This project implemented by the Institute for Contemporary Studies under the NOSA Good Governance strategy aims to review and bring to Albania some of the best practices of law and policy making in various countries. The goal of the project is to use the lessons learned from such practices to build an efficient, transparent and participatory law/policy/decision making process in Albania. Three are the areas of the project concentration:

- review of international practice,
- review of law and policy making practices in Albania,
- capacity building of governmental and civil society organizations to participate in efficient law making.

In the component of studying international best practice, special attention has been paid to regulatory impact assessment methodologies. These methodologies are designed to forecast and measure some of the expected impacts of the laws/decision/policies to be made for the purpose of making remarkable improvements to the existing policy and law making process. As part of the project, the experience of a number of new democracies in Eastern Europe and the Balkans has been studies. The data have now been published electronically, too. To view the documents in PDF click here.

The other component of the project Review of the policymaking process in Albania aims to identify problems and issues in order to be able to design strategies to improve the process of policy making in the country. Real and sustainable improvement will continue to be for very long at the center of the government’s reformation efforts as it is one of the prerequisites for Albania’s integration into the EU. It constitutes one of the more important aspects of good governance in both its two basic elements: democratic governance and productive governance. The analysis conducted by ICS staff provides a review of the procedures, the standards and actual capacities, the opportunities and adversaries of ensuring an adequate decision making process. The reviewers paid great attention to the accountability and accountancy of decision makers as well as to the participation of communities in policy and decision making processes. To view the document in PDF click here.

In addition, the analysis of the law making process in Albania identifies the principles that should underpin the policy making processes in Albania and the obstacles to the attainment of adequate standards. The laws should seek the most sustainable and cost effective solutions with the least of undesirable negative consequences. The ICS study makes a thorough analysis of the process of drafting normative acts in Albania. It also brings forth a number of alternative ideas towards making improvements in the existing techniques. To view the document in PDF click here.