The role of regulation as an instrument of innovation policy should be strengthened

A report commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Office entitled “Innovation-friendly regulation: Current situation and good practices” has been published. The report presents the framework for innovation-friendly regulation and describes the current state of innovation-friendly regulation in Finland. In addition, good practices related to innovation-friendly regulation have been identified in Finland and internationally. In addition to the overview, the topic has been examined via three sectoral examples (platform economy, circular economy and the utilisation of health information).

The conclusions of the study on the current state of innovation-friendly regulation state, among other things, that the importance of innovation-friendly regulation has been widely recognised in Finland, but in practice it has been taken into account in various ways in different administrative sectors. As concrete policy measures, the report recommends a more precise definition of the general principles and framework conditions for innovation-friendly regulation, the strengthening of inter-ministerial co-administrative co-operation, the clarification of guidelines for the evaluation of legislative proposals and the development of dialogue between authorities and companies. In addition, the report calls for the strengthening of the role of regulation as an instrument of innovation policy, for the bolder use of innovation-friendly legislative solutions (eg experiments), for greater identification and anticipation of regulatory needs and for the more effective use of advisory and enforcement practices.

MDI were involved in the VN TEAS project led by 4Front, implemented as part of the Government’s 2019 study and research plan. Technopolis Group, KPMG and Tuomas Takalo (Bank of Finland / VATT) and Otto Toivanen (Aalto University) were also partners in the study.

Materials

Policy Brief (in English)

Report