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Regulators operate in a complex, high-risk environment at the interface between the public and the private sectors. They often share some responsibilities for the sectors and industries they regulate with other public institutions. And yet, if the lights go out, tap water stop running, trains break down or phones stop working, they are often held to account. In this challenging environment, the governance of regulators is critical. The role of the regulator and how it co-ordinates with other public institutions, the powers it is given and how it is held accountable for exercising these powers are key elements of a governance architecture that needs to be carefully crafted and appropriately implemented if the regulator is to succeed in combining effective regulation with a high level of trust. This report looks at the way in which four regulators – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), Portugal’s Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority (ERSAR) and the UK Office of Rail and Road (ORR) – have addressed these governance challenges. The report identifies approaches to implement accountability, transparency and co-ordination and helps identify some lessons that can help guide how these principles can be translated into practice.

Les lois et les réglementations sont l’ensemble des textes qui régissent la vie quotidienne des entreprises et des particuliers. Il s’agit, pour les pouvoirs publics, d’un instrument essentiel au service de la croissance économique, de la protection sociale et de la préservation de l’environnement. Toutefois, la réglementation peut aussi s’avérer coûteuse et impuissante à atteindre ses objectifs. Ces Perspectives présentent la première analyse fondée sur des données probantes des progrès accomplis par les pays de l’OCDE en matière de « mieux légiférer ». À la lumière d’une enquête inédite réalisée auprès de l’ensemble des membres de l’OCDE, elles évaluent les progrès réalisés par les pays dans la mise en place des conditions favorables à une bonne réglementation. Cette publication apporte un éclairage unique sur l’organisation et les dispositifs institutionnels dont les pays se sont dotés pour concevoir, faire respecter et faire évoluer leur réglementation. Elle lève aussi le voile sur les aspects du cycle réglementaire qui mériteraient plus d’attention de la part des décideurs publics, et désigne les acteurs qui auraient un rôle important à jouer pour améliorer la conception, la mise en œuvre et l’évaluation des textes. Enfin, elle examine l’utilisation qui est faite de trois outils fondamentaux de la politique de la réglementation (l’analyse d’impact de la réglementation, la participation des parties prenantes et l’évaluation ex post) et propose des pistes pour les utiliser de façon plus stratégique pour l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre de la réglementation.

Urban, demographic and climate trends are increasingly exposing cities to risks of having too little, too much and too polluted water. Facing these challenges requires robust public policies and sound governance frameworks to co-ordinate across multiple scales, authorities, and policy domains. Building on a survey of 48 cities in OECD countries and emerging economies, the report analyses key factors affecting urban water governance, discusses trends in allocating roles and responsibilities across levels of government, and assesses multi-level governance gaps in urban water management. It provides a framework for mitigating territorial and institutional fragmentation and raising the profile of water in the broader sustainable development agenda, focusing in particular on the contribution of metropolitan governance, rural-urban partnerships and stakeholder engagement.

This report examines the Netherland’s new Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam-The Hague (MRDH), drawing on lessons from governance reforms in other OECD countries and identifying how the MRDH experience could benefit policy makers beyond Dutch borders. Long in search of ways to strengthen urban areas, the Dutch government has recently undertaken the development of a National Urban Agenda known as Agenda Stad, in parallel to a series of broad institutional reforms. This included abolishing the country’s traditional eight city-regions, which led Rotterdam, The Hague and 21 smaller neighbouring cities to form the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam-The Hague (Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag, or MRDH). This report analyses the emergence of the MRDH both as a geographical area that spans 23 municipalities in the southern Randstad region and as a new metropolitan authority with transport and economic development responsibilities. One of the challenges the MRDH faces is how to bring the economies of Rotterdam and The Hague closer together while generating growth and well-being.