MANAGEMENT UPDATE.

HOW TO CUT THROUGH RED TAPE

“When navigating rules and procedures, there’s often a challenge: how to reduce red tape while maintaining the protections for which these regulations are intended—including keeping the public safe, protecting the environment, and ensuring that public funds are used prudently for the public good,” according to a report by Deloitte that was published several months ago.

A blog post by Burnett Driscoll attorneys provides a bit of interesting historical detail. The words red tape apparently originated in the early “16th century when the King of Spain used actual red tape to bundle important documents that needed immediate attention. The King had to physically cut through the red tape to read these priority documents.”

Through the years, the challenges of cutting through red tape have thwarted innovative leaders and managers. These include outdated laws and regulations; organizational and data silos; regulatory requirements that “can create bottlenecks and delays in projects;” and overly cautious compliance-heavy cultures that can slow innovation and efforts to streamline processes.

It’s easy to blame lots of the red tape that slows down progress on regulators who are standing in the way. But as the Deloitte report points out, “Accelerated changes in technology and business models in regulated sectors make it increasingly difficult for regulators to keep pace. The challenge is to better understand the changes and create rules and processes that continue to protect public interest in this rapidly evolving context.”

The Deloitte report is generally optimistic and demonstrates a number of ways in which state and local agencies are using “innovative approaches such as behavioral insights, human-centered design, and AI-based technologies,” to reduce overly burdensome regulatory processes without “sacrificing safeguards.”

Perhaps the most valuable part of the report is its list of tools and strategies that can avert risks implicit in cutting red tape. These include:

AI and generative AI, which automate repetitive tasks and processes, speeding up “administrative workflows.”

Norm engineering, which “standardizes and simplifies regulatory frameworks,” and makes compliance more straightforward for citizens and businesses.

Enhanced data-sharing, which “facilitates seamless information exchange between departments,” cutting back on redundancies on data collection and processing.