Page 2 - GSR-25 Best Practice Guidelines

Global Symposium for Regulators 2025

GSR-25 Best Practice Guidelines

EMPOWERING REGULATORS AS I FOSTER INNOVATION IN
DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM BUILDERS REGULATORY APPROACHES

As digital technologies transform how societies connect, Make innovation a core regulatory practice
trade, learn and are governed, telecommunication/ICT
regulators are being called to do more than oversee Regulators should treat innovation not as a side project,
markets. They must adapt, embed innovation at the heart but as a core part of how regulation is designed and
of their institutional mission and help shape resilient delivered. Institutionalize experimentation by embedding
and future-ready digital ecosystems. This transformation pilot projects into annual workplans, using regulatory
demands a continued evolution in regulatory approaches sandboxes and testing light-touch rules before full rollout.
and mindsets, the adoption of new tools, and deeper Make room for learning from failure, recognizing that not
collaboration across sectors and borders. every innovation will succeed but every attempt generates
valuable insights that strengthen future regulatory
Building on two decades of GSR Best Practice Guidelines, approaches.
which have helped define sound regulatory principles
and foster enabling environments, we – the regulators
participating in the 2025 Global Symposium for Regulators Develop future-ready skills and mindsets
– acknowledge the pace of this change and our urgency to
respond. Responding to today’s challenges and preparing In addition to technical knowledge in telecommunication/
ICTs, digital, new and emerging technologies such as AI,
for those ahead call upon regulators to reconsider our IoT, space- and satellite-enabled services and quantum
role as digital ecosystem builders: convening partners, technologies, blockchain and advanced cybersecurity
aligning rules and incentives, opening shared data and frameworks, regulators need skills in policy prototyping,
infrastructure, and using evidence and testing to build
inclusive, trusted digital markets. behavioural insights and systems thinking – applied
through practical, evidence-led methods. Foster an
These guidelines reflect our shared commitment: agile, future-responsive regulatory culture by supporting
informed by national experience, guided by a global continuous peer learning opportunities for staff and
perspective and focused on delivering practical, forward- building cross-disciplinary collaboration into institutional
looking regulatory leadership for a digital future that routines.
leaves no one behind.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 31 August - 3 September 2025 2 www.itu.int/gsr25