What can information systems do for regulators? A review of the state-of-practice in Canada

Regulations constitute a rich source of requirements for software systems, especially so for information systems that handle sensitive data. However, there has been little attention paid to regulators and their requirements for managing the regulatory lifecycle. This paper presents a study of the state-of-practice for regulators in Canada by examining seven Government of Canada (GoC) agencies responsible for regulations. In each case, we attempt to capture the context within which regulations are created, the motivation behind these regulations, and the practices related to their design, enforcement, and review. Our aims are to understand how regulators currently design, monitor, and assess regulations and other regulatory instruments in their respective domains, and to identify opportunities where information system (IS) solutions can be applied to improve practice. Our field study involved reviewing publicly available information and conducting informal interviews. Together, these activities helped us understand key regulators' activities and concerns, as well as important challenges they currently face. In this paper, we summarize our findings and explain the implications for the use of ISs to improve the practice of regulatory management in the form of a research agenda.