Foreword

Regulations and laws play a fundamental role in achieving public policy objectives, including the protection of human health, the environment, the fight against monopolies, or the efficient provision of water and sanitation services, among many others. Good quality regulations pursue these goals, while ensuring that the benefits that they generate for society are greater than their costs.

Regulatory impact assessment (RIA) is one of the main regulatory management tools recommended by the OECD to improve the quality of government intervention. It allows policy makers to ensure, for example, that a draft regulation addresses a relevant public problem, and that it is the best available alternative in contrast to, for instance, a tax or a subsidy. RIA also helps ensure that the draft regulation will bring a net positive benefit to society.

The 2016 OECD report Regulatory Policy in Peru. Assembling the Framework for Regulatory Quality recommended that economic regulators introduce an ex ante impact assessment system independent from that of Peru’s central government. This report provides guidance for implementing RIA at the National Superintendence of Sanitation Services (Sunass), the agency responsible for regulating and supervising the provision of sanitation services in Peru. It documents and assesses the agency’s process for issuing rules and identifies key elements for systematically implementing RIA. The report recommends designing legal reforms needed to establish RIA as a permanent practice and ensuring the necessary training for staff responsible for developing RIAs.

The report also includes technical guidelines that will help Sunass officials conduct an RIA, including undertaking public consultation and stakeholder participation, properly identifying the public policy problem at hand, and performing the cost-benefit analysis, among others.

The report is based on the 2012 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance, which considers the RIA as a core element for regulatory quality. The assessment and recommendations in this report also build on the OECD Best Practice Principles for Regulatory Policy: Regulatory Impact Assessment.

This report is the result of an ample process of consultation with stakeholders through a physical mission in March 2019 and a virtual capacity-building workshop in November 2020. It was prepared by the Secretariat for publication.