Independent economic regulators and the changing face of stakeholder engagement: Engaging with whom and about what?

Independent economic regulators in the UK and elsewhere have come to face increasing pressure to deliver better outcomes for consumers and citizens. Previous research has shown that this change has been associated with new forms of engagement with citizens, as well as with an increase in references to citizen, customer and consumer participation in regulatory reports. Our proposed study seeks to contribute to this literature by assessing whether and how stakeholder engagement by independent economic regulators in the UK has changed over time (2000-2022). We conduct an in-depth qualitative analysis of the reports of regulators to find out whether and how the engagement patterns with different categories of non-state actors (businesses, civil society organisations, and citizens) have changed – including in terms of what content the engagement focuses on – and whether and how the language around citizens and consumers has changed. Insofar as change has taken place, we also explore the drivers. The study will provide insight into (the changes in) how economic regulators perceive their role, with potential implications for the nature of the regulatory state.