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11
Reform instruments, tools, and best practice approaches Robert Ireland and Tadatsugu Matsudaira
In addition to the critical considerations for border management modernization discussed in other chapters of this book, three dimensions of modernization should be addressed: sector specific modernization, interagency coordination, and cross border harmonization. Looking at these three dimensions, this chapter explains how international instruments, tools, and best practice approaches—hereafter referred to collectively as international instruments—can be most useful to countries. The chapter presents a typology of the international instruments and discusses how countries can work toward adopting each. An annex briefly describes many of the key international instruments, tools and best practice approaches currently available to reformers.
Sector specific modernization
Interagency coordination
As border agencies face the continuous challenge of improving their business processes, either to identify efficiencies in the traditional operational and procedural fields or to meet a changing policy or global environment, sector specific modernization is commonly observed in border reform efforts. Because the regulatory framework of a sector is often formulated on an agency basis, a sector specific approach is often seen as an agency specific approach. For example, a customs administration can improve its own risk management system without consideration of other border agencies’
To deliver an optimal industry level solution, alignment and cooperation with other national stakeholders is necessary. Forms of interagency coordination vary widely in scope and include activities such as increased data sharing, harmonization of data requirements and coding, delegation of authority, joint operational activity (such as joint customs and quarantine inspections), and the use of a single window for border clearance processes. Interagency coordination may enable multiple agencies to share a single noncompliance database or see one agency conduct risk B O R D E R M A N A G E M E N T M O D E R N I Z AT I O N
Reform instruments, tools, and best practice approaches
Discussed in this section are three dimensions of border management reform: sector specific modernization, interagency coordination, and cross border harmonization.
mandates or trading partners’ practices, and equally, other border agencies can also improve their own risk management systems in isolation. While this may create definite improvements at the agency level, it will not deliver an optimized process for the end user.
Three dimensions of reform
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