Towards more effective public policies and regulations

Preparation and implementation of public policies or regulations are guided by the need of the society for addressing the enhancement of the state of affairs in the public interest, in the most effective, efficient and economical way. In other words, during the development of public policies, special attention is paid to the impacts of the planned policy or regulation on the economy (especially on SMEs), on citizen and the society in general, on the environment, as well as on the budget.

Impact assessment is a basis for justifiable and responsible decisions, given that the need for public interventions is assessed in a logical manner and is evidence-based. It enables the decision-makers to perceive and better understand core problems and development opportunities, potential positive and negative, direct or indirect impacts and risks that public intervention, through the implementation of public policies and regulations, can produce (ex-ante impact assessment) or those that are already created (ex-post impact assessment).

The EU-funded project “EU for public administration reform under the Sector reform contract” is supporting the Public Policy Secretariat and other relevant public institutions in the implementation of the new regulatory framework for evidence-based policy management, through development and application of different practical tools supporting the implementation of this framework, as well as through capacity building of civil servants in this area.

With this aim, the project jointly with the Public Policy Secretariat developed a new tool – Manual for Impact Assessment of Public Policies and Regulations with supporting checklists and a multitude of practical examples, which should help civil servants during the ex-ante and ex-post assessment of public policies and regulations as well as in their evaluation. By relying on the national regulatory framework and examples of good practice, this Manual provides practical guidelines for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of public policies and regulations throughout the policy management cycle.

The purpose of the Manual is to help civil servants to undertake the policy and regulatory impact assessment properly, i.e. to respond to two key questions: is a planned public intervention purposeful and which is the optimal way to resolve identified problems and achieve expected results?  To respond to these questions, the Manual provides different instruments and techniques to be used during the impact assessment process.

This Manual is available on both the project’s website and on the website of the Public Policy Secretariat.