impact Assessments for business sectors most effected by the legislative fields.
The initial workshop in Impact Assessment was held at the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts on 15 April 2008. The workshop designed for the partner institutions was conducted by Prof. Colin Kirkpatrick and Mr. Clive George, Impact Assessment experts from the Centre on Regulation and Competition at Manchester University.
Here you can download the workshop agenda, presentation and all additional documents used at the workshop. Since the working language of all Impact Assessment trainings is English, the documents on this webpage are also in English.
Workshop Agenda
Introductory Presentation
Presentation
Regulatory Impact Assessment
Case Study 1
Case Study 2
Case Study 3
The TTT ("Train the Trainers") Impact Assessment Training for the same group of representatives of partner organisations was held in Croatian Chamber of Economy on 9-13 June 2008. The TTT was also conducted by Colin Kirkpatrick and Clive George.
Here you can download the TTT agenda and the presentation used during the training.
Training agenda
Training presentation
Impact Assessment Manual
Impact Assessment (IA) has become an established policy tool in EU and OECD member countries. The BIZimpact IA methodology and Manual are based on OECD/EU country methodologies – such as that of the United Kingdom, which has placed emphasis on Impact Assessment for the business sector, including stakeholder involvement and the transposition of EC Directives – but customised to Croatian specificities. The emphasis has been on preparing a practical “how to” IA Manual, involving a step-by-step process, to assist MINGORP and the other beneficiaries to conduct legislative Impact Assessment, with a focus on the enterprise sector.
Study Tours
Study tours are an important tool for transfer of know-how from one country to another. The opportunity to network Croatian policy-makers and institutions with those of other countries in a practical manner is an important element of capacity-building. It enables study tour participants to deepen their theoretical and technical knowledge of Impact Assessment (IA) and put this into context by experiencing how the IA system operates in other countries.
The BIZimpact Project has undertaken two such study tours. One was to an “established” EU country to view state-of-the-art systems and practices in relation to IA, as well as communication and awareness-raising. The other visited a “new” EU member country to discuss IA, evolution of IA systems and implementation needs. The two EU countries selected were:
• The United Kingdom (UK), which has probably the most sophisticated IA system in place. It is considered by the European Commission and the OECD as being a “best practice” example at the cutting edge of IA developments.
• Poland, which has introduced IA, but has not yet fully embedded it in governmental structures. This is therefore a good example of a country at an intermediate stage of IA development.
UK Impact Assessment Study Tour
The first Study Tour to London took place from 15-19 September 2008. 15 participants were selected from the BIZimpact Project’s partners – MINGORP, HAMAG, HGK, HOK and HUP – who had previously taken part in IA workshops supported by the Project.
The UK study tour enabled the Croatian delegation to develop a vision of what the IA system could look like in the not too distant future. The UK’s IA system is comprehensive and operates at all levels of government, covering the following:
• Better Regulation Executive (BRE): a central body with overall responsibility for regulation, including the IA system.
• Better Regulation Units within all line ministries, e.g. the Department for Business, Enterprise and Better Regulation (BERR), the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
• Better Regulation Units within Government agencies and regulators, e.g. the Food Standards Agency.
• Regional Development Agencies: incorporating IA systems for new programmes and projects, e.g. the London Development Agency.
• Local authorities: e.g. establishment of local Better Regulation Offices and use of IA systems by individual local authorities.
• Business associations, and how they interact with IA, e.g. the London Chamber of Commerce.
• Business agencies, and how they interact with IA, e.g. Business Link centres.
The UK Study Tour was extremely useful to the Croatian delegation. It highlighted what is possible to achieve through the IA process. Some key lessons arose such as the need for:
• Support from the top (minister and senior officials), combined with consistent backing.
• An energetic and committed individual to front IA matters in the line ministries.
• Close cooperation between line ministries and the IA coordinator (BRE in the UK).
• Sufficient resources (staff and funds) to undertake IA, including the ability to outsource where necessary (due to time constraints, for specialist skills, etc).
• Adequately qualified staff at the core of the process (lawyers, economists and policy officers).
• Appropriate skills in the IA department, both quantitative (e.g. modelling) and qualitative ones.
• Stakeholder engagement in the policy-making process and as early as possible.
Poland Impact Assessment Study Tour
Whereas the first Study Tour was to an “established” EU country (UK) with a highly advanced IA system the second one was to a “new” EU member country (Poland) with what might be termed an intermediate IA system. This was deliberate since Croatia cannot expect to emulate an advanced Impact Assessment system immediately, but can learn practical lessons from a country which is currently going though the process of embedding its Impact Assessment system as a normal part of the policy making process.
The Study Tour to Poland organised by the BIZimpact Project took place during 17-21 November 2008. 15 participants were selected from the BIZimpact Project’s partners – MINGORP, HAMAG, HGK, HOK and HUP. The Study Tour involved meeting the following Polish institutions:
• Ministry of Economy (coordinator of the Polish Impact Assessment system).
• Ministry of Environment.
• Ministry of Finance.
• Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
• Ministry of Regional Development.
• Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
• Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.
• Business Centre Club.
• National Chamber of Commerce.
• Polish Confederation of Private Employers, “Lewiatan”.
The study tour highlighted a number of experiences which will be useful to the Croatian participants when they undertake Impact Assessments themselves. It also demonstrated that although the Polish state administration has been doing Impact Assessments for seven years, Croatia has the human capital to be able to make rapid progress when this becomes a formal requirement in the legislative/policy-making process.
Using Impact Assessment Tools to Improve Enterprise Development in Croatia
Public administrators need to ensure that laws and regulations meet the needs of society and are effectively and efficiently designed and implemented. Impact Assessment (IA) is a tool for designing better policy; it involves an analysis of the likely costs and benefits of proposed new policy measures (laws, regulations, etc,) and provides the necessary information on the probable consequences of introducing a new measure and in this way contributes to more rational, evidence-based policy-making.
Once the political decision has been taken to pursue certain objectives and goals, IA can be used to develop alternative policy options and to select the measure that will meet the given objective in the most effective and efficient manner. The choice of preferred policy option will be based on a comparison of the expected positive (benefits) and negative (costs) impacts of each option.
IA can also contribute to better governance. Consultation with stakeholders is a key element of the IA process since it strengthens policy-makers’ knowledge and understanding of the likely impacts of a proposal, and enables stakeholders to contribute to the development of the most cost-effective means of achieving government objectives. It is also standard practice to make the results of the IA process available to the stakeholders and general public at large. This two-way communication between the policymakers and the public contributes to the accountability and transparency of the public administration.
Therefore, IA will become an important part of policy making in Croatia, including the development of laws and regulations affecting the enterprise sector. The five beneficiaries of the BIZimpact Project – MINGORP, HAMAG, HGK, HOK and HUP – collaborated in undertaking five detailed IAs in relation to current or forthcoming economic legislation, namely:
• Ex post Impact Assessment of the SME Encouragement Act
• Ex ante Impact Assessment of the EU Small Business Act
• Ex post Impact Assessment of the Public Procurement Act
• Ex ante Impact Assessment of the Illicit Advertising Act
• Ex post Impact Assessment of the Crafts Act.
As a result of the capacity-building activities being implemented by the BIZimpact Project, the following further results were anticipated:
• Finalising and delivery of an IA Manual, focusing on the enterprise sector and its needs
• Enhancement of capacity within MINGORP, HAMAG, HGK, HOK and HUP to undertake IA
• Establishment of procedures and principles for undertaking IA connected with future legislation and regulations affecting the small business sector in Croatia.
