2025 Regulatory Research Day Reflection

CLEAR is pleased to share the closing comments and reflection from the Regulatory Research Day, held on December 3, 2025 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Regulatory Research Research Day Reflection

By: Kym Ayscough

As we come to the end of today’s Regulatory Research Day, I want to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve explored together. Across the day we have seen not only the diversity of research happening in the regulatory community but also the depth of commitment our sector has to understanding the world in which we operate: rigorously, critically and with curiosity.

Threaded through the entire day was a consistent message; research is a foundational component of regulatory excellence. It helps us test assumptions, uncover inequities, measure what matters and understand the lived realities of those we regulate and those we seek to protect. Research pushes us beyond intuition and tradition (the way we’ve always done it) and into the realm of evidence, impact and continuous learning.

We also confronted some of the challenges regulators face: rapidly challenging workforce dynamics, shifting societal expectations, new technologies that stretch our frameworks and complex issues that do not fit neatly into our established tools and frameworks. What today demonstrated so clearly is that research helps us meet those challenges with clarity and integrity. It allows us to anticipate, not just react; to refine, not simply defend; and to innovate, not merely maintain. Keeping the relationship between research and regulation healthy, to support our accountability to the public, and to the practitioners we regulate requires curiosity, humility and collaboration.

I was struck at the start of the day by the echo of a conversation begun in Dublin. When all regulators operate in resource-constrained environments, and regulators come in all shapes and sizes, what great things can be achieved in partnerships or collaboration.

There were many times today when we heard that the data is important but doesn’t always tell the full story. I loved the richness of the learning from qualitative approaches, like the ‘yarning’ that Lisa Whop described.

Then, before afternoon tea, we saw what great success can be achieved by analysing research or findings of others and applying these learnings in our own context. Days like today remind us just how much we can learn from one another when we bring our findings, our questions and our ideas into a shared space.

Thank you to all our presenters for the depth and generosity of your work. Thank you to all participants for engaging so thoughtfully throughout the day. Let’s carry that spirit of inquiry with us into the International Congress.