23 September 2009 - ECORYS organised a very succesful and well attended seminar on Impact Assessment on Tuesday 22 September at the Hotel Renaissance in Brussels, as part of the 80th anniversay celebrations.

More than 80 international experts attended the event, where high profile speakers presented their proposals and ideas for improving the impact assessment methodology in the European Union. Speakers and participants acknowledge the great efforts and progress the EU has so far provided in this area, especially compared the efforts at national levels.

Discussions at the seminar focused on several key issues including the preponderant role of stakeholders in the consultation process, the need for stronger scrutiny and more transparency as well as the expert involvement in the process. The discussion also underlined the importance to better define the scope of Impact Assessment and its integration in the wider policy cycle and decision-making process.

The key presentations and main ideas of the seminar can be found on the seminar website. A synthesis of the key messages and an elaboration of the proposals will soon be presented in an ECORYS Research Programme Policy Brief.

For more information, visit the seminar website.