World Dialogue on Regulation

Getting one or two questions added to a national census is a politically charged and expensive route for gathering the needed information – but is nonetheless the route most often taken.

While comparable indicators may have their use, in many instances, there may be more practical strategies for collecting information that is more complete than what already exists and for project or policy development is likely to be sufficiently accurate. An example of this is to go through the Ministry of Education or even the local school boards for information about ICT availability and use at the school or classroom level – rather than through the national statistical institutes. A collection of such practical strategies might prove useful for gather data of similar or better quality with reduced expense and bureaucracy.

Another important strategy is the secondary use of data sets – using existing data sets for different purposes and combining datasets for reanalysis. There is a tendency to push for collection of data on indicators, with less attention being given to creative approaches to secondary analysis which can be equally revealing. For developing countries in particular this may be the fastest, best and cheapest way to shed initial light on a number of key issues.

This area will also focus on exchanging, adapting and evaluating methodologies within and across regions. In this, LIRNEasia will be actively promoting the utilization of OECD basket methodologies for tariffs in cooperation with regulators and operators.

Key Projects
WDR Dialogue – a moderated online space will be available for ongoing contributions on practical strategies and to highlight new methodological resources.

A research project on the overall Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) methodology and cross-regional results to-date will be undertaken to provide a summary assessment of the instrument as well as to reflect on the instrument’s design and implementation for application more widely in the future.