Overseeing the Overseers

The aim of the Smart Regulation, Good Connections programme (Sggv) was to reduce the burden of regulations on businesses and improve the efficiency of government oversight and the service provided by the authorities. Companies in various parts of the production chain and the authorities collaborated to develop measures (particularly ICT) to reduce the cost of regulatory oversight to the companies affected. These measures were developed and tested in cases under the supervision of Sggv. The cases were then handed over to the supply chain partners concerned, who were responsible for further developing them and scaling them up.

The programme Sggv came to an end in December 2012. SEO was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to measure the effects of the measures and to examine the effectiveness of the approach adopted in broad economic terms. It also looked at how the benefits could be assured once the programme ended.

SEO concluded that the cases studied have a positive balance of quantified effects. However, some effects – both benefits and costs –, possibly of a substantial nature, were not quantified. The programme targeted the core of the problem; the approach adopted worked in practice and the public-private partnership programme was highly regarded by those involved in the cases. Points were also noted that provide lessons for the future. Now that the programme has ended the benefits are not structurally assured without additional efforts. Including minimizing the cost of oversight to the companies affected in the official objectives of the regulatory authorities concerned is therefore worth considering. The survey also recommends continuing to pay attention to coordinating the oversight activities of the various authorities involved so as to keep the cost to the companies affected to a minimum.