CADS10 Castellano. 2006 - Generalitat de Catalunya

2. To integrate multiple political objectives
RIA can be used as a common integrating framework for exposing the impacts
and links between policies, and for granting the decision makers the capacity
to weigh up competing interests.
3. To improve transparency and consultation
In many countries, regulatory assessment is closely related with public
consultation processes. The inclusion of RIA in the consultations has increased
the transparency of the regulatory processes, provided increased control
over the quality of the assessments and improved the information on which
the decisions are based.
4. To improve government accountability
RIA can improve the involvement and accountability of the decision makers,
since it provides clear, detailed information, and shows how the government’s
decisions benefit society.
Despite these common objectives, Jacobs himself (1997) recognises that RIA is a
flexible tool. Certain countries limit their assessment to analysing impact on companies,
while others carry out more exhaustive assessments that include analysing social,
environmental and economic impacts. This is why RIA is used as a tool in deregulation
strategies as well as in strategies aimed at regulatory quality.
There is a growing body of literature that attempts to reveal convergence between
the RIAs of different countries, in terms of substance (contents) and procedures
(processes), as well as attempts to create international standards and good
practices. In this sense, the Mandelkern Report –report drawn up in 2001 by a
top-level consultancy group made up of regulation experts from EU member
States and the European Commission– points out that, although there are
271