Sensemaking
#28Key Findings
Israel falls into the bottom ranks internationally (rank 28) with respect to sensemaking.
Nearly all government ministries have departments for strategic planning and policy, but impact varies. Much strategic development occurs instead in the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Finance. Generally, strategic plans do not include multiple scenarios, and the strategic planning units do not contribute significantly to the policy planning process.
Under law, new regulations must undergo a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) before implementation. These are required to be based on scientific principles and transparent to the public, and should involve relevant stakeholders. The quality and effectiveness of RIAs vary significantly across ministries.
Sustainability checks are not mandated or routine parts of the RIA process. There is no general legal or formal requirement for ex post evaluation of policies. When they do occur, they tend to be initiated by individual ministries, and carried out by private strategic consulting firms.
Nearly all government ministries have departments for strategic planning and policy, but impact varies. Much strategic development occurs instead in the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Finance. Generally, strategic plans do not include multiple scenarios, and the strategic planning units do not contribute significantly to the policy planning process.
Under law, new regulations must undergo a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) before implementation. These are required to be based on scientific principles and transparent to the public, and should involve relevant stakeholders. The quality and effectiveness of RIAs vary significantly across ministries.
Sustainability checks are not mandated or routine parts of the RIA process. There is no general legal or formal requirement for ex post evaluation of policies. When they do occur, they tend to be initiated by individual ministries, and carried out by private strategic consulting firms.
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Graph View
To what extent can the central government foster the capacity for strategic foresight and anticipatory innovation within its organization?
10
9
9
The central government can foster the capacity for strategic foresight and anticipatory innovation within its organization.
8
7
6
7
6
Most of the time, the central government can foster the capacity for strategic foresight and anticipatory innovation within its organization.
5
4
3
4
3
The central government is rarely capable of fostering the capacity for strategic foresight and anticipatory innovation within its organization.
2
1
1
The central government is not capable of fostering the capacity for strategic foresight and anticipatory innovation within its organization.
Since 2006, nearly all government ministries have established new departments for strategic planning and policy. The power and resources of these departments vary by ministry. For some ministries, they play a significant role in policymaking, while in others they are less meaningful. For instance, the strategic planning department in the Ministry of Health is highly influential. Its director participates in all management meetings, and the department issues numerous assessments and reports used for policy planning. Conversely, the strategic planning department in the Ministry of Social Welfare has less influence.
The PMO is responsible for coordinating these units and providing guidance and tools. In addition, the National Security Council, the National Economic Council, and the Planning, Coordination and Organization Division operate within the PMO. Each of these bodies is responsible for developing national strategy in the domains of defense, economy and government, respectively.
In practice, a large proportion of strategic development takes place in other bodies, most prominently the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, cooperation and coordination between the bodies is not stable. For example, in recent years, the National Economic Council has become increasingly perceived as politicized and its cooperation with the Ministry of Finance has been limited.
The PMO also includes the National Digital Agency, which is responsible for developing digital tools to improve government activities and promote transparency.
There is no strategic policy regarding policy experimentation. Some departments promote more experiments than others. For instance, the National Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Transportation promote many policy experiments based on random sampling and scientific procedures. The Ministry of Welfare promotes many pilot projects on various programs and services. However, these are often not randomized trials and the targets are purposefully selected. All ministries have research departments, but their budgets are not large and their capacity to promote policy experimentation is limited. The current government initially intended to close down the scientific departments, but decided not to do so only after public pressure.
Foresight and innovation are not considered the main traits for the recruitment of civil servants.
In general, strategic plans do not include various scenarios and, in most cases, strategic planning units do not contribute significantly to the policy planning process. However, there are exceptions. For instance, the Ministry of Health has a very powerful strategic planning department that often issues policy proposals and scenarios. An attempt to empower the strategic planning department in the Ministry of Social Welfare did not succeed largely due to the objections of ministerial staff. At the same time, almost all Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health programs are piloted before being rolled out.
The PMO is responsible for coordinating these units and providing guidance and tools. In addition, the National Security Council, the National Economic Council, and the Planning, Coordination and Organization Division operate within the PMO. Each of these bodies is responsible for developing national strategy in the domains of defense, economy and government, respectively.
In practice, a large proportion of strategic development takes place in other bodies, most prominently the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, cooperation and coordination between the bodies is not stable. For example, in recent years, the National Economic Council has become increasingly perceived as politicized and its cooperation with the Ministry of Finance has been limited.
The PMO also includes the National Digital Agency, which is responsible for developing digital tools to improve government activities and promote transparency.
There is no strategic policy regarding policy experimentation. Some departments promote more experiments than others. For instance, the National Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Transportation promote many policy experiments based on random sampling and scientific procedures. The Ministry of Welfare promotes many pilot projects on various programs and services. However, these are often not randomized trials and the targets are purposefully selected. All ministries have research departments, but their budgets are not large and their capacity to promote policy experimentation is limited. The current government initially intended to close down the scientific departments, but decided not to do so only after public pressure.
Foresight and innovation are not considered the main traits for the recruitment of civil servants.
In general, strategic plans do not include various scenarios and, in most cases, strategic planning units do not contribute significantly to the policy planning process. However, there are exceptions. For instance, the Ministry of Health has a very powerful strategic planning department that often issues policy proposals and scenarios. An attempt to empower the strategic planning department in the Ministry of Social Welfare did not succeed largely due to the objections of ministerial staff. At the same time, almost all Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health programs are piloted before being rolled out.
Graph View
To what extent does the government conduct high-quality impact assessments to evaluate the potential effects of prepared legislation before implementation?
10
9
9
The government draws on high-quality RIAs to assess the potential impact of prepared legislation before implementation.
8
7
6
7
6
In most cases, the government draws on high-quality RIAs to assess the potential impact of prepared legislation before implementation.
5
4
3
4
3
The government rarely draws on high-quality RIAs to assess the potential impact of prepared legislation before implementation.
2
1
1
The government does not draw on high-quality RIAs to assess the potential impact of prepared legislation before implementation.
According to Government Decision No. 2118 of October 22, 2014, any new regulation must undergo a regulatory impact assessment before implementation. In 2021, the Regulatory Principal Law was passed. According to the law, regulations should be based on scientific principles and knowledge, should be transparent to the public, and involve relevant stakeholders. The law defines the process for establishing new regulations and improving existing ones.
The law also established the independent Regulation Authority. Officially created in January 2023, the authority aims to consult regulatory agencies on regulations and develop strategic regulatory planning in Israel. The authority is designed as an independent organization, and its members should include experts with relevant academic and professional experience. Currently, however, the Regulatory Authority is understaffed, with only 10 employees as of mid-2023 (Eretz 2023).
Regulatory assessments should involve relevant stakeholders and regulatory impact assessment (RIA) reports should be published online. The authority oversees the RIA process across different departments. Both the authority and departments should publish periodic reports on the regulatory process, and the departments must also introduce long-term regulatory plans to the authority.
The law requires that a RIA be conducted for any new legislation. The only exemption is if urgent regulation is needed due to prevent severe public harm. Additionally, each department must re-examine existing regulations. The authority has set specific evaluation measures for the RIA process, including both input and output goals, such as the number of new businesses opened, the number of reports submitted, the amount of money saved and changes in Israel’s ranking in international measures (e.g., PMR and IREG). Standards rely on quantitative measures and assessments based on reports provided by the agencies, excluding behavioral economic measures and techniques. The guidebook for introducing new regulation requires the use of data, scientific evidence and public deliberation when designing legislation.
Stakeholders are involved in the assessments because they provide information on RIAs. One measure of success is the percentage of evaluations conducted using public deliberation. Additionally, another measure examines the characteristics of stakeholders and the cost of compliance. RIAs are supposed to affect legislation because they include recommendations on whether to adopt the respective legislation or seek alternatives. However, an NGO that monitors these issues reports that the quality and effectiveness of RIAs vary significantly between ministries and government bodies. Evaluating government RIAs, the NGO found that in many cases there are no clear assessment criteria or systematic analysis of policy alternatives (https://rnaki.org.il/regulation-and-ria/).
The Regulatory Authority’s website publishes periodic reports, including a recent report from 2021 that maps existing challenges and gaps in regulation policy in Israel. Additionally, the annual regulatory plans of different agencies, updated for 2024, are also available on the website.
Citations:
Eretz, I. 2023. “Where did the authority that was supposed to ease the cost of living in Israel go? (Hebrew).” Globes, May 23. https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001447245
The law also established the independent Regulation Authority. Officially created in January 2023, the authority aims to consult regulatory agencies on regulations and develop strategic regulatory planning in Israel. The authority is designed as an independent organization, and its members should include experts with relevant academic and professional experience. Currently, however, the Regulatory Authority is understaffed, with only 10 employees as of mid-2023 (Eretz 2023).
Regulatory assessments should involve relevant stakeholders and regulatory impact assessment (RIA) reports should be published online. The authority oversees the RIA process across different departments. Both the authority and departments should publish periodic reports on the regulatory process, and the departments must also introduce long-term regulatory plans to the authority.
The law requires that a RIA be conducted for any new legislation. The only exemption is if urgent regulation is needed due to prevent severe public harm. Additionally, each department must re-examine existing regulations. The authority has set specific evaluation measures for the RIA process, including both input and output goals, such as the number of new businesses opened, the number of reports submitted, the amount of money saved and changes in Israel’s ranking in international measures (e.g., PMR and IREG). Standards rely on quantitative measures and assessments based on reports provided by the agencies, excluding behavioral economic measures and techniques. The guidebook for introducing new regulation requires the use of data, scientific evidence and public deliberation when designing legislation.
Stakeholders are involved in the assessments because they provide information on RIAs. One measure of success is the percentage of evaluations conducted using public deliberation. Additionally, another measure examines the characteristics of stakeholders and the cost of compliance. RIAs are supposed to affect legislation because they include recommendations on whether to adopt the respective legislation or seek alternatives. However, an NGO that monitors these issues reports that the quality and effectiveness of RIAs vary significantly between ministries and government bodies. Evaluating government RIAs, the NGO found that in many cases there are no clear assessment criteria or systematic analysis of policy alternatives (https://rnaki.org.il/regulation-and-ria/).
The Regulatory Authority’s website publishes periodic reports, including a recent report from 2021 that maps existing challenges and gaps in regulation policy in Israel. Additionally, the annual regulatory plans of different agencies, updated for 2024, are also available on the website.
Citations:
Eretz, I. 2023. “Where did the authority that was supposed to ease the cost of living in Israel go? (Hebrew).” Globes, May 23. https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001447245
To what extent does the government effectively incorporate sustainability assessments within the framework of RIAs?
10
9
9
High-quality sustainability assessments are incorporated within regulatory impact assessments.
8
7
6
7
6
High-quality sustainability assessments are, for the most part, incorporated within regulatory impact assessments.
5
4
3
4
3
High-quality sustainability assessments are rarely incorporated within regulatory impact assessments.
2
1
1
Sustainability assessments are not incorporated within regulatory impact assessments.
Neither the law, government decisions nor detailed guidelines on RIAs include any reference to a sustainable development strategy. There are no sustainability checks or assessments. The law and detailed guidelines only refer in passing to the need to assess environmental and social implications.
Citations:
Regulation Authority – PMO. 2023. “The Government Guide for the Formulation of Regulation.” https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/generalpage/reg-method-guide/he/file_rgu-guide2023.pdf
Citations:
Regulation Authority – PMO. 2023. “The Government Guide for the Formulation of Regulation.” https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/generalpage/reg-method-guide/he/file_rgu-guide2023.pdf
To what extent do government ministries utilize ex post evaluations to improve existing policies?
10
9
9
High-quality ex post evaluations serve as the basis for making adjustments to public policies.
8
7
6
7
6
High-quality ex post evaluations frequently serve as the basis for making adjustments to public policies.
5
4
3
4
3
High-quality ex post evaluations rarely serve as the basis for making adjustments to public policies.
2
1
1
High-quality ex post evaluations are not utilized to make adjustments to public policies.
There is no general legal or formal requirement for ex post evaluation of policies. When evaluations do occur, they are typically initiated by individual ministries. Consequently, only some policy programs include an integral evaluation component and undergo periodic evaluations. There is no systematic information on whether and how these evaluations affect policy modifications. In recent years, the Ministry of Finance has advocated for increased funding for the evaluation of various projects, infrastructure and social programs.
When evaluations are conducted, they usually include public participation and consultation, as well as input from the main stakeholders. While evaluations were once primarily conducted by independent research institutions, it now appears that more evaluations are conducted by private strategic consulting firms.
Moreover, not all results are published. Publication depends on the responsible department. In some cases, the main results are published in the media, but the full report is not. In other cases, full reports are available on the respective ministry’s website, the research institution’s website or both.
When evaluations are conducted, they usually include public participation and consultation, as well as input from the main stakeholders. While evaluations were once primarily conducted by independent research institutions, it now appears that more evaluations are conducted by private strategic consulting firms.
Moreover, not all results are published. Publication depends on the responsible department. In some cases, the main results are published in the media, but the full report is not. In other cases, full reports are available on the respective ministry’s website, the research institution’s website or both.