APEC Project Database

Project Title

Adopting Agile Regulatory Governance to Foster Innovation

Project Year

2023

Project Number

EC_201_2023A

Project Session

Session 2

Project Type

Standard

Project Status

Completed Project

Project No.

EC_201_2023A

Project Title

Adopting Agile Regulatory Governance to Foster Innovation

Project Status

Completed Project

Fund Account

APEC Support Fund

Sub-fund

ASF: Enhanced APEC Agenda on Structural Reform (EAASR)

Project Year

2023

Project Session

Session 2

APEC Funding

36,800

Co-funding Amount

Total Project Value

36,800

Sponsoring Forum

Economic Committee (EC)

Topics

Legal Infrastructure; Structural Reform; Digital Economy

Committee

Economic Committee (EC)

Other Fora Involved

Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved

Proposing Economy(ies)

Malaysia

Co-Sponsoring Economies

Indonesia; New Zealand; Thailand; United States

Expected Start Date

1/05/2024

Expected Completion Date

30/06/2025

Project Proponent Name 1

Mohammed Alamin Rehan

Job Title 1

Director

Organization 1

Malaysia Productivity Corporation

Telephone 1

+60192832490

Email 1

alamin@mpc.gov.my

Project Proponent Name 2

Shahriza Bahari

Job Title 2

Deputy Director

Organization 2

Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC)

Telephone 2

+60192753775

Email 2

shahriza@mpc.gov.my

Declaration

Mohammed Alamin Rehan

Project Summary

The rapid pace of technological change and global competition has increased the need for innovative products and services across all sectors. However, traditional regulatory frameworks often struggle to keep up with the pace of innovation, leading to regulatory barriers that hinder growth and development. In response, agile regulatory governance approaches are widely explored to foster innovation and promote economic growth. Regulators work closely with industry stakeholders to design and implement regulatory frameworks that meet its purpose and at the same time adaptive to new technologies and changing business models. This initiative will support the implementation of the Aotearoa Plan of Action (APA) towards achieving the Putrajaya Vision 2040, the work plan of Regulatory Reform FotC, Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (EAASR). This project would include:

-baseline review- assessment of policies and practice on the interface between regulatory policy and agile regulatory governance

-creation of toolkit to support the implementation of agile regulation

The outcome of this project consists of a background paper, a toolkit and a project report that will be tabled at the APEC Economic Committee meeting. The documents will be published and made available on the APEC website for public reference.

Relevance

Benefits to Region

The rapid pace of technological change and global competition has increased the need for innovative products and services across all sectors. However, traditional regulatory frameworks often struggle to keep up with the pace of innovation, leading to regulatory barriers that hinder growth and adoption. In response, agile regulatory governance approaches are widely explored to foster innovation and promote economic growth. Agile regulatory governance is a collaborative and iterative approach to regulation that allows for flexibility and adaptability. This approach focuses on risk-based regulatory frameworks that enable regulators to identify and manage risks to public health and safety, while also promoting innovation and growth. This is achieved through a collaborative and co-creative approach, where regulators work closely with industry stakeholders to design and implement regulatory frameworks that are fit for purpose and adaptive to new technologies and changing business models. This initiative will support the implementation of the work plan of Friends of the Chair on Regulatory Reform (RR FotC), Enhanced APEC Agenda for

Structural Reform (EAASR), Aotearoa Plan of Action towards achieving the Putrajaya Vision 2040. The initiative will benefit the interested economies to rapidly support innovation and technological advancement through the adoption of agile regulatory frameworks.

Eligibility and Fund Priorities

The project will support 2 main EAASR pillars, namely, “Creating an enabling environment for open, transparent, and competitive markets” and “Harnessing innovation, new technology, and skills development to boost productivity and digitalization”. The project will help to encourage the use of agile regulatory governance in APEC Economies as an innovative approach in the development of regulatory frameworks and evidence-based policymaking to meet the needs of businesses and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burden. The project will assist Economies, in particular developing economies to implement their EAASR Individual Action Plans (IAPs) by offering knowledge and reference through the development of the toolkit which would help governments and regulators to align their regulatory approaches with the set of principles of agile regulation. It also will act as a practical resource setting out a range of actions governments and regulators may take to adapt their rule-making activities to the challenges and opportunities brought by innovation.

Capacity Building

The project will continue to support capacity building through engagement, sharing of best practices, and lessons learned of APEC member economies on implementing agile regulations. This would include tailored guidance to ensure regulations are fit for the future. In addition, this project will focus on technical know-how on regulatory design and delivery and explore the applicability of existing regulatory management tools in the digital era. The inputs from those engagements will be translated into the development of agile regulation toolkit for APEC.

Objectives

The ongoing global health and economic crisis has shown that the regulation of emerging technologies is not flexible enough to allow us to introduce technological

innovation quickly. Thus, regulators are facing challenges to keep pace with innovation, hindering the introduction of new ideas, products, and business models, while leaving citizens with outdated protections. In order to address this challenge, it is imperative to develop agile regulatory frameworks that not only foster swift technological advancements but also effectively assess the risks associated with integrating new technologies. A more agile, flexible, well-adapted and innovative regulatory policy and governance approaches could help reconcile the effectiveness and innovation-friendliness of laws and regulations to seize and harness the potential of innovation for a strong, resilient and sustainable growth.

Alignment

Beneficiaries and Outputs

Outputs

1) Background Paper and Survey

Short background paper showcasing ongoing efforts of APEC economies to revisit how they regulate in this fast-paced global innovation landscape. The background paper will be at least 15 pages excluding annexes and incorporated into the project report that will be published on APEC website. The proposed section are as follows:

1.Introduction

2.Adaptability of regulatory management tools

3.Co-ordination of regulatory systems within and across borders

4.Agile governance and regulatory approaches

5.Data-driven and responsive regulatory enforcement

6.Conclusions

An Online Survey on Agile Approaches to Regulatory Governance of Innovation, including an Ex-ante Evaluation of APEC Economies' Awareness of Agile Regulatory Approaches, will be conducted. The target group for this survey is APEC member economies. The background paper will be complemented with desk research.

2) Implementation Toolkit
The output will consist of an Implementation Toolkit based on the needs of APEC economies, with a proposed minimum of 15 pages excluding annexes. The toolkit aims to help governments and regulators align with the set of principles that will be developed. It will include a scorecard as a diagnostic tool to help governments and regulators self-assess how their governance approach is performing compared to the Recommendation. The Implementation Toolkit and scorecard will be integrated into the project report, which is intended for publication on the APEC website.

3) Virtual Capacity Building Session

A 3–4-hour virtual capacity building session will be conducted with APEC member economies, focusing on highlighting the study's findings and providing training on the effective usage of the implementation toolkit. This session aims to equip participants with practical insights derived from the study and ensure that they can navigate and utilise the toolkit efficiently in the context of agile regulatory governance of innovation.

The proposed agenda is as follows:

8.30 AM: Open Platform for participants

9.00 AM: Opening Remarks by APEC

9.10 AM: Introductory Remarks by Malaysia

9.20 AM: Overview of Agile Regulatory Governance

9.50 AM: Key Features of Agile Regulatory Governance

10.30 AM: Promoting Female Participation in Agile Regulation and sharing of best practices

10.45 AM: 10-Minute Break

10.55 AM: Case Studies & Success Stories

11.25 AM: Mini Quiz

11.50 AM: Recaps of Key Learning and Sharing: Takeaways and

Application of Knowledge in Participants' Roles

12.30 PM: Closing Remarks by Malaysia

12.40 PM: Closing Remarks by APEC

12.50 PM: End of Virtual Capacity Building Session

* The proposed agenda follows Malaysia's time zone

*agenda is tentative in nature and is subject to change depending on Project and suitability of time zone.

4) Project Report

The report will define practical actions to support the implementation of agile approaches to the regulatory governance of innovation, along with an ex-post evaluation to ensure the effectiveness and relevance of regulations with proposed 25-30 pages excluding annexes.

It will encompass:

1.Background paper and key outcomes of the survey

2.Implementation toolkit and Scorecard

3.Common challenges and future priorities for agile governance

4.Practical actions for implementation

5.Key takeaways from Virtual Capacity Building Session

The Project Report is scheduled for publication on the APEC website.

Outcomes
1) Raising awareness across APEC economies on the need to rethink policy-making and regulation to realise the benefits of innovation and address its risks.

2) Adoption of Implementation Toolkit among APEC economies

3) Increased adaptability by promoting quick response to change through regulatory review

4) Enhanced communication and consultation across stakeholders

5) Progressive policy development through sharing of best practice and tools

6) Adoption of data-driven decision and policy making

7) Streamlined regulatory processes enabling easier and greater compliance

Beneficiaries

APEC members, private sector, academia and relevant interested parties, specifically, as follows:

1. Government Officials: Government bodies responsible for creating and enforcing rules which overseeing and facilitating innovative businesses, recognise the need to foster innovation and support the growth of new and emerging industries/sector. This includes Economic Regulators, policy-making agencies and regulatory departments.

2. Private companies: Businesses that strive to introduce new and improved products, services, processes, or business models can be considered innovative, regardless of the sector they operate in. This may include those with high innovation potential such as start-ups and innovative MSMEs.

3. Academia: Academia plays a significant role in adopting a forward-looking governance approach by contributing research, knowledge, and expertise to shape and influence governance practices. Their expertise in governance can be leveraged to provide insights, recommendations, and guidance on policy development and implementation. Other expertise may include research, methodology and policy analysis, emerging trends and technology, stakeholder’s engagement and participation to name a few. Their expertise could help identify potential gaps, evaluate policy effectiveness, and propose improvements.

Dissemination

Upon completion, the Project Report will be published in the official APEC website. Additionally, a virtual capacity building will be conducted to facilitate knowledge sharing and dissemination of the project outcomes.

Gender

Please see project proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Work Plan

Please see project proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Risks

Please see project proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Please see project proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Linkages

This project will study the current regulatory regimes imposed by economies and best practices by APEC economies are welcomed. Lessons learned and the discussions related to the topics will be included in the Project Report.

Sustainability

The examples collected through the survey will have the potential to serve as a powerful catalyst for the development of agile governance and regulatory approaches to harness innovation. These real-world examples, drawn from various economies, will provide invaluable insights into innovative practices and success stories that have been effectively implemented. When shared and discussed within relevant APEC economies, these examples can inspire other economies to consider similar approaches. They will offer a tangible demonstration of the benefits of agility in regulation, making a compelling case for its adoption.

Furthermore, the Implementation Toolkit is designed with the intention of becoming a lasting resource for economies to continually assess and improve their regulatory systems. Regulatory environments are dynamic, and as such, it's essential for economies to have access to tools that allow them to adapt and refine their regulatory approaches over time. This Toolkit, serving as a perennial resource, will empower economies to conduct self-evaluations of their regulatory frameworks. By doing so, economies can identify areas for improvement, share best practices, and ultimately foster a regulatory landscape that is more conducive to innovation, while upholding protections to citizens and the environment. It will ensure that the pursuit of regulatory excellence remains an ongoing and evolving process.

In terms of follow-up, different activities can be envisaged, including dissemination events, in-depth regulatory reviews or the development of an extensive database of practices pertaining to agile regulatory governance to harness innovation.

One way to measure the outcomes and impacts of this project will be to measure the adoption of Implementation Toolkit among APEC economies.

Direct Labour

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Are there any supporting document attached?

Yes

Project No.
Project Title
Project Status
Fund Account
Sub-fund
Project Year
Project Session
APEC Funding
Co-funding Amount
Total Project Value
Sponsoring Forum
Topics
Committee
Other Fora Involved
Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved
Proposing Economy(ies)
Co-Sponsoring Economies
Expected Start Date
Expected Completion Date
Project Proponent Name 1
Job Title 1
Organization 1
Telephone 1
Email 1
Project Proponent Name 2
Job Title 2
Organization 2
Telephone 2
Email 2
Declaration
Project Summary
Relevance
Objectives
Alignment
Beneficiaries and Outputs
Dissemination
Gender
Work Plan
Risks
Monitoring and Evaluation
Linkages
Sustainability
Direct Labour
Are there any supporting document attached?
hdFldAdmin
Project Number
Previous Fora
Secretariat Comments
Reprogramming Notes
Consolidated QAF
Endorsement By Fora
PD Sign Off
Batch
Forum Priority
Committee Ranking Category
Committee Priority
PDM Priority
Priority Within Funding Category
Monitoring Report Received
Completion Report Received
PMU Field 1
PMU Field 2
PMU Field 3
On Behalf Of
Proposal Status
Originating Sub-Forum
Approval Status
Attachments

Content Type: Standard Proposal