This study takes stock of the membership, governance structure, operational mode and regulatory power of trans-governmental networks of regulators (TGNs). It contributes to a greater OECD project aimed at building greater understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of various approaches to international regulatory co-operation (IRC) as identified in OECD (2013), International Regulatory Co-operation: Addressing Global Challenges.

In order to fill the knowledge gap, this study provides a working definition of TGNs, maps existing cases, and analyses their key features. It relies on information gathered for this study on 144 TGNs. It analyses the substantive fields in which TGNs operate as well as differences in membership and other structural features. It discusses the range of regulatory activities in which TGNs engage and analyses the advantages and the disadvantages of TGNs as mechanisms for IRC, based on a review of the large and growing scholarly literature. It provides a new database on the topic, as well short case studies of three significant but structurally dissimilar TGNs: the Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP) on medical devices, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), and the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH).