Decisions/Regulatory Impact Assessment; The lost topic of decision-making in the public sector

Governors and policymakers make efforts to improve the comfort, satisfaction and public trust in society, and their most important tools to achieve that, is the decisions and policies that they are making. If these decisions and policies are sudden and without thinking and regard to its consequences, it will not only help solve problems and challenges, but also become a new problem, and more cost and more resources will be used to solve them. The reasonable and wise decision is the result of assessing and evaluating its consequences. Impact Assessment means predicting and analyzing the possible consequences of a decision. Impact Assessment is done based on accurate and valid evidence and information. Impact Assessment informs decision makers about the possible consequences before making a decision. The use of Decisions and Regulatory Impact Assessment process in OECD countries began in 1974 and the use of its tools has continued since 2008. Some Asian countries, including Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia also use this method to improve the quality of decisions and regulations. Unfortunately, despite the religious recommendations and beliefs in our culture, this approach is not used to improve the quality of decisions and regulations in the country. The present article aims at introducing the Impact Assessment of decisions and regulations as a tool for better decision-making, first of all, to the necessity and importance of this concept. After reviewing the decision-making challenges in the public sector, the key points and the process of Impact Assessment of decision making are expressed and finally, it deals its teachings in the public sector.