Consultation in regulatory process. Tunis 31 May 2011 Pekka Nurmi

Transcription

1 Consultation in regulatory process Tunis 31 May 2011 Pekka Nurmi

2 Aims of consultation Collecting facts > evidence based decision making Influence and participation of stakeholders Legitimacy and acceptance > engagement, trust in statutes and in the democratic decision making Smooth implementation > regulation that works in real life

3 What and when 1 Regulatory Governance Cycle (OECD)

4 What and when 2 Regulatory process in Finland (in relation with impact assessment)

5 What and when 3 Early start > road maps (what is planned or going on) Complementing in the course of the preparatory process Together with RIA Clarity > what can/is expected to be achieved Documentation and feed back Transparency

6 The consulted According to case and needs (impacts?) Usually consulted stakeholders / interest groups/relevant authorities End users > who are they? (Small) enterprises? Certain professions/specific sectors etc? Individuals (organized or not)? Marginalized/different to reach groups? Etc.

7 Quality and efficiency Who is the regulator? Well planned and structured as essential part of the regulatory process Keeping the balance Openness > who are influencing Efficient preparation responsibility of the public administration Law drafting is a serious business

8 Means of consultation General information and commenting Informal discussions, surveys, negotiations etc. Various forms of oral meetings and hearings Participation in preparatory/steering/reflecting groups Written statements > official standings Use of new technologies

9 ICT > offering platforms When using traditional methods, i.e. in collecting views and statements > e-hearing IT supporting the process in its various stages New possibilities (Finland) Citizen initiatives (formal/informal) Discussion fora on web pages ( Take a stand projects) Net interview and voting (Fountain Park) Advice and discussions in Facebook (regarding apartment house companies) Interactive participation environment (see next)

10 E-participation environment 1 To enhance and enable dialog and interaction between citizens and public servants and to improve e-participation To modernize web-based tools and processes into a toolbox that is easy to take into use by citizens, associations, government agencies and municipalities

11 Meaning tools for 2 Planning of participation Various kinds of consultation, e.g. in regulatory drafting Deliberative discussions Questionnaires, polls, statements Citizen initiatives at national as well as local level Monitoring the work of representatives

12 Execution 3 A project for years , run by the Ministry of Justice Part of larger national SADE eservices and eadministration programme, run by the Ministry of Finance First releases in public use early 2012, with preceding pilots The aim is to build an ecosystem of services with complementing commercial and non-profit add-on services

13 How to avoid frustration Make consultation interesting > impacts to end-user s every day life Formulate the issue(s) clearly and as concrete as possible Avoid unnecessary admin burden Long enough consultation period Balance and representativeness Don t give unrealistic promises Feed back > publication of results and information about how consultation has been taken into account Include in the regulatory documentation

14 Conclusions Transparency of administration and its processes as starting point > an enabler Clear systems and standards (in normal cases) > guidelines and enforcement Needs for consultation in different phases of the regulatory cycle (what do we want?) From hearing/consulting to participation (deliberation) ICT as a complementary possibility not a key as such Consulting/participation/deliberation is not separate from other influencing and participation in a democratic society