September 10, 2024

ASU Law’s Center for Law, Science and Innovation collaborates with BBB National Programs to develop industry self-regulation curriculum

BBB National Programs’ Center for Industry Self-Regulation today announced that it will develop a curriculum on industry self-regulation for law, business, and public policy school programs, filling a significant gap in current higher education. The initial work will be funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

The announcement was made by Eric D. Reicin, who serves as President and CEO of the Center for Industry Self-Regulation, the 501(c)(3) foundation of BBB National Programs.

The recipient of the funding, the Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR), believes that independent, accountable industry self-regulation, a type of soft law, is a crucial yet under-utilized tool for solving complex modern business challenges. Recognizing that this policy tool is often overlooked, CISR aims to bridge the gap by incorporating soft law coursework into law, business, and public policy school programs nationwide.

This new industry self-regulation curriculum will foster a comprehensive understanding of its potential benefits, including enhanced private-sector accountability and addressing gaps in government regulation and legislation.

"Soft law bridges a company’s internal compliance efforts and the hard law of government regulations, promoting ethical business operations with transparency and accountability," said Reicin. "Incorporating industry self-regulation coursework into law schools will prepare future leaders to navigate the complex terrain of compliance and innovation. We sincerely appreciate the John Templeton Foundation for its generous support of this work.”

CISR will collaborate with The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University’s Center for Law, Science and Innovation to develop and pilot the coursework on industry self-regulation, focusing on the conditions that allow it to thrive and case studies of its successful applications, with evaluations from 11 other graduate programs at institutions of higher education across the country. The curriculum will cover:

• Types of industry self-regulation, such as soft law, co-regulatory models, and codes of practice.
• Conditions under which self-regulation can work, compared to corporate compliance and government regulation, and when it is less likely to succeed.
• Case studies of successful self-regulatory programs across various industries.
• Interaction between self-regulatory programs and government.

“While traditional regulation has been extensively studied and taught in professional schools, self-regulation has essentially been ignored, and this CISR project seeks to remedy that deficiency and help address areas of emerging technologies that are too complex for traditional regulation to effectively govern,” said Gary Marchant, J.D., Ph.D., regents professor and faculty director of ASU Law's Center for Law, Science and Innovation. “We are delighted to collaborate with CISR on this much-needed academic curriculum on industry self-regulation within the fields of law, business, and public policy.”