Business Test Panel - an evaluation of a method

Business Test Panel is a method for the surveying of adminstrative consequences of public initiatives such as acts and regulations. The method aims at asking a sample of private companies whether they are affected by the initiative and whether it increases or decreases their administrative efforts. The Ministry of Trade and Industry of Norway has carried out a pilot project with this method applied to three test cases, and has contracted the TØI for an evaluation of the pilot project. The most important findings are that a business testpanel produces another kind of information than public hearings. The executive officers, however, do not trust the information from the testpanels. Consequently, they do not take this information into account. The report calls attention to possibilities for improving the use of business test panels.