Presentation by Lorenzo Allio at the OECD Global Conference on Governance Innovation which took place in Paris on 13-14 January 2020. Further information is available at http://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/oecd-global-conference-on-governance-innovation.htm.

1. Experimental governance
and
regulatory approaches
Lorenzo Allio
Senior Policy Analyst
European Risk Forum
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OECD Global Conference on Governance Innovation
Towards Agile Regulatory Frameworks in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Paris, 13-14 January 2020

2. Initial considerations
• 4th Industrial Revolution: convergence of numerous innovations
• A dazzling effect? Radical and incremental innovation
– Fragrance industry
– Single-serve coffee capsules
• Are the traditional regulatory tools / approaches no longer fit for
purpose?
• How normal can “experimental” be?
– Flexibility, adaptability, responsiveness
– Predictability? Data intensity? Industry’s regulatory maturity? IP
protection? Regulator’s enforcement capacity?
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3. Traditional “agile” approaches:
― forgotten / neglected?
For instance, two old friends of the regulatory policy toolkit
• Self-regulation
– Alcohol industry
– Video-on-Demand industry
• Soft law
– Autonomous vehicles
– Veterinary medicine / crop protection / biocides / …
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4. Normalising experimentalism
― “1+2” levels for future-proofed decision-making
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UPSTREAM
Societal goals, foresight, research policy
THROUGHOUT
Policy elaboration and legislative design
Regulatory process
DOWNSTREAM
Regulatory implementation

5. • THROUGHOUT
Policy elaboration and legislative design
Regulatory process
• DOWNSTREAM
Regulatory implementation
Normalising experimentalism
― “1+2” levels for future-proofed decision-making
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- technology neutral
- outcome-based
- risk-based
- coherent
• e.g. Chemicals management
& Low Carbon Economy
- risk-risk / risk-benefit
analyses
- dynamic impacts
- R&I investment impacts
• Capitalised development costs,
Defensive R&D, Stigmatisation
- (science) quality standards
- due process standards
- rule of law
• RIA, consultation, oversight,
redress

6. www.riskforum.eu
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7. Concluding considerations
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• Successfully tackling the innovation–regulation interface requires
– managing complex and pro-active decision-making: what is proportionate?
– establishing and nurturing trust between industry, NGOs (consumers,
patients), experts, regulators: how high must the bar be?
– agreeing on a shared societal acceptance of taking risk, and the
(re-)allocation of the benefits thereof: who sets the level?
• What can experimental governance deliver in these three respects?
• What policy fields are particularly (not) prone to experimental
approaches?
• Experimentalism helps foster agility and responsiveness, but can it
become the norm / the benchmark to gauge good regulatory practice?
• Regulatory policy to truly make the default regulatory framework into
one of the enabling conditions for innovation.

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THANK YOU !
Happy to discuss
lorenzo.allio@riskforum.eu