On 3-7 February, 2014 a group of ISET-PI researchers were trained in Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). The main goal of implementing RIA is to ensure that the benefits of a regulation exceed its costs for society as a whole.

Good RIA allows policy-makers to learn about the potential impact a new regulation may have in a detailed and systematic way, thus enabling them to make better informed decisions. The Economic Prosperity Initiative (EPI) organized the training, which was delivered by international leaders in regulatory reform Scott Jacobs and Cesar Cordova, directors of Jacobs, Cordova & Associates. Representatives of other NGOs and ministries were trained alongside the ISET-PI researchers.

As Georgia does not implement a fully-fledged RIA at the moment, the material of the course aimed at introducing various RIA methods and emphasizing their use for comparing different policy options. Globally around 60 countries implement ex-ante RIA as a tool for improving decision-making. Over the five-day course the trainers not only reviewed the basic principles and concepts of the assessment methodology, but also presented a range of examples taken from the vast experience of other countries. Most importantly, the new concepts and ideas were analyzed in-depth based on the draft Law of Georgia on the Protection of the Consumer Rights. The training benefited all participants, who had a chance to look at the regulations from different perspectives and think about each article of the law through the lens of costs and benefits.

After the training, representatives of the different think-tanks will work together with the representatives from the ministries to develop sample RIAs for several important draft laws in Georgia.

ISET would like to thank EPI for equipping our researchers with the necessary expertise.