Compliance Learning Agenda
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email OECA Compliance Learning Agenda ([email protected])
The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance or OECA is building a foundation for a national evidence-based enforcement and compliance assurance program designed to strengthen compliance and benefits from EPA’s regulations and enforcement authorities. A main component of this initiative is to develop the Compliance Learning Agenda. The Goal of the Compliance Learning Agenda is to identify the most pressing programmatic questions and establish an evaluation plan with a series of evidence-building research projects designed to answer those questions.
On this page:
Challenge
For years the enforcement community has debated which approaches are most effective in improving regulatory compliance. This project seeks to use an evidence-based approach to test how innovative enforcement remedies and solutions impact compliance, and to obtain data to assess when to use compliance assistance versus enforcement.
Benefits
An evidence-based compliance assurance program, formalized through a learning agenda, will:
- Strategically identify the most pressing programmatic questions
- Establish an evaluation plan with a series of evidence-building research projects intended to answer those questions
- Test new and existing innovative technologies and policies to ensure limited resources have the greatest impact on environmental compliance
- Create an established venue for partners to collaborate on evidence-based studies, and
- Identify effective enforcement and compliance tools through empirical data vs. anecdotes.
Accomplishments
OECA began working with states, tribes, and other partners in May 2021 to improve the effectiveness of enforcement and compliance programs by:
- Prioritizing the most pressing programmatic questions,
- Planning evidence-based studies to address these questions, and
- Identifying effective and innovative approaches for improving compliance.
This evidence-based approach entails OECA leadership of the enterprise-wide effort, EELC support of the EPA/state/tribal partnership to establish a Compliance Learning Agenda, and a community of practice to carry it out. Through this process, OECA has identified the following priority areas for initial research focus:
What's Next?
OECA and its partners are beginning to gather evidence and conduct tests to validate innovative technologies and policies. OECA is developing a process for reaching out to the academic community and its state and tribal partners to publicize research opportunities and partner on evidence building activities.