Armenia, OSCE, 2011.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates assisted the World Bank/IFC to carry out the Impact Analysis of reforming the Inspection System in Jordan. In order to reduce the high compliance costs and risks for businesses as well as increase the cost effectiveness of 13 key inspectorates in the Country, the project identified the best options and recommended policy reforms to the Economic Development Committee of Ministers. Concretely the project undertook an Impact Analysis of the different inspection models/practices that have been recently launched and implemented in the world to reduce the burden on the private sector resulting from overlap and duplication of inspection functions. The gathering of evidence included the organization of 2 or 3 study tours to countries which have recently reformed their inspection system.

Jordan, World Bank, 2011

Lithuania, Central Project Management Agency, 2010

The project consisted of assisting the international organization REC Turkey with a managerial approach to undertake the RIAs of the BIRD, Habitat, Seveso, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Waste Management European Union Directives through a robust methodological system and a series of RIA techniques. The consultancy has consisting in assisting the preparation of full-fledged RIAs from the planning, to the setting up a methodological approach, ensuring quality for each and all the RIAs, and presenting general results to the Minister of Environment and the EU Commission. In particular the project has focused on (i) the design of a customized management and oversight system based on a precise action plan involving the five RIAs; (ii) the development of a “state of the art” methodology for undertaking the RIAs and building capacities of REC Turkey leadership and RIA task forces for undertaking RIAs adapted to Turkey, to the EU harmonization process, and to the environmental goals of the Directives, and (iii) the insurance of the quality of individual RIA as well as the whole package of RIAs through a system of quality criteria and scoreboards.

REC Turkey, 2009-2011.

In 2007-2013, we are working with the USAID project VNCI, led by DAI, to assist in boosting the results of Vietnam’s ambitious national simplification program through several regulatory reform tools, including regulatory impact assessment, stakeholder consultation, and the Regulatory Guillotine™ approach. We are the technical advisors on the largest simplification project underway in the world today: Vietnam’s Project 30, extending across 24 ministries, 63 provinces, and thousands of district and commune administrations. As part of VNCI, Scott Jacobs assessed in March 2007 the Prime Minister’s Master Plan for Administrative Simplification. The report, “Vietnam’s Master Plan For Administrative Simplification: Boosting The Benefits Of Reform For Improved Competitiveness In The WTO Environment,” provided recommendations to the Office of Government and the Prime Minister to improve the Master Plan to achieve greater success. VNCI recommended that the national reform program be redesigned, strengthened, and accelerated, recommendations accepted by the Prime Minister and the Government of Vietnam. The Project 30 reform is now underway (see http://www.thutuchanhchinh.vn/index.php/?language=en), based on a management software (the eGuillotine) that has taken the inventory and result in Vietnam’s first electronic regulatory registry, available free of charge online. The first package of reforms was announced in June 2010. RIA was adopted on 1 January 2009 with VNCI support, and is now being implemented across Vietnam’s national ministries. We have assisted in preparing the RIA manual and RIA pilots, and in the design of the RIA program for the country. 
See USAID Announcement here: http://www.usaid.gov/rdma/articles/press_release_417.html
See up to date information on the Prime Minister’s Master Plan for Administrative Procedure Simplification here:
http://www.thutuchanhchinh.vn/index.php/?language=en

Vietnam, DAI/U.S. Agency for International Development, 2007-2013.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) asked for the assistance of Jacobs, Cordova & Associates in applying Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) to policy/regulatory issues in its work. Adoption of RIA by the ICASA is a natural step in the implementation of the ICASA Act adopted in 2000. We conducted a training session for ICASA staff, and recommended steps for ICASA to mainstream RIA and stakeholder consultation into ICASA’s policy processes.

South Africa, ICASA, 2010.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates designed and delivered UNDP's 2nd Regional Training on Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment with special focus on social inclusion issues and vulnerability patterns.

Slovakia, UNDP, 2009.

The Council of Ministers of Bulgaria engaged Jacobs, Cordova & Associates, partnering with IME in Sofia, to assist the Government in mainstreaming impact analysis (IA) into domestic policy processes at national and local levels. Jacobs, Cordova & Associates carried out diagnostic work to determine the level of skills and capacities in the Bulgarian administration to carry out impact assessment and, on that basis, designed an impact assessment process for implementation throughout the national ministries, and eventually in municipal governments. JC&A also designed and interactive Web portal and an IA manual. The impact assessment program is based on good European practice and recommendations of the European Commission under the Lisbon agenda. JC&A and IME also designed a stakeholder consultation process with a consultation manual, as well as a consultation portal for the use of the government. Finally, a national program of training was carried out, and JC&A and  IME trained almost 400 civil servants and stakeholders around Bulgaria over 18 training courses.

Bulgaria, Government of Bulgaria (co-financed by the European Social Fund of the European Union) , 2009.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates developed and implemented a package of six workshops to support the ongoing regulatory reform work in South Eastern Europe and to help improve policy-making processes. The content of training modules and courses were designed for South East Europe participants comprising senior and mid-level decision-makers, including parliamentarians, and public servants and analysts in governments in charge of designing, drafting, and implementing regulatory reform initiatives and tools like Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), Standard Cost Measurements (SCM), Regulatory Guillotine^TM or other tools such as focus groups. This package comprised one-day, three-day and four-days workshops on RIAs and other Regulatory reform tools and techniques.

South East Europe, The World Bank/IFC, 2009.

With ADB support and financing, the three-year project supported the Bhutan Government and, in particular, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in building a sustainable framework and implementation capacities for Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in domestic policy processes. The project helped regulators to draft higher quality laws with clear operational details and proportionate to their objective. The new RIA system also provided an appropriate framework allowing stakeholders to participate in discussions and for expressing their views in the making of laws and in regulatory. The project also assisted the government to pilot RIAs on selected draft business laws such as the Enterprise Registration Act and the Industries and Investment Act. The Project kicked off with the use of the Quick Scan Questionnaire.

Bhutan, ADB/Government of Bhutan, 2008-2011.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates is working with Deloitte as the main technical experts for the better business environment component in the USAID Sustainable Achievement of Business Expansion and Quality (SABEQ) project in Jordan. For example, we are working to improve Jordan’s performance in the doing business indicators, to improve legal transparency and security in Jordan through better legal publication and consultation practices, and to boost the capacities of private sector trade associations to participate constructively in policymaking. We are also working with Deloitte and the Government of Jordan to boost the advocacy capacities of trade associations, to increase Jordan's ranking in the Doing Business indicators by re-engineering and streamlining business licensing, by offering specialized RIA training, and for exploring application of the regulatory guillotine as a national simplification program.  See Project Webpage here:
http://www.sabeq-jordan.org/Sabeq_Public/main_Sabeq_Public_master.aspx?site_id=1&Page_id=2&REGION=1&LANG=3

Jordan, U.S. Agency for International Development, 2006-2011.

The Office of the Presidency of South Africa asked Jacobs, Cordova & Associates to carry out RIA training for government officials in September 2008. Jacobs, Cordova & Associates developed case studies based on actual legislation from South Africa and delivered an intensive one-week course to 40 officials from across the South African government.

South Africa, Government of South Africa, 2008.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates worked with the Ministry of Justice to prepare a detailed regulatory impact assessment (RIA) on the draft Law on Laws, a law that created a new framework for Vietnam's legal system. The RIA was influential in reversing the position of the National Assembly on several key issues such as stakeholder participation. The final Law on Laws, which went into effect in 2009, sets a new standard for transparency and assessment in making new laws in Vietnam. We worked through the national Drafting Committee to structure the RIA, collect the data, prepare the analysis, and prepare the final report for the National Assembly to assist its debates on the content of the new law. In addition, we prepared training materials and conducted training.

Vietnam, UNDP, 2008.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates was asked to complete a regulatory impact analysis (RIA) of the Turkish automobile sector in a project led by Eurohorizons. This project will identify the major costs and benefits for producers, stakeholders, and government of abolishing import permits. The Turkish government drew lessons from the automobile RIA for the development of RIA methodology in the context of further EU harmonization efforts.

Turkey, Eurohorizons Consulting & Communications, 2008.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates designed a 19-month Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) training program for Turkish senior officials and rule makers as well as a communication and outreach initiative for private stakeholders. Jacobs, Cordova & Associates implemented this comprehensive training program through a series of seminars, workshops, study tours, and internet-enhanced help desk. We also monitored and benchmarked the institutional setting for rule making in Turkey. The project also included a review and enhancement of Turkish consultation policies and practices in particular through the setting of minimum quality standards.

Turkey, European Commission, 2008-2009.

Since 2007,Jacobs, Cordova & Associates assisted the World Bank/IFC/FIAS to develop and implement a systemic reform strategy to improve the regulatory environment at sub national levels of government in the region. Most of the work focused on launching regulatory guillotines in 3 municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), 4 in Serbia and 3 in Montenegro. For each ‘municipal guillotine’, a complete registry of licenses and permits was created and posted on internet. This inventory has then be reviewed by stakeholders and by a task force of lawyers and economists verifying the legality, necessity and business friendliness of all formalities listed by public authorities. Only those publicly justified have been included in an internet-based registry. Overall, the municipal guillotines have permitted a 10 to 40% reduction of the number of formalities and the simplification of more than 2/3 of the remaining ones. Many of the reforms have targeted costly formalities documented in the Doing Business Reports. In parallel, JC&A supported the development of two pilots RIAs at national and at regional level as well as improving the inception systems in one of the regional entities of BiH. In 2008, World Bank IFC/FIAS asked JC&A for further support to assist the review and the creation of new registries in more a dozen of municipalities in Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro and continue its work on RIA, Guillotines and inspection reform.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Serbia, and Montenegro, The World Bank/IFC/FIAS, 2007-2009.

Through the Economic Development Foundation (IKV is a think tank of the Turkish Chamber of Commerce), Jacobs, Cordova & Associates provided a series of tailored RIA courses to both Turkish officials and business leaders. These courses were meant to prepare the Turkish private sector for accession negotiations with the E.U. These courses helped to build valuable capacities in Turkey to use RIA during and after Accession and with the mandatory European Impact Assessment system set up by the European Commission.

Turkey, Economic Development Foundation, 2008.

This workshop sponsored by the International Training Center of the International Labor Organization (ILO) was delivered to high-level officials from the Costa Rica Government in San Jose in June 2007. Its objectives were to raise awareness on the different aspects of a systemic regulatory policy and introduce key regulatory reform tools such as RIA, administrative burdens reduction initiatives and active regulatory consultation.

Costa Rica, ILO, 2007.

Georgia has made significant progress in regulatory reform, particularly licensing simplification, and is now emphasizing the institutionalization of regulatory impact analysis (RIA) capacities into the public administration to improve the quality of regulation into the future. In this project, Scott Jacobs analyzed the ongoing plans for introducing a RIA program, and identified eight recommendations for strengthening the useful work that has already been done on the RIA program.

Georgia, Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia, 2007.

In response to EC adoption of the communication "Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs in the European Union", Turkey is focusing on how to improve its regulatory capacity. This six-month project built capacities at the Better Regulation Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office and ministry level to help all the public administration to comply by February 2007 with the new RIA requirements mandated by the “Government Decree on Procedures and Principles of Legislation Drafting”. The final report presented action plan for long-term RIA training and capabilities in Turkey. An important element of the project was the Pilot RIA of the law reforming and restructuring the public laboratories in the country.

Turkey, European Commission, 2007.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates assisted the Bulgarian government in 2006 in evaluating its pilot RIA program, and in charting a course to institutionalize RIA into legal and regulatory development. We drafted for the government a “convergence program” with ten recommended reforms to assist Bulgaria in developing a national regulatory management program that would converge most quickly with good European regulatory practices.

Bulgaria, Commercial Law Reform Project, U.S. Agency for International Development, 2007.

Preparation of training materials and delivery of 5 days of Training for Trainers in Regulatory Impact Assessment

Moldova, DAI/U.S. Agency for International Development, 2006.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates held a series of RIA training courses and RIA workshops for the Health and Consumer Protection DG of the European Commission These intensive training course introduced participants to the principles, concepts, and practices of IA, using examples and mini-cases from the EU and around the world and included targeted workshops on such topics as RIA data collection. JC&A also prepared a supplementary RIA manual for DG SANCO to supplement the Commission’s 2005 RIA Guidance.

Belgium, European Commission, 2006.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates placed a fulltime regulatory reform expert in Kiev to work with the State Council on Regulatory Reform and Entrepreneurship and local governments, under the USAID BizPro project led by DAI. This expert provided diagnostics, solution design, implementation assistance, and legal drafting to improve Ukraine’s legal and regulatory environment for business growth, including RIA, the national system of One Stop Shops, and the rapid deregulation approach based on the Regulatory Guillotine™ method.

Ukraine, U.S. Agency for International Development, 2004-2006.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates held RIA training courses for the Regulatory Reform Council.

Serbia, World Bank, 2005.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates prepared a report for the Canadian Competition Bureau exploring how seven leading OECD countries undertook ex ante competition analysis during their rulemaking processes. The report concludes that it is important to consider that widening the mandate of competition authorities to ex ante analysis of draft regulations would have important resources implications and impacts on the administrative frameworks of these bodies, which so far have mostly concentrated on enforcement matters and ex-post analysis.

Canada, Canadian Competition Bureau, 2005.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates carried out an extensive diagnostic and assessment titled, Regulatory management and administrative simplification in Belgium and Flanders. We detailed a set of recommendations for improving regulatory management through better use of tools such as RIA.

Belgium and Flanders, Governments of Belgium and Flanders, 2004.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates held a RIA training course for the Ministry of Commerce.

China, Ministry of Commerce, 2004.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates held a one-week RIA training course for the Prime Minister’s Office and Regulatory Reform Council. Korea,

Government of Korea, 2003.