To further support the uptake of R&I results through standardisation, the European Commission is launching the European Standardisation Panel Survey on 14 October, which is World Standards Day.
The survey is mainly addressed to companies, their business and sector organisations. It aims for a balanced representation of companies of various sizes and technology domains. Deadline is 31 December 2023.
The survey will identify industry’s demand for standards, help to assess how research and innovation framework programmes tackle such needs, and raise awareness on the importance of standardisation.
The results will ultimately support the development of recommendations for policy-makers, industry representatives and standardisation bodies to create a match between industry’s demand for R&I based standards and their current supply. The recommendations will help future beneficiaries of public R&I programmes to pinpoint opportunities and techniques where standardisation can be used to create more impactful results from their research projects.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research supports the Commission in this endeavour in the context of a framework contract coordinated by the Technopolis Consulting Group Belgium.
The results of the survey are to be published in the first quarter of 2024.
The survey outcomes complement the Code of Practice on standardisation in the European Research Area. While the Code focuses on knowledge producers and the supply side of R&I-based standardisation, there is a gap in understanding industry’s needs for standardisation deriving from R&I.
Standards are an important channel for the successful transfer, commercialisation and valorisation of research results, they are hence a vital part of innovation. Standards ensure compatibility and interoperability between different products, or minimum quality, performance and safety levels. They are also important in creating economies of scale and increasing efficiency in supply chains. As emphasised by the Industrial Strategy of the Commission, there are many benefits of engaging in standards development for new and emerging technologies. Standards have the power to strengthen the economic, social and environmental value and impact of R&I projects.
Interested stakeholders are invited to submit their answers to the survey