Transform: one coherent roadmap to the regulator you need

Anissa Levy · 26 October 2026 · Part 2 of 3: Design. Transform. Assure.

In Part 1 of this series, Design the regulator the mandate needs, I wrote about being clear on what a regulator is for and what it needs to look like to deliver its intended public outcomes.

But a clear design doesn’t change anything on its own. The harder question is how to get there from where you are today.

The problem is rarely a lack of activity

Most regulators are not short of change. They are carrying reform programs, responses to reviews and audits, new legislation, system replacements, restructures, culture programs and a steady stream of improvement projects.

Each one is well intentioned and makes sense on its own. Together, they often compete for the same people, budgets and leadership attention, and pull the organisation in different directions.

The result is familiar: change fatigue, initiatives that stall halfway, and a regulator that is busy but not noticeably closer to the one it needs to be.

One coherent roadmap

Transformation works when everything is connected to a shared future state and organised into one coherent roadmap. In my experience, that comes down to five steps:

1. Define the regulator you need to become. Start from the design: purpose, regulatory posture, operating model, capability and culture. Describe the future state clearly enough that people can see it and test decisions against it.
2. Assess the current position and identify the gaps. Be honest about where the regulator is today, using evidence rather than perception alone. The gaps between today and the future state are what the roadmap needs to close.
3. Prioritise changes and resolve dependencies. Not everything can happen at once, and some changes depend on others. Foundations such as governance, data and core capability often need to come first.
4. Sequence delivery, with clear ownership and governance. Put the work in a realistic order, give each initiative a clear owner, and govern the roadmap as a whole rather than project by project. That’s how leaders can see trade-offs and make informed choices.
5. Monitor progress and adjust as you learn. A roadmap is not a fixed plan. Track whether changes are delivering the intended improvements, and be willing to adjust the sequence or scope as circumstances change.

Every initiative should contribute to the future regulator

This is the simple test I come back to. If an initiative doesn’t clearly contribute to the regulator you need to become, ask why it’s on the list.

Sometimes there is a good reason, such as a legislative requirement or an urgent risk. Often there isn’t, and stopping or reshaping it frees capacity for the changes that matter most.

A strategic operating framework helps here. It connects organisational strategies and plans around a shared regulatory purpose, so individual initiatives have a common direction rather than competing priorities.

Done well, a coherent roadmap gives leaders, staff and stakeholders a shared understanding of where the regulator is heading and why. It turns a collection of projects into lasting change.

Next in the series: Assure, and how regulators know the change is working.

Stop fixing symptoms. Start fixing systems.