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Regulatory Innovation Assessment Framework
Supporting UK regulators to encourage innovation in a rapidly evolving landscape 

PUBLIC’s practical, free framework helps you assess your organisation’s innovation capabilities: 
  • Tailored for UK regulatory bodies  
  • Based on interviews with regulators and cross-sector regulatory experience
  • Translates ‘pro innovation’ principles into actionable insights
  • Adaptable for regulatory bodies of all sizes and remits
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Regulatory Innovation in Practice 

In an era where emerging technologies are reshaping industries and markets, UK regulators face dual challenges:
  1. Adapting to rapid technological change 
  2. Maintaining effective governance 
PUBLIC’s Regulatory Innovation Assessment Framework helps you navigate these challenges. Designed as an initial step, this tool enables you to: 
  • Assess your current innovation capabilities
  • Identify key performance gaps
  • Action steps to enhance your ‘pro-innovation’ approach
  • Support long-term innovation planning
Our framework evaluates four critical factors to determine whether regulators are equipped to be ‘pro-innovation’ and enabling effective responses to emerging technologies:
Skills and
Expertise
Data and Technology
Horizon Scanning and Intelligence
Culture of Innovation

Skills &
Expertise

Skills and Expertise
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Regulators should have deep and varied practitioner expertise in relevant regulated sectors, which is enabled by effective innovation learning and cross-functional working.
Skills and Expertise
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Regulators should have deep and varied practitioner expertise in relevant regulated sectors, which is enabled by effective innovation learning and cross-functional working.
Skills and Expertise
Regulators should have deep and varied practitioner expertise in relevant regulated sectors, which is enabled by effective innovation learning and cross-functional working.
Learn more
Skills & Expertise
Regulators should have deep and varied practitioner expertise in relevant regulated sectors, which is enabled by effective innovation learning and cross-functional working.
Learn more

Data &
Technology

Data & Technology
Regulators should have access to and use innovative technology driven tools; and the collect data which has the quality and accessibility which enables tools to be developed, and other innovative regulatory practices to take place.
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Horizon Scanning, 
Research & Intelligence

Regulators should engage in horizon scanning, intimate market analysis & intelligence, and societal trend monitoring to keep track of external technology advancements which impacted regulatory activities.
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Horizon Scanning and Intelligence
Horizon Scanning, Research & Intelligence
Regulators should engage in horizon scanning, intimate market analysis & intelligence, and societal trend monitoring to keep track of external technology advancements which impacted regulatory activities.
Learn more

Innovation Culture & Collaboration

Innovation Culture &
Collaboration
Regulators should invest in building an innovative organisational culture which encourages collaboration internally and with other regulators.
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Skills & Expertise

Development and maintenance of relevant skills and expertise to support regulatory innovation.

Technical Expertise

Ensuring staff possess the necessary technical expertise is critical for addressing complex regulatory challenges efficiently

Learning & Development

Implementing relevant and necessary learning and development programmes supports continuous professional growth and knowledge transfer within the organisation

Cross-Functional Working

Facilitating cross-functional working enhances the regulator's ability to approach issues holistically and develop well-rounded solutions.

Implementing effective change management practices ensures smooth transitions during regulatory updates, minimises disruption, and supports stakeholder adaptation to new requirements

Change Management

What does this look like
in practice?

Ofcom, the CMA, the ICO, and the FCA have through the Digital Regulatory Cooperation Forum (DRCF) established a skills and expertise pooling arrangement, to enable unique cross-regulator collaboration and information sharing. Furthermore, they have been proactive in recruiting externally externally to ensure technology capability within Ofcom.

The Australian eSafetyCommissioner has set out a technology strategy and roadmap recognising that technology and digital capability is a key enabler in helping them achieve their supervisory objectives. This has included proactive investment in regulatory investigations technologies and technical capabilities; the enhancement of core ICT delivery, governance and cyber security capabilities; and an optimisation of award-winning public facing digital products, resources and services.

Spotlight

Data & Technology

Regular access and use of technology tools and collection of quality and accessible data, which enables tools to be developed, and other innovative regulatory practices to take place.

External Tooling

Utilising external tools can enhance the regulator’s capabilities and streamline regulatory processes, for example through integrating APIs and utilising data sharing tools

Internal Tooling

Developing and optimising internal tooling improves operational efficiency and the regulator's ability to manage and analyse data effectively

Data

Ensuring high-quality data collection, access, and management is essential for informed decision-making and effective regulatory oversight

What does this look like
in practice?

CONTENT MISSING

Spotlight

Horizon Scanning, Research & Intelligence

Horizon scanning, research and intelligence gathering to keep track of technology trends and market developments which may impact regulatory activities.

Horizon Scanning

Conducting horizon scanning allows the regulator to anticipate emerging trends and prepare proactive regulatory responses

Market Research & Analysis

Performing detailed market analysis provides insights into market behaviours and helps the regulator understand potential regulatory impacts

Collaborative Intelligence

Leveraging collaborative intelligence fosters information sharing and collective problem-solving across the regulatory landscape

Data-Driven Decision-Making

Implementing data-driven decision-making ensures that the regulator's actions are based on objective and reliable data

What does this look like
in practice?

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) has a systematic horizon scanning process which identifies and monitors new and emerging healthtechnologies that are likely to have a significant impact on the delivery of health care in Canada. This develops products to support health care decision-makersand health care providers across Canada, supporting planning and priority setting by increasing awareness of new and emerging health technologies.

The UK Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) is an independent expert committee that identifies the implications of technological innovation, and provides the government with impartial, expert advice on the regulatory reform required to support its rapid and safe introduction.

Spotlight

Innovation Culture & Collaboration

Culture of innovation and collaboration with other regulators and partners.

Collaboration

Developing and executing a strategy for collaboration with other regulators, public sector stakeholders and duty holders enables effective engagement and efficient, innovative regulatory implementation

Piloting & Experimentation

Encouraging piloting and experimentation allows the regulator to test new approaches and innovations in a controlled environment

Facilitating knowledge sharing accelerates learning and the dissemination of best practices across the regulatory ecosystem

Knowledge & Resource Sharing

Feedback & Continuous Improvement

Establishing mechanisms for receiving and integrating feedback ensures continuous improvement and iteration based on stakeholder inputs

What does this look like
in practice?

Spotlight

Ofcom, the CMA, the ICO, and the FCA have through the Digital Regulatory Cooperation Forum (DRCF) established a skills and expertise pooling arrangement, to enable unique cross-regulator collaboration and information sharing. Furthermore, they have been proactive in recruiting externally externally to ensure technology capability within Ofcom.

The Australian eSafetyCommissioner has set out a technology strategy and roadmap recognising that technology and digital capability is a key enabler in helping them achieve their supervisory objectives. This has included proactive investment in regulatory investigations technologies and technical capabilities; the enhancement of core ICT delivery, governance and cyber security capabilities; and an optimisation of award-winning public facing digital products, resources and services.

Understanding Your Results

In the assessment, you will be asked to rate your level of agreement with various statements. We use a best practice Likert scale, which ranges from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” This allows for ease of comparison and understanding of results.

Based on your responses, we will then provide you with a high-level assessment of maturity for each Capability using a consistent set of capability maturity categories defined below:
Skills and
Expertise
Data and Technology
Horizon Scanning and Intelligence
Culture of Innovation
  • Mature: Capability is sophisticated and considered best practice by practitioners and stakeholders; flexible and built to respond to change
  • Maturing: Capability is functional and largely effective but there is evidence of suboptimal performance that may may limit ability to maximise innovation, investment and growth
  • Moderate: Capability is mostly functional but usually with one or more capability gaps; improvements are likely necessary to improve performance.
  • Basic: Capability is performed ad-hoc and at a very basic level; there is a lack of consistency and very few resources utilised in this area
  • Not Evident: Little or no evidence of this capability