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On May 13-17, 2019, the Standards Alliance in cooperation with the Business Regulatory Review Agency (BRRA) of Zambia co-hosted an intensive 5-day training workshop on Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) in Livingstone, Zambia.
The workshop entitled "Evidence-Based Regulatory Decision Making: Regulatory Impact Analysis “Training of Trainers” Workshop," was a follow-up training designed to promote best practices in the development of Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), a decision-making tool to appraise the potential impacts of new/existing regulations or policy options on businesses and foreign investment. The workshop provided systematic training on the key steps for performing RIA and highlighted training strategies for participants to better train government colleagues to perform a RIA.
Approximately 70 participants from various Zambian ministries attended the event, including the following expert speakers: Brandon DeBruhl, Office of Management and Budget Office of Internal Regulatory Affairs (OMB OIRA); Nathan Frey, RSS Group; Kees Jonkheer, Jonkheer Consulting; Dr. Roy A. Swift, WorkCred; and Linda Bodén, National Trade Board of Sweden.
The training featured various presentations and interactive sessions to help participants better understand and use international best practices in performing RIAs in their roles as Zambian regulators. . Targeted group exercises provided hands on guidance and opportunities to critically analyze existing RIA reports in Zambia. These sessions emphasized practical exercises on how to write and structure a RIA report, gather qualitative and quantitative data from all relevant stakeholders, conduct consultations, and effectively utilize cost-benefit and cost-effective analysis.
In a survey completed by workshop participants, more than half of the participants agreed that the training greatly improved their understanding of the national regulations and guidelines underpinning RIA in Zambia including the Business Regulatory Act, No. 3 of 2014, strategies to improve data collection through private sector consultations and Incorporating qualitative and quantitative data into a RIA. All participants also expressed interest in participating in other trainings on regulatory review and assessment, particularly focusing on conducting RIA, data collection, and analysis. Trainers and government representatives who participated in the workshop indicated that funding is a critical issue that needs to be addressed by the government to insure that RIA is made a top priority.
More information on the two past RIA workshops is available:
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