Improving the National and European Policies through Impact Assessment' Implementation

• Author: Tatiana-Camelia Dogaru
• Position: Assistant Professor, PhD, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania
• Pages: 380-388

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives 2014

380

Cross-border Structures and Europeanism

Improving the National and European

Policies through Impact Assessment’ Implementation

Tatiana-Camelia Dogaru

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Abstract: Challenges for public policy beca me more numerous, complex and more interconnected, and

modern states are forced to make important changes in the governance process and promotion of citizens’

welfare. Focusing on development of coherent public policies, the conventional approaches appear to be

insufficient in clarifying and complete understanding of the many p roblems caused by the growing need for

state intervention in all economic and social aspects a nd require renewal of research’ methods. Renewing the

methods of r esearch stresses the contribution of public policy a nalysis to understand the current reality. The

added value of this kind of analysis consist both in instruments set used, in richness and relevance of the

interpretations that this analysis allows, as well as in guiding the national and international interest towards

development and using of some i nstruments of public p olicy (Lee & Kirkpatrick , 2006). The study looks at

the purpose, scope and procedures of impact assessments carried out in the European Commission and several

Member States of the EU.

Keywords: Impact assessment; European and national practice; policy analysis

1. Different approaches to Impact Assessment

Impact assessment (IA), as a key element of legislative process and public policy-making has attracted

the attention of many international actors. From a conceptual point of view, there is no single or

general definition of impact assessment. The IA is better understood both as instrument of public

policy analysis (Fischer, Miller & Sidney, 2007; Knoepfel, Larrue, Varone, & Hill, 2007) contributing

to a better selection of public policy alternatives (Hirkpatrick & Parker, 2007) and “formal evaluation

of activities initiated and coordinated by governmental administration during the policy-making

process” (Klaus, Hertin, et al., 2008). From OECD perspective, IA represents an “analytical approach

based on information in order to evaluate the possible costs, consequences and effects of a planned

instrument of public policies (OECD, 2001).

Impact assessment has been defined as “a set of logical steps to be followed when you prepare a policy

proposal. It is a process that prepares evidences for political decision-makers on the advantages and

disadvantages of public policy options by assessing their potential impacts [economic, social and

environmental]” (European Commission, 2009). The database on the practice of impact assessment in

the EU Member States (DIADEM) defines impact assessment as follows “a systematic, mandatory and

consistent of social, economic or environmental aspects or impacts [such as benefits and/or costs] of

affecting external interests of governments, of regulation proposals and other kinds of public policy

instruments, to: (a) subtend the public policy decisions before adopting; (b) assess external impacts of

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Assistant Pr ofessor, PhD, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania, Address: 6 Povernei

Street, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania, Tel.: +4021.318.08.97, Corresponding author: dogaru_tatiana@yahoo.com.