Training on Tools to Measure Administrative Burdens

Arab countries have followed different paths to reduce administrative burdens as part of their efforts to modernise and reform their administration and improve the business environment and the quality of regulation. Tools to measure administrative burdens could help support efforts on administrative simplification and promote the achievement of concrete results. Measurement provides a quantification of the regulatory and administrative costs in an economy, setting concrete targets, and facilitates the monitoring of simplification efforts over time. In addition, it provides a powerful tool to convince stakeholders of the importance of administrative simplification.

The Standard Cost Model (SCM), originally developed in the Netherlands, is the most popular method to asses the cost of red tape, and the benefits of cutting it. Countries benefit from the use of the SCM to measure the administrative costs imposed on business by their central governments regulations. The SCM breaks down legislations into information obligations on the business side, allowing for a high level of detail and facilitates the assessment of the impact of concrete reform efforts on administrative burdens. This method has been introduced as such or adapted by many other countries.

The simplification of administrative burdens consists of a set of activities which must be managed at the same time. We should take into consideration demands from businesses and citizens, turn them into concrete projects, assign them a leader, establish short and medium term planning, be realistic, not overlook any technical or human resources, or opportunity that could boost the project and build networks. Assessments of the current situation, before and after project completion, allow for the gauging of the real impact of the reform in terms of administrative simplification in the target groups. Having already undertaken the impact assessment (Test Kafka Belgium) of the regulatory proposals provides transparency regarding the administrative burdens and avoid a number of overly complex procedures.

This training session is designed to answer the demand from MENA delegates working on administrative simplification and regulatory reform, who have recently emphasized the benefits of training activities for their daily work, placing much emphasis on the advantages of the practical dimension of training.

Trainers
Herman Schippers is a policy advisor at the Dutch programme on regulatory reform for businesses. He is responsible for the application of the Standard Cost Model and the monitoring of the reduction programme.

Dominique de Vos is the General Deputy Director of the Agency for the Administrative Simplification (ASA) in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. She also represents Belgium in the OECD Public Governance and Regulatory Policy Committees.

This training session will be followed by the Special Session of the Working Party on Regulatory Management and Reform on 4th November 2009.

Agenda

• English (PDF - 520kb)
• French (PDF - 573kb)