What is to be done about the ongoing exodus of workers from public sector positions in the U.S.? How can government offices work to hire, recruit, and retain the talent needed to provide effective public services? We explore this and more in Ascend’s first-ever look at workforce planning.

Is AI a good thing or a bad thing? It’s a question that’s currently top of mind for lawmakers and citizens alike as the development of increasingly powerful AI technologies continues at a rapid pace. As Harry Cayton recently contemplated this question, he decided to ask ChatGPT to see what it had to say.

CLEAR’s recent International Congress in Dublin, Ireland took an in-depth look at common challenges dominating the world of modern regulation. Paul Leavoy shares his insights from the conference, which explored issues like improving continuing education efforts, how marketing tactics can bolster regulatory efforts, and why regulators should start thinking of regulation as a verb instead of a noun.

Facing dire labor shortages in various health professions, legislatures are encouraging, cajoling, or ordering regulators to speed up and simplify the licensing of international professionals. But as Harry Cayton explores in his latest Voices column, there are often unintended consequences to this migration.
LATEST NEWS

The Week in Brief is your weekly snapshot of regulatory news and what's happening in the world of professional licensing, government technology, and public policy.
This week in regulatory news, online gaming operators in Quebec form a coalition to call for new industry regulations, Missouri moves to tighten licensing restrictions for assistant physicians, and more.

The Week in Brief Podcast is your weekly guide to the latest news, issues, and events in professional licensing, regulation, and digital government. This week, Sarah and Paul discuss Ontario’s removal of Canadian work experience requirements for foreign-trained engineers, the push for online gaming regulation in Quebec, new legislation that would tighten licensing restrictions for assistant physicians in Missouri, and more.

The Week in Brief is your weekly snapshot of regulatory news and what's happening in the world of professional licensing, government technology, and public policy.
This week in regulatory news, Alabama lawmakers consider legislation that would expand licensing reciprocity for military spouses working as cosmetologists and allow the state to join a new cosmetology compact, Gartner announces the top 10 technology trends for 2023, and more.
In March 2022, Thentia launched Ascend Magazine to engender education, conversation, and community around regulation and licensure. One year later, Editor-in-Chief Paul Leavoy reflects on the community it has built and its bright future ahead.

On this episode of Ascend Radio, Thomas Custers, Dan Faulkner, and Lynsay Nair sit down with Ascend Editor-in-Chief Paul Leavoy to discuss Ontario’s College Performance Measurement Framework (CPMF) and how it helps government officials qualitatively and quantitatively track the efficacy of regulatory agencies over time.

Risk-based regulation has become somewhat of a buzzword over the past few years as regulatory agencies all over the world endeavor to adopt a risk-based approach. But what does it take for a regulator to truly be “risk-based”? Our latest Ascend article explores this question with insights from regulatory expert Malcolm Sparrow.
MOST READ BY SUBSCRIBERS
- Public sector exodus: Behind America's government workforce crisis
- Cayton asks ChatCPT: Is AI a good thing or a bad thing?
- Dispatches from Dublin: How knowledge, innovation, and creativity empower regulators
- An exhaustive breakdown of interstate compacts in the U.S.
- Gartner announces top 10 technology trends for 2023: Weekly regulatory news
IN BRIEF

The Week in Brief is your weekly snapshot of regulatory news and what's happening in the world of professional licensing, government technology, and public policy.
This week in regulatory news, online gaming operators in Quebec form a coalition to call for new industry regulations, Missouri moves to tighten licensing restrictions for assistant physicians, and more.
Stay informed.
FEATURED TOPIC
Regulatory Licensing

While there are a wide range of approaches to regulation, broadly speaking, three common approaches prevail – rules-based (prescriptive), goals-based, and management-based regulation. In this article, we break down these three common approaches and take a look at their benefits and challenges.

What is to be done about the ongoing exodus of workers from public sector positions in the U.S.? How can government offices work to hire, recruit, and retain the talent needed to provide effective public services? We explore this and more in Ascend’s first-ever look at workforce planning.

In this episode of Ascend Radio, David Benton, CEO of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), sits down with Ascend Magazine Editor Paul Leavoy to discuss technology in health care regulation, the upcoming next-generation NCLEX exams, regulating support workers, and much more.

The Week in Brief is your weekly snapshot of regulatory news and what's happening in the world of professional licensing, government technology, and public policy.
Massachusetts gaming regulators review applications for mobile sports betting licenses, Kentucky expands assessment options for teachers, and more in our weekly look at regulatory news.

The Week in Brief is your weekly snapshot of regulatory news and what's happening in the world of professional licensing, government technology, and public policy.
This week in regulatory news, Virginia approves universal licensure legislation, Alaska makes it easier for licensed professionals who move to the state to get to work faster, France passes stringent licensing rules for crypto firms, and much more.

Experts like Malcolm Sparrow commonly assert that regulation is about the prevention of harms. But in order to prevent harms, we must understand risk – and this is where it gets complicated for policymakers. In this Voices article, Harry Cayton explores how our perception of risk in many parts of our lives differs from the actual risk of harm, and how this can distort regulatory policy.

The global pandemic has introduced a number of changes to regulation and licensing around the world. But are they permanent? And if regulatory requirements were loosened, were they even necessary in the first place? In this Voices column, leading regulatory authority Harry Cayton explores the pandemic’s impact on regulation.