Publications

This report offers a brief introduction to behavioural science and its application in an EU policy context. It explains what needs to be taken into consideration when applying behavioural science to policy. It stresses the need to identify the behavioural element of a policy and select the appropriate method of research. The report also provides illustrations of how behavioural science has been applied in the past and offers practical recommendations for designing behavioural studies.

The government has published a revised set of government consultation principles. These principles give clear guidance to government departments on conducting consultations. We have amended the principles in the light of comments from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee and to demonstrate the government’s desire to engage more effectively with the public. We will use more digital methods to consult with a wider group of people at an earlier stage in the policy-forming process. We will make it easier for the public to contribute their views, and we will try harder to use clear language and plain English in consultation documents. We will also reduce the risk of ‘consultation fatigue’ by making sure we consult only on issues that are genuinely undecided.

On 22 March 2012, the Council of the OECD adopted the Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance. The Recommendation is the first international instrument to address regulatory policy, management and governance as a whole-of-government activity that can and should be addressed by sectoral ministries, regulatory and competition agencies. The impact of the financial and fiscal crisis, and of social change and environmental challenges highlight the importance of sound regulatory frameworks as a basic condition for well-functioning markets and societies, protecting the environment and the promotion of economic growth. The Recommendation sets out the measures that Governments can and should take to support the implementation and advancement of systemic regulatory reform to deliver regulations that meet public policy objectives and will have a positive impact on the economy and society. These measures are integrated in a comprehensive policy cycle in which regulations are designed, assessed and evaluated ex ante and ex post, revised and enforced at all levels of government, supported by appropriate institutions. Also available in Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Slovak, and Spanish Many topics such as consultation and citizen engagement, regulatory impact assessment, multi-level coherence, risk and regulation, institutional responsibility for policy coherence and oversight, and the role of regulatory agencies are developed more fully and more practically than in the earlier guidance of the 1995 and 2005 OECD principles. Each of the principles expressed in the Recommendation are recalled and further developed in the Annex to the Recommendation of which it forms an integral part. An appendix provides background notes to each of the principles of the Recommendation to assist the reader to understand the context of the elements in the Recommendation. Together the principles in the Recommendation provide countries with the basis for a comprehensive assessment of the performance of the policies, tools and institutions that underpin the use of efficient and effective regulation to achieve social, environmental and economic goals. Through its work programme, the Regulatory Policy Committee will support countries to implement the principles in the Recommendation.