RIA Training with Parliamentarians and Other Government Officials in Zambia
On September 23-27, 2019, the Standards Alliance, in conjunction with Zambia’s Business Regulatory Review Agency (BRRA), carried out four technical assistance workshops aimed at increasing awareness on international best practices for the implementation of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in Zambia. The main objectives of the workshops was to sensitize key decision makers at various regulatory agencies in Zambia on the basic steps for conducting RIA and to create awareness on BRRA's Business Regulatory Act, 2014. Furthermore, the trainings looked to foster buy-in from decision-makers (particularly, Members of Parliament (MPs), Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Permanent Secretaries (PS) and legal officers) on mainstreaming RIA processes in the formulation of regulatory frameworks in Zambia.
The first event which took place on September 23-24 in Livingstone, Zambia, focused on training CEOs at various regulatory agencies in Zambia and/or their designated representatives on the value for conducting, as well as best practices for building the necessary skills to train other government regulators and employees to conduct and institutionalize the RIA process. The training was attended by more than 40 CEOs/ representatives and featured presentations from experts in the fields of RIA and workforce credentialing, including Nathan Frey, RSS Group; Kees Jonkheer, Jonkheer Consulting; and Dr. Roy Swift, Workcred, an ANSI affiliate.
In a post-workshop survey, a majority of CEOs indicated that as a next step, each agency will nominate an official to serve as the coordinator for RIA at their agency. It is envisioned that this official will lead and coordinate all RIA related activities and procedures between the regulatory agency and BRRA. In addition, over 80% of the participants stated that their knowledge of the basic steps in conducting RIA greatly improved, while approximately three-fourths of the participants indicated that their understanding of the value of RIA also greatly improved. Numerous participants stated that they would gain from further training on cost-benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness in RIA.
The second event included a half-day sensitization training with more than 45 Members of Parliament (MPs) at the National Assembly of Zambia in Lusaka. Honorable Mwimba Henry Malama, Second Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, led the opening session in coordination with representatives from BRRA, and ANSI.
Mrs. Sharon Sichilongo, CEO at the BRRA, spoke at length about the agency's mandate and efforts to institutionalize RIA at every level in Zambia. Standards Alliance experts shared important background on the political, legal, and economic value of RIA in a bid to garner parliamentary support for the regulatory review process.
Following the MPs trainings, the Standards Alliance conducted another half-day session with legal representatives from various regulatory agencies. The capacity-building training provided an overview of the RIA process and value while emphasizing the role of the legal departments in supporting the implementation of RIA at various agencies. In response to the post-workshop survey, over 75% of the workshop attendees stated that their understanding of the importance of the private sector in the RIA process had greatly improved, and a majority of the participants also indicated plans to share the information they learned with their colleagues.
The Standards Alliance concluded its four-part training series with a half-day sensitization training for Permanent Secretaries (PSs) from 19 Zambian ministries in Lusaka, Zambia, including the Cotton Board of Zambia, Zambia National Broadcasting Authority (ZNBC) and Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS), amongst others. This training provided a brief overview of the legal underpinnings for RIA in Zambia, the value and use of RIA across the globe, and next steps to support the full function of the regulatory review process in Zambia.
More information on the past three RIA workshops is available:
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