From: Nextgov
By Mark Forman
Here’s what the U.S. can learn about digitizing regulations from two of the largest economies.
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Government CIOs around the world should take note. If the World Bank and key reformers have it right, digital government strategies need to include digitization of regulatory approaches, removing barriers to economic growth and focusing efforts on violators rather placing equal burdens on all companies in an industry.
The issue at hand is how to balance the compliance burden with effective protection of public interests. Historically, regulations were created in response to a horror story, such as cancer caused by companies improperly disposing of toxic waste. Over time, many governments have amassed a Rubik’s cube of overlapping and often confusing regulations. Reporting was based on voluminous paperwork submissions, each regulation with its own form that companies fill out by hand usually using data printed out from multiple systems.
