Description
In agriculture, regulatory changes must be applied across a wide range of settings, often using multiple approaches. There is inevitably some variability in the way in which policy is implemented over time, in different places and in terms of the reactions of those being regulated. This means that regulatory impact assessments, undertaken in some cases several years before the impacts of regulatory change can be fully measured, are not always accurate in terms of the the type of impact they predict or the magnitude of impacts. This project seeks to improve understanding of factors influencing regulatory implementation by looking in detail at the farm level, and be exploring how both those involved in implementing policy, and those being regulated change behaviour and practice to adapt to regulatory change. The project will lead to improved understanding of which factors influence impacts arising from regulatory change, and where the major sources of error and uncertainty lie. The project will assist in the improvement of regulatory impact assessment, both prior to regulations being adopted, and in evaluating change over time. |