Government of the Republic of Serbia
The European Union has defined the standards for policy impact assessment over the last ten years. It is based on the introduction of an impact assessment system, on defining indicators for quality assessment regulation, as well as other initiatives for policy and regulation management.
At this moment, policy impact assessment is not a formal request for EU members, and provisions of the European institutions referring to impact assessments have the status of nonbinding recommendations. However, the European Commission has created a model of integrated impact assessment that came into effect in January 2003. The main goal of this model is to take adequately into account both the competitiveness and the sustainable development goals, ranked among the highest priorities on EU agenda, in early stages of regulatory processes.
Policy Impact Assessment is a process assisting the decision-makers to understand the desired and/or undesired effects of national policies. Well-designed measures and interventions demand that the decision-makers first of all understand the impact of the proposed or adopted policies on citizens and institutions.
Therefore, policy impact assessment is increasingly viewed as a valuable function of the system. Systematic introduction of policy impact assessment should improve the general success of the public sector, more transparent operations of public administration and opportunities to mobilize broader social capital.
The practice in most OECD countries has indicated that the responsibility for conducting impact assessment lies with line ministries. Even though the placing of impact assessment under the competence of legislators actually improves the “ownership” of impact assessment, as well as its integration into decision-making processes, it can easily be side-tracked by certain competent ministries. If external expertise is used, civil servants should be involved in the process as much as possible.
It is on account of this that the supervisory role is often anticipated and it is delegated to the central or ad hoc specific unit/agency so as to ensure its independence.
One of the prerequisites for conducting policy impact assessment is a high level of political support for the impact assessment concept and its practical application. Furthermore, it is necessary to take into account the institutional, social, cultural and legal context of the country. It is necessary to introduce certain procedures such as strategic planning, horizontal and vertical coordination, data collection, consultative mechanisms, monitoring and quality control mechanisms.
Interaction and cooperation between the academic and research community, policymakers and practitioners is one of the prerequisites for the improvement of the process of responsible policy making and efficient facts and data use. On the one hand, it is necessary that policymakers understand the value of data and be informed on available researches, but also it is important that both scientific and research community adequately influence the development of social changes.
As a rule, complex problems demand a holistic approach where strict boundaries between scientific disciplines must recoil before the demanding goals set before the scientific community and the state.
The establishment of integrated teams for evidence-based policy making is a growing practice at the EU level. These teams consist of: decision-makers, representatives from the academic community, practitioners, and representatives of the target groups referred to by the policy. There is an increasing number of examples of multidisciplinary and collaborative researches contributing to a more complex assessment of problems, but also to better harmonization of policy making with the needs of the citizens and available resources. Such approach is of utmost importance for the countries in transition, on the road to EU membership.
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