Aare was among the pioneers who introduced OECD methods for regulatory impact assessment and stakeholder engagement in Estonia. Working on both the commissioning and the delivery side, he has contributed to research and development projects on impact assessment in areas such as legislation, civil society, the economy, the environment, education, internal security, agriculture, food and rural policy. He has held research, advisory and management roles at the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament), the Ministry of the Environment, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the University of Tartu and the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences. For the past decade, he has worked at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture.
Aare has an academic background in sociology. In 2018, he defended his doctoral thesis on knowledge-based policymaking and law-making at the Institute of Social Studies, University of Tartu. Drawing on theories of democracy, institutions, the rule of law and political economy, the thesis explores three main areas of research:
- the institutionalisation of regulatory impact assessment and stakeholder engagement requirements in Estonian ministries between 1998 and 2018;
- changes in open government and in the social control of corruption between 2010 and 2016
- sociological studies of Estonian society linked to the Riigikogu’s constitutional functions between 1996 and 2002
Aare has contributed to the development of numerous strategic development plans, action plans and legislative acts in Estonia. He launched the journal Riigikogu Toimetised (Proceedings of the Riigikogu) and has served on European Commission and OECD expert panels. He has trained civil servants, educational leaders and representatives of non-governmental organisations on regulatory impact assessment, open government, stakeholder engagement, service design, green public procurement, corruption prevention and rural proofing. He has also been actively involved in Estonian civil society networks for many years.
In his free time, Aare is drawn to the nature-centred cultures of Indigenous peoples, writing poetry, qigong and other Eastern practices, art exhibitions, travel, collaborative community-building, and tending to his country home.