The aim of this intensive 4-month project is to support the multi-year reform of Kenya's licenses and permits environment in order to reach by 2012 a 25% reduction of regulatory burdens for businesses. For this project, Jacobs, Cordova & Associates is deploying practical and adapted Standard Cost Measurement methods and tools to:

• Assess in detail the compliance costs for 26 high-priority licenses affecting key economic sectors.
• Design a model that can model the compliance costs for all business licenses currently based on a sample of representative ones.
• Monitor and evaluate the implementation of reforms launched since 2005.

Kenya, The World Bank/IFC, 2011-2012.

The Regulatory Capacity Review of the EAC, carried out in 2010 by Jacobs, Cordova & Associates, is a major analysis of the EAC institutions. We reviewed the capacities of the EAC institutions to develop, adopt, and implement the regulatory policies needed for the EAC Common Market to work effectively in the 5 Partner States (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi). The regulatory policies under review included the Treaty, the Common Market Protocol and its developing body of regulations through Annexes and Schedules, and Acts of the Legislative Assembly. The Review covers the East African Community's policies, institutions and processes for making quality regulation, including how the EAC institutions interact with Partner States. Our review draws from relevant lessons from other international entities implementing economic regional agreements, such as the European Union, OHAOA, and COMESA, to better understand the regulatory quality processes, capacities needed and lessons that can be learned.

East Africa, The World Bank/IFC, 2010.

Business registration reform in Vietnam has been planned for almost a decade. This work accelerated in 2008 with adoption of new legal authorities and with external financing and technical assistance under the Norad funded MPI/UNIDO project. Our evaluation report assessed the project design, progress made to date, and the desirability of continued investment in further phases of the project. This project assessment covered the period through end December 2009.

Vietnam, Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), And NORAD, 2010.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates assisted the OECD in conducting the national review of regulatory reform in Italy done as part of the influential OECD program on regulatory reform. We prepared the OECD synthesis report that developed the analysis and recommendations for improving regulatory practices in Italy. Scott Jacobs was the lead author of the synthesis report published in 2010 as OECD Reviews of Regulatory Reform - Italy: Better Regulation to Strengthen Market Dynamics.

Italy, OECD, 2008-2010.

The Report can be purchased at http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?K=5KSJ6BJ1DXQ7&CID=back-to-school&LANG=fr

For the province of Ontario, we assessed the main components of the Open for Business program, and provided snapshots of 15 “good practice” reforms from other OECD countries that might be useful in designing and implementing an effective business-oriented program of regulatory reform.

Canada, Minister of Economic Development Ontario, Canada, 2009.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates was in charge of conducting the ‘conditionality related’ Second Annual Review of the Regulatory & Investment Systems for Enterprise Growth in Bangladesh (RISE) project UK Department for International Development. RISE is a 20 million pound five-year project to (1) streamline regulation; (2) enhance Government of Bangladesh’s capacity to support growth, and (3) raisie growth benefits through developing zones and parks, and improving labor and environmental standards within zones. The review identified key lessons and risks emerging during the implementation and assesses the likelihood of the project achieving its outputs and purpose in particular in the light of improving the country ranking in terms of Doing Business indicators.

Bangladesh, DFID Bangladesh, 2009.

European Network for Better Regulation is a pan-European network of 21 partner institutions, which aims at improving and disseminating the current knowledge on regulatory processes as well as the degree and mode of implementation of impact assessment procedures in EU member states. The ENBR was awarded funding by the European Commission under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for the period 2006-2008 Jacobs, Cordova & Associates worked with a consortium of European regulatory experts, under a European Commission project, to develop a Europe-wide database on RIA practices, as part of the 6th Framework Programme, Citizens & Governance in a Knowledge-based Society. Scott Jacobs served on the ENBR Steering Committee and assisted in the development of the indicators to be contained in the Database on Impact Assessment Development in European Member states (DIADEM).

EU-Wide, European Commission, 2005-2008.

See the ENBR website at http://www.enbr.org/home.php And for more information on the DIADEM, see: http://www.enbr.org/diadem.php

Treasury Board wished to develop broad-based indicators that measure the Government’s success in implementing its regulatory reform agenda. Much has been invested in Canada’s regulatory reform. We suggested several steps to develop options for developing indicators over time. Our paper clarified aspects of the Canadian reforms that are relevant to the selection of indicators, reviewed international experience with indicators, and recommended an expanding program of regulatory performance indicators based on criteria of relevance and practicality.

Canada, Policy Research Initiative, 2009.

The objectives of this high-level project were to assist the Prime Minister of Albania to assess the results of Albania’s business environment reforms and map out the policy options for the next government. As a first step, we analyzed and took stock of the work done on licensing and inspections in Albania over the past 5 years (including but not limited to understanding the reasons behind the poor ranking of Albania’s World Bank Doing Business indicators). Based on this diagnostic, we advised the Prime Minister on the best way to define the next steps in the reform process in line with the proposed work done by the donors on these reforms, and to monitor progress on this reform. One of the key recommendations was the design of a methodological approach – based on impact assessment techniques – to discuss, evaluate, and decide on a inspection reform policy for the country.

Albania, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy (METE), 2008.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates, partnered with the College of Europe to assist the University of Jordan in the development of a Regulatory Master’s Program and to provide capacity-building support through the first year’s Master’s program. This project provides a platform for enhancing effective regulation in the Jordanian infrastructure sector (and the region) through an endogenous process of developing skilled professionals able to take regulation reform forward successfully. Jordan, University of

Jordan and the European Commission, 2008. See Announcement Here:

http://www.coleurop.be/content/development/references-academiccooperation/Jordan.html

• Assisted OECD in the design mechanisms and international practices for systematic reviews of existing regulations.
• Provided advice and solution design to OECD on key inputs during the review process.
• Reviewed OECD periodic and final reports or the OECD consultants.
• Punctual advice on emerging issues during the review process
• Supported OECD in the preparation of meetings (assistance with selection of international experts, preparation of discussion notes, etc.)

We participated in official meetings with Mexican government officials, representatives of the business community and donors. We reviewed progress and comment reports during the appraisal phase and prepare a series of discussion notes and concept papers for Mexican and OECD officials and experts.

Mexico, OECD, 2008.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates worked with the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) in the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to create an evaluation tool that can be used to identify regulatory text that is of low quality and that creates unnecessary costs and risks for economic actors. This tool, in the form of a Checklist, consists of simple quality tests that can be used to score a legal normative document article by article. Using an Excel tool, articles that are unacceptably low in quality can be identified, the nature of the problem can be diagnosed, and corrective action can be taken. It can be used by drafters, reviewers, and stakeholders.

Vietnam, UNDP, 2008.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates prepared a series of case studies from around the world on the management of stakeholders in the reform of business registries. Using case studies from 10 countries, this report examines how diverse interests (classified into groups called “stakeholders”) participated in reforms aimed at reducing the costs, delays, and corruption associated with the business registration functions of government. The analysis identifies how reformers can purposefully “manage” stakeholders to expand and sustain the capacity for change within the political economy. The report was published by the World Bank in 2009. Worldwide,

World Bank/FIAS, 2007.

Download Report Here:

http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/fias.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PublicationORP_StakeholderManagement/$FILE/StakeholderManagement_.pdf

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, USAID, 2007.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates assessed regulatory practices, business environments, and related reforms across South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), and recommended a package of institutional reforms to assist the region in catching up with other Asian countries. In brief, we concluded, “The South Asia region is in the midst of an historic turn toward market-based development, but regulatory practices and policies lag far behind changes in economic strategy.”

Asia,The World Bank/FIAS, 2005.

Download our summary report here: http://www.regulatoryreform.com/pdfs/Regulatory%20reform%20in%20South%20Asia%20Jacobs.pdf

See Third South Asia High-Level Investment Roundtable Implementing Regulatory Reform Conference page here: http://www.fias.net/ifcext/fias.nsf/Content/FIAS_Resources_Conferences_SARoundTable

Good Practices for Business Inspections: Guidelines for Reformers, prepared by Scott Jacobs and Cesar Cordova, was published by the World Bank Group in its influential series of toolkits for better business environments. In this State of the art report Jacobs, Cordova & Associates examined key practices of effective inspections for the protection of human health and safety and the environment. The report presents a checklist of good practices for such inspections. Finally, it analyses the best practices for inspection training, accountability, and administrative procedures using the experience of Mexico and the U.S.

Multi-Country, World Bank/IFC, 2006.

Download Report Here: http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/sme.nsf/Content/BEE+Toolkits

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates continually monitors the use of Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) around the world. In our 2006 report, Current Trends in Regulatory Impact Analysis: The Challenges of Mainstreaming RIA into Policy-making, Jacobs, Cordova & Associates examines global trends in RIA. We find that RIA is being mainstreamed into policy processes, but that new issues and tensions are emerging as result. Our conclusion is that, to reach a sustainable level of RIA quality, governments need a clear strategy aimed at the institutionalization of capacities and incentives within the machinery of government. Such a strategy rests on a series of good RIA practices: clearer targeting strategies, development of multi-level consultation strategies, more attention to data collection and data quality issues, more investment in training, effective quality control through central RIA units and ministerial accountability, better use of scarce scientific resources, and better technical RIA manuals.

Worldwide, 2006.

Download report here: www.regulatoryreform.com/pdfs/Current%20Trends%20and%20Processes%20in% 20RIA%20-%20May%202006%20Jacobs%20and% 20Associates.pdf

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates was selected to carry out the external assessment of the first ten years of the program of the Foreign Investment Advisory Service to Reduce Administrative Barriers to Investment. It was contracted as “an independent review of FIAS work on administrative barriers to identify the impact of the work in improving investment environments, what seems to work best, and how this work should evolve in the future, with a particular focus on improving sound implementation of sustainable reforms.” Our assessment studied several key questions: “How effective has FIAS been in getting results? How can the FIAS approach be improved, in light of past experience and changing opportunities and constraints?” We made a number of recommendations to improve the value for money of the FIAS program.

World Wide, The World Bank/FIAS, 2004.

Jacobs, Cordova & Associates prepared an assessment of the performance of the Council of Competitiveness in Egypt.

Egypt, UNIDO,2004.