Raising Standards for the World ISO strategies 2002-2004 Horizon 2010 Supporting...

ISO STRATEGIES 2002-2004 1

Raising Standards for the World

ISO strategies 2002-2004

1ISO’svision

The ISO strategic plan for the period 2002-2004 provides a descriptionof the goals that the Organization intends to achieve in this timeframeand of the main lines of action to be undertaken in order to reach thosegoals.

The first two sections – “ISO's Vision" and "ISO's Key Objectives" –cover a much longer period of time and represent a long-term commit-ment for the Organization. The statements contained in these sectionsare an essential component of the strategic framework as a whole, uponwhich hinge the major medium– and short-term strategies and relatedstrategic elements highlighted in the rest of the document.

On the threshold of the 21st century, the prevailing economic and so-cial trends offer great opportunities for ISO to build and strengthen itsposition as the leading international standardization body in the world,but they also present risks. The considerable growth in internationaltrade during the past decade has had an enormous impact on the tra-ditional structure of the world's economy and seems likely to continuewith renewed strength in this new century, bringing even more sub-stantial and rapid change.

This transformation is driven by several forces, including the abun-dance of capital on the international markets, the speed of growth, thepervasiveness of technology and trends towards the opening of mar-kets and free competition. Standards have served as an important toolin the development of international trade and will have a key role to playin the emerging world market.

Another major trend is the increasing demand for safety and for pres-ervation of the environment and natural resources, leading to the de-velopment of new and more constraining regulations which may con-stitute barriers to trade. Here again, international standards can be usedas a most appropriate means to avoid such undesirable results.

In this framework, the demand for products and services that ISO canprovide has never been greater. ISO is called upon to lay down a solidand equitable foundation for the global exchange of goods and serv-ices, incorporating all the key elements required by market and societalforces:rationality, practical applicability, environmental protection for

Foreword

ISO STRATEGIES 2002-20042

sustainable development, safeguards for safety and health, and equalopportunity to engage in world trade.

ISO is in a unique position to support and equilibrate the continuousdevelopment of world trade. This position derives from its record ofhigh-quality achievement and from the broad and balanced represen-tation of interests ensured by its membership, which includes the na-tional standards bodies of nearly 140 countries – the majority are incountries with developing or transition economies.

However, if this position is to be preserved and strengthened, ISO musttake on more responsibility and proactively demonstrate its ability tomeet the market and societal demands for global standards and con-formity assessment programmes. To meet this objective, ISO shall con-tinuously strive to:

– refine the application of consensus and transparency principlesin standardization;

– increase the effectiveness of the Organization and its procedures;

– extend its dialogue with stakeholders and

– forge closer ties with other standards developing organizations.

ISO will also endeavour to make optimal use of advanced informationand communication technologies with a view to continuously improvingthe efficiency of its processes and facilitating the effective, convenientand affordable participation of its constituency in all standardizationactivities.

ISO's strategies for the years 2002-2004 lay the groundwork requiredfor facing these challenges by providing both short-term and long-term plans for the Organization’s future.


2ISO’skeyobjectives

Standardization is essentially an economic undertaking made possibleby achieving widespread agreement on the coherent and mutually ben-eficial use of science, technology and business know-how. The primeobject of ISO and its governance is laid down in the ISO Statutes, i.e. topromote the development of standardization and related activities inthe world with a view to facilitating international exchange of goods andservices and to developing cooperation in the sphere of intellectual,scientific and economic activity. In the light of present and anticipateddevelopments, the key objectives of ISO may be enumerated as follows:

2.1 ISO shall produce International Standards and actively promotetheir voluntary adoption and use in order to assist worldwideindustry and trade to become as efficient as possible.

• ISO standards shall be amenable for use in conformityassessment and shall promote quality and reliability atcompetitive prices, while contributing to a sustainabledevelopment of the world economy, at all levels of industryand trade for the ultimate benefit of consumers.

• ISO standards will promote human and societal benefitswhenever applicable in relation to health, safety and theenvironment, and in relation to general market and growingtrade needs.

• ISO standards will, where applicable, be suitable forreference in the regulatory and procurement activities offederal, state and local authorities.

2.2 ISO will foster and promote the use of International Standards toassist in harmonizing technical regulations and reducing the tech-nical barriers to trade that the latter might create:this impliescloser collaboration with intergovernmental agencies involvedin such harmonization.

2.3 ISO shall be organized in a democratic manner and attempt toaccommodate the views and wishes of all its members with gov-ernance values respecting the need for balanced representationand consensus-based decision-making.

2.4 In its capacity as the world's largest standardization body, ISOwill make an active effort to counteract the tendency towardsgreater inequality between the developing countries and the restof the world.

2.5 ISO will encourage maximum implementation of ISO standards inorder to facilitate global trade.

2.6 ISO will make an active effort to ensure that the relationshipbetween the three global standardization bodies – ISO, IEC and


ITU – develops in such a way that the three organizationstogether will become the worldwide focal point for standardi-zation and conformity assessment and related activities.

2.7 ISO shall have an organization capable of quickly adapting tochange and to the needs of the world community, which it serves.In each of its undertakings, ISO shall perform as well as, orbetter than, any other international standardizing organization inthe world.

2.8 ISO will improve its visibility and cooperation with the variousregions of the world and encourage regional activities that canform a direct basis for global standardization and conformityassessment.

2.9 ISO will offer its mechanism to process documents, prepared byorganizations operating at international or regional level, intoInternational Standards.

2.10 In addition to serving the traditional stakeholders, ISO will makea special effort to satisfy specific needs that arise from the emer-gence of transnational companies.


Majorstrategiesforthe years2002-2004

3 The key concepts underlying ISO's operational model and businessstance are:

Value - Partnership - Optimization

These words summarize the key strategic lines to be pursued by ISO:

• to understand, serve and possibly anticipate market needs(value);

• to ensure the maximum participation and collaboration of all therelevant parties during the various stages of work within the ISOsystem (partnership);

• to continuously improve the core business processes of theOrganization (optimization), by securing and effectively usingthe resources required to meet the standardization needs of the21st century, while making substantial use of information andcommunication technologies.

From a full analysis of ISO's current strengths, weaknesses, opportu-nities and threats, five major strategies have been built up from rel-evant strategic elements. These are expressed as commitments to:

• increasing ISO's market relevance;

• strengthening ISO's international influence and institutionalrecognition;

• promoting the ISO system and its standards;

• optimizing the use of resources; and

• supporting national standards bodies in developing countries.

3.1 Increasing ISO's market relevance

3.1.1 Better understanding market needs andimproving the participation of enterprises

The most important factors affecting ISO's market relevance con-cern the Organization's ability to understand and serve market needs,and to assure the best possible participation of enterprises in theISO system. These two aspects are clearly interrelated and mutu-ally supportive because better participation of enterprises – withgreater involvement of industry's management in importantdecision-making within ISO's standards development process – willimprove the understanding of market needs which , in turn, willimprove enterprise participation.

ISO will position itself to anticipate market needs for standardization sothat, proceeding one step ahead of market consolidation, the Organi-zation can take more proactive initiatives in standards development.


ISO will intensify its efforts to pursue these objectives, to be the leadingforce offering international market-relevant standards. More effortswill be dedicated to analyzing the standardization needs of variousindustry sectors, including a systematic review of the adoption/useof existing International Standards and of the status of currentprojects, together with a careful evaluation and planning of possiblefuture initiatives, in accordance with characteristics and trends inthe various industries. ISO should also keenly and proactively con-tinue to search for new products and services to meet ever chang-ing market needs.

Services (including, among others finance, insurance, tourism, engi-neering, retail, education) represent an exemplary group of "sectors"where the need for International Standards is felt very strongly, due tothe increasing emphasis on free and open international trade. ISO iscommitted to making its best effort to extend its standards develop-ment programmes into these fields for the benefit of consumers ofservices at all levels. ISO intends to build up close cooperation withthe various organizations representing relevant interests in theservice sectors and to assume a coordination role in promoting moreconsistent standardization in these sectors.

E-business, probably the most important single phenomenon influenc-ing the growth of international trade and the evolution of the worldeconomy, is another exemplary case. E-business is a "horizontal" fieldwhich, in a complex way, combines information technology develop-ments with a variety of business approaches, advances in generalprocesses and changes in consumer and society behaviour. As e-business matures and expands, more and more issues regarding tech-nical standards, legal agreements and "best practices" emerge. Busi-nesses and public authorities need to create and apply a consistentframework that will support the development of the market, the confi-dence of customers and the protection of the rights of the various par-ties concerned. These agreements cover a wide variety of fields anda combination of aspects for which ISO can provide a substantial con-tribution. ISO is committed to making its best efforts to identify needsand eventually to promote standards development programmes in thisarea, seeking close cooperation with the various organizations thatrepresent the relevant interests in the e-business field.

Flexibility is a key element in strengthening the ISO value propositionand in providing optimal service for different groups of stakeholders.ISO is committed to enhancing its ability to meet different interests andneeds in a flexible way, focusing its efforts on:

• the development of sectoral initiatives, to forge new, andstrengthen existing links with market forces, to gather input, opendialogue and raise issues beyond the "formal" ISO structuresand processes;


• the effective launching and promotion of ISO's new deliverables,to serve the various levels of consensus needed by different sec-tors and communities;

• collaboration with other standards developing organizations,industry associations and consortia, to get closer to the specificneeds and approaches expressed by particular communities or sec-tors (see item 3.2.2 and Annex);

• easier and more cost-effective access to the ISO system andapplication of the ISO procedures by means of a set of advancedsoftware services (with the objective of offering to differentinterest groups a plug and play environment implementing richfunctionality and structured procedures).

All of these elements will help to broaden and strengthen the participa-tion of enterprises within the ISO system – small and medium sizedenterprises (SMEs) as well as large organizations. For this purpose,more active representation will be envisaged for enterprises or indus-try associations in the ISO activities.

Efforts will also be devoted to stimulate active participation and respon-sibility in the technical bodies for enterprises or other entities repre-senting groups of enterprises (especially in the case of SMEs), makinguse of better communication and flexibility as described above.

3.1.2 More effective representation of consumersand social forces

ISO's key objectives state that the work of the Organization is carriedout for the "ultimate benefit of consumers". ISO will therefore continue tobe extremely concerned about the transparency of its activities andwill improve its ability to meet the expectations of these end users, whoare the ultimate beneficiaries of its standards.

ISO will strive to strengthen cooperation with international, regional andnational consumer organizations wishing to support ISO's objectives,so that international standardization may benefit from greater consumerawareness and confidence, as well as from increased consumer-inter-est input to national delegations to ISO technical committees.

For addressing consumer and social issues, it is particularly importantto introduce and promote "top-down" elements in the ISO approach, asalready envisaged above in the case of sectoral initiatives. Areas ofgreatest concern at present include: the needs of elderly and disabledpersons, issues related to climate change and the representation ofconsumer views in the fields of e-business and services.

ISO will work actively to promote standardization activities in thesefields, maintaining a focused effort to ensure the involvement of con-sumers and all other relevant social partners at the various stages in


the standards development process, and to extend the participationof consumer interest groups from developing countries.

3.1.3 Strengthening technical programme management

To increase market-relevance, it is essential to ensure that technicalprogramme management follows guidelines that completely adhereto the focus set on market needs. The key strategies required for thispurpose are presented below.

Improving systematic priority-setting

ISO has introduced and will continue to actively implement rules andprocedures within the technical committee/sub-committee (TC/SC) sys-tem to improve the identification and ranking of priorities for Interna-tional Standards in relation to the particular timing and market needsof specific sectors. For this purpose, a Business Plan template hasbeen introduced for all TCs to identify market needs in their fields,with a view to relating their work programmes – and the resourcesavailable to their committee - to identified market priorities. As an ad-ditional measure, a Standards Value Assessment Tool has been intro-duced for the evaluation of new work item proposals, the establish-ment of new committees and the review of existing standards, to en-sure that certain key criteria related to market relevance are consid-ered when taking these decisions. These tools need to be effectivelyand consistently applied by the whole TC community, to optimize thework programme of each TC and to contribute to a harmonized appli-cation of the relevant criteria.

Emphasis will continue to be placed on the completion of high prioritystandard projects, and on making use of new types of publicationsthat represent a lower level of consensus when full agreement on tech-nical solutions and/or market needs cannot be reached within the avail-able time frame. A further commitment will be made so that Interna-tional Standards developed by ISO are periodically updated to pre-serve their market relevance, especially standards related to emerg-ing/progressing technologies.

When responding to important issues related to ISO's policy and itsnew work, members of committees and experts in working groupsshould make all reasonable efforts to ensure that their decisions re-flect the viewpoint of higher level management in the relevant indus-tries and other parties concerned in their own countries.

Proactive application of project management concepts andtechniques

ISO will insist much more on the fact that approved work has to beactively and successfully pursued to completion using appropriateproject management techniques to ensure both the commitment of nec-


essary resources and timely results. Work for which these commitmentsare not met will be dropped from consideration, at least for the immedi-ate future.

A planned completion date shall be set and a supporting timetable ofactions shall be established for each project, with a requirement andprocedure for the ISO Central Secretariat (ISO/CS) staff, the parentTC, and the responsible member body to be informed when slippageoccurs or is expected, so that possible assistance or remedial actionmay be considered. Initiatives taken in the framework of the previousstrategic plan have been deemed successful and will progress toensure continuous improvement.

Periodic re-evaluation of the need to maintain standingcommittees

It is recognized- in nearly all standardization organizations – that TCs,SCs and other standing committees/groups tend to remain in exist-ence indefinitely and that, as long as they exist, they will undertakenew work. Therefore, ISO will periodically re-evaluate the market needfor maintaining the existence of any of its standing committees,including all TCs and SCs.

Justification for the continued existence of TCs can be supported, forexample, by the willingness of directly affected parties to provide fund-ing to support TC/SC secretariats. Moreover, it is clear that

certain TCs dealing with fundamental and horizontal subjects (units,technical drawings, symbols, etc.) may always be needed. Never-theless, it is true to say that unless ISO as a whole, i.e. its policy andtechnical governance bodies, are successful in assessing if there isa continuing need for all of its standing committees, it will be increas-ingly difficult to contain ISO's cost levels and maintain its long-termrelevance.

Enhancing TC/SC leadership training and ensuringsecretariat support obligations

To help ensure effective programme management, priority settingand project management, ISO and its members undertake to en-sure adequate training of chairmen and secretaries of TCs and SCs,particularly in countries taking up secretariats for the first time. Per-formance standards for secretariats shall be developed to providea basis for evaluating their work in administering work programmesand for determining what remedial action may be needed.

In addition, ISO will thoroughly enforce adherence to the obligationsthat TC/SC secretariats have to ISO as a whole.


3.2 Strengthening ISO's internationalinfluence and institutional recognition

3.2.1 Adopting International Standards and guides asa basis for institutional recognition

ISO has made substantial progress in the last few years and hasachieved a remarkable level of institutional recognition by virtue of itscore values, principles (voluntary consensus, openness, transparencyof procedures, broadest representation of national interests) andproven record.

In particular, the outlook and practice of the ISO system is in completeharmony with that of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is a policyof the WTO to encourage the adoption and use of international stand-ards as a basis for technical regulations and standards, and of inter-national guides as a basis for conformity assessment procedures,whenever possible. ISO is well aware of, and in line with the provi-sions of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) andwith the recommendations of the WTO/TBT Committee. ISO membersunderstand that the use of relevant international standards and inter-national guides as bases for national standards and conformity as-sessment systems provide essential grounds for institutional recog-nition.

Today, however, ISO is in a position to make further progress and toreach the highest level of institutional recognition. National public au-thorities, intergovernmental and other international organizationsincreasingly recognize the trustworthiness of ISO standards andguides, which are the result of an open process and the expressionof an optimal level of consensus among market and social forces inthe community of nations. Their value can be fully exploited, therefore,to support the creation of the regulatory infrastructure needed by theworld market.

ISO will continue its efforts to strengthen its partnership with the WTOand to establish similar relationships with other institutions, such asUN agencies and other international, regional or national organiza-tions.

This general objective is served by initiatives such as the creation ofthe Forum for Standards Actions in the Global Market (SGM Forum),established in 1999 with an active contribution from ISO. The SGMForum now includes 11 member organizations (ICC, ICSCA, IFAN,IEC, ISO, ITU, ITC-UNCTAD/WTO, UNCTAD, UN/ECE, UNIDO, WIPO1),and WTO as an observer. The intention is to bring together internationalorganizations with a stake in standardization, representing both theprivate and governmental sectors, to exchange views and to coordinatetheir activities.

1. ICC: InternationalChamber of Commerce

ICSCA: Industry Cooperationon Standards and ConformityAssessment

IFAN: InternationalFederation of StandardsUsers

ITC-UNCTAD/WTO:International Trade CentreUNCTAD/WTO

UNCTAD: United NationsConference on Trade andDevelopment

UN/ECE: United NationsEconomic Commission forEurope

UNIDO: United NationsIndustrial DevelopmentOrganization

WIPO: World IntellectualProperty Organization


3.2.2 Providing unique added value for the ISOconstituency and its partners

The institutional recognition of ISO standards and guides, in turn, isone of the most important added values that ISO can offer its con-stituency and stakeholders, and a key differentiating factor comparedto industry consortia and other organizations which develop stand-ards intended for use in world trade.

In line with its strategic goal of meeting different interests and needsin a flexible way, the ISO community is open to the possibility of pro-viding alternative paths to different interest groups and standardsdeveloping organizations – through the new ISO deliverables orthrough other specific collaborative frameworks in partnership withISO – to achieve a higher level of influence and institutional recogni-tion. The guiding principle for ISO's relationship with other standardsdeveloping organizations are set out in the Annex (Council Resolu-tion 14/2001).

Within this flexible environment, the ISO standards portfolio contin-ues to stand as a coherent set of international agreements recog-nized as making a significant and efficient contribution to the removalof technical barriers to trade.

This added value deserves to be promoted and ISO should further itsoffer to develop collaborative efforts with regional or internationalinterest groups or bodies that are ready to accept ISO's core prin-ciples and to see joint work evolve towards the status of InternationalStandards.

3.2.3 Increasing the harmonization of the internationalstandardization and conformity assessment system

ISO will increase its efforts to improve its collaborative relationshipswith IEC and ITU with the aim of establishing common lines of actionwhich, while respecting the specificity of each organization, will pro-vide credible evidence of a well-designed, coherent and effective"International Standardization System".

ISO will increase its efforts to harmonize and promote a global con-formity assessment framework, i.e. a unified set of rules and consist-ent application at national level. This is the key to facilitating trade ingoods and services and, in effect, to further improving the welfare ofpeople throughout the world – under balanced, regulated, public pro-tection and fair commercial competition. The WTO/TBT Agreementpromotes the recognition of conformity assessment results producedin exporting countries, thereby reducing barriers to trade, and em-phasizes that confidence in the continued reliability of conformityassessment results is a prerequisite to recognition of conformityassessment. In this regard, the fact of meeting the requirements ofISO/IEC standards and guides for conformity assessment activities


prepared by the ISO Committee on conformity assessment (CASCO)can be a useful benchmark of the technical competence and perform-ance of conformity assessment bodies.

ISO will actively work to ensure that maximum transparency, open-ness and impartiality are maintained in agreements between ISO andregional standardization bodies, so that all regional and national viewsare reflected in ISO standards in a balanced manner. At the sametime, the ISO members need to intensify their efforts to increase thescope and usefulness of International Standards and thereby mini-mize the need for specifically regional and national standardizationactivities (i.e. activities that do not have a related counterpart at inter-national level).

3.3 Promoting the ISO system and its standards

3.3.1 Improving outreach to industrial leaders

It is necessary to convey the concept that standards have a strongimpact on businesses and that involvement in international stand-ardization and in ISO brings strategic and practical benefits to theparticipants and their sponsoring organizations.

Direct contacts with business, industrial, governmental and asso-ciation leaders organized by the members, with support from theISO Principal Officers and the Central Secretariat, will significantlyhelp to improve understanding and appreciation of ISO at top andmiddle management levels in companies and other organizations,and to encourage these to become involved in ISO's major decision-making process on strategies, priorities and technical work.

It is also extremely important to improve understanding of:

• how the consensus principle actually operates in ISO (consensusamong substantially affected parties, which does not mean una-nimity, but rather an open and demonstrable attempt to achieveunanimity); and

• how it is possible for any grouping of enterprises, consumer as-sociations or other organizations to maintain a balanced approachbetween adoption of the full consensus principle, on one hand,and quick response to specific, urgent needs, on the other hand,within the ISO framework, with the various products and servicesoffered by the ISO process.

3.3.2 Improving communications and information delivery

A continued, strong effort to renew and improve communication isneeded. The community of the ISO members should devise and im-plement, with a high degree of coordination:richer, updated and easy-


to-access information on the activities of the ISO system; compre-hensive and modern information resources covering the wholespectrum of news, facts, points of view and reference information onstandardization (to demonstrate how much it can affect business andhuman/social relationships); and new means for managing relation-ships with customers and the general public.

Confirming the trends anticipated a few years ago, the Internet is un-leashing unprecedented potential in terms of access, interactivity andavailability of information, which makes it now imperative to considerthe Internet as the primary channel of communication to the variousaudiences potentially interested in the standardization system. Thiswill require continuous rethinking of the overall information and com-munication strategy, with an " Internet-centred approach ". The Internetshould become the definitive reference medium, meaning that infor-mation and communication should be designed and delivered throughthe Internet first, all other forms of communication being regarded as" by-products ".

3.3.3 Strengthening member commitments todemonstrate and promote the use of ISO standards

Creating ISO standards is a costly endeavour; to justify these costs,it is important to identify new and better ways of demonstrating thatISO standards are widely used.

The ISO system must ensure the development and/or acceptanceof internationally applicable standards that facilitate internationaltrade. Standards developed within the ISO environment must focuson projects that are market relevant and globally acceptable.

This should lead to less expenditure and greater use/implementa-tion of the resulting International Standards, providing better justifi-cation of the cost of their development. ISO will look forward to:

• strengthening the commitment of all its members and otherappropriate entities to using the ISO system where appropriate;

• linking positive votes with the commitment of the member bodiesto effectively promote the implementation of the approved stand-ards in their countries through formal national adoption and/or othertechniques;

• demonstrating the wide use of International Standards (if there isinsufficient evidence of wide use, consideration shall be given towithdrawing the International Standards concerned).


3.4 Optimizing the use of resources

3.4.1 Serving market needs and funding the operationsaccordingly

ISO will increase its efforts to gear its activities towards best servingthe needs of the market. In line with this major objective, a specific initia-tive has been undertaken to describe and categorize the various serv-ices provided to different customer groups by the bodies comprizingthe ISO system (members, TC/SCs, policy development committees,Central Secretariat). The value added by the core services is beingthoroughly assessed and compared with the costs incurred in provid-ing them, and the exercise shall be taken further to optimize the alloca-tion of resources and find the best "fit" with identified market needs.

The ISO governance bodies need to define and carry through a me-dium to long term optimization programme for this purpose, with clearindications, targets and monitoring for the allocation of resources amongthe different categories of services and among the different bodies thatmake up the ISO system.

The activities of the Central Secretariat have been subdivided into " basicservices ", for the performance of general statutory tasks, and " additionalservices ", for providing specific added value to members and third par-ties. Funding sources can be divided into three main categories :sub-scription fees, sales (of products and services) and sponsorships/dona-tions (to support specific programmes, such as assistance to develop-ing countries). The ISO governance bodies should define clear strategicobjectives with regard to the relative share of these funding components.

The ISO Statutes state that the Organization's objective is "the develop-ment of standardization in the world with a view to facilitating internationalexchange of goods and services and to developing cooperation". To meetthis objective and face the challenges of the years to come, "basic serv-ices" (mostly supported by members' subscription fees) and "additionalservices" (mostly supported by revenues from services and sponsor-ships/donations) should both be pursued in an well balanced manner.

3.4.2 Focus on priorities and strict cost management

To optimize the use of available resources, it is essential to maintain afocused approach. ISO has introduced, and intends to consistentlyapply, strict criteria to ensure that appropriate resources are allocatedto its highest priority programmes and lines of action.

To succeed, this approach has to be followed consistently at all levelswithin the system (Central Secretariat, policy development committees,technical committees) and requires the best possible coordination amongthe various bodies concerned.

Continuous improvement and cost reduction are also key factors. In allof its operations, central and distributed, ISO will make every conceiv-


able effort to improve its performance, devising new ways of workingmore intelligently by redesigning its processes, and by using Informa-tion and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to make better useof available human resources. A careful cost-benefit analysis has to beundertaken, providing clear economic justification for each service re-quired and for all new developments planned for improving the effi-ciency and the quality of operations.

3.4.3 Full exploitation of the ICT enabling potential

The use of modern ICT infrastructures and applications has proven tobe extremely helpful in improving the efficiency of the standardizationsystem's processes (reducing development times and costs) and inimproving its openness (lowering the barriers to access).

Significant progress has been achieved in the last few years with thesystematic introduction of Internet-based, computerized services tosupport mission-critical applications. Productivity at the Central Secre-tariat and within the member organizations has increased, and newservices have changed the way the whole Organization works, includ-ing in particular the electronic distribution of official information to theISO members, the creation of the repository of standards in electronicform, which is feeding the production and distribution chain of manymembers, and the introduction of electronic balloting. Strong collabora-tion and mutual understanding among peer organizations has fosteredinteroperability and the implementation of integrated solutions.

While continuing to pursue this objective, ISO has conceived, and isactively working on, the next step forward, towards a deep and com-plete transformation of the Organization. The ISO system is indeed onthe verge of being re-designed as a virtual organization, whose corebusiness processes are structured and managed to take full advan-tage of available ICT infrastructures and applications.

The cornerstone of this approach is the Internet, with a variety of under-lying technologies, products, computing and business-related modelsthat currently drive the fast-moving ICT sector. In strategic terms, thereare four major areas of development (some of which are already par-tially covered by current projects) that ISO is addressing with a view tobuilding a consistent virtual organization where:

a) the entire standards development process is supported by a setof integrated modules that will provide a more open, flexible andproductive working environment;

b) decision-making and consensus-building are supported by struc-tured, assisted electronic procedures;

c) a comprehensive information resource is available to serve differ-ent communities of stakeholders (the ISO members, experts andthe general public); and


d) advanced electronic commerce models are available to supportthe delivery of products and services.

3.4.4 Protecting ISO's image, integrity and intellectual property

The protection of ISO's image and integrity, and of its intellectual prop-erty rights, are matters that deserve growing attention, especially inconnection with two basic trends:

• the widespread use of ISO standards for management systems,and the related accreditation/certification/market control cycleswhere misinterpretations and misuses undermine ISO's image andintegrity, and

• the substantial growth of electronic communication, creating newchallenges in regard to the use of the ISO name and logo incyberspace, and to possible infringements involving unauthorizedduplication of ISO's copyrighted content.

To protect ISO's image and integrity, the Organization has approveda set of recommendations, and the ISO members are encouraged touse all legal means to deal with the main problems, in particular men-dacious publicity, and to use their influence with accreditation bodies.More coordination among the ISO members and stronger action isneeded to limit the spread of problems that could undermine consumerand business confidence and thus seriously damage the entire ISOsystem.

To protect ISO's intellectual property, the Organization urgently needsto define a set of principles and operational guidelines. These will haveto be shared and consistently applied by the ISO members, with theassistance of the Central Secretariat, in all countries where there isevidence of violations, and with all the relevant international authori-ties (e.g. international arbitration frameworks, etc.).

3.5 Supporting national standards bodies indeveloping countries

3.5.1 Upgrading standardization infrastructures indeveloping countries

Experience gained by ISO in providing training and advisory serv-ices to ISO members from developing countries shows that assist-ance programmes could usefully be extended to focus on securingbasic "threshold level" standardization infrastructures (metrology, cali-bration, standards information, testing and certification), which canbecome and remain viable in the particular social and economicenvironment of the country concerned. To a certain extent, similar needsexist in some ISO member countries that are in the process of transition


to market economies. There is significant opportunity here for ISO touse its experience to play an educational and focusing role with re-spect to international aid agencies and other donors, as emphasizedby ISO and WTO in the framework of the WTO/TBT Committee.

3.5.2 Enhancing participation to internationalstandardization by means of information technology

International standardization is adopting information and communica-tion technologies (ICT) at a fast rate to support its working proceduresand the delivery of and access to information. While the minimum levelof infrastructure required to participate in the ISO system is nownormally affordable and achieved by the vast majority of the ISOmembers, there is a risk that some ISO members in countries that donot have adequate ICT infrastructures or – as is more often the case –an adequate understanding and mastering of ICT solutions may be-come more isolated from mainstream international standardization.

For developing countries and countries with economies in transition,rapid progress in this area represents a great opportunity to catchup with the industrialized countries, if they can face the challenge ofrapidly developing the necessary infrastructures and exploiting theirpotential to obtain easier and more affordable access to information,work processes and decision-making.

ISO intends to design and implement focused and systematicinitiatives aimed at helping the national standards bodies in developingcountries and economies in transition to make use and take advantageof ICT solutions, new working methods and ways of exchanginginformation in the areas of standardization and conformity assessment.

ISO will allocate resources and funds (at a level to be agreed by itsgovernance bodies) and will seek synergy with donor programmestargeting specific countries or regions (such as the "Mediterranean 2000"project, a precursor in this approach) in order:

• to provide generalized informative support and helpdesk services;

• to assess the situation and needs of national standards bodies;

• to provide focused information and training material.

In addition, the national standards bodies in countries targeted byparticular donor programmes will receive:

• equipment and customized software;

• training and on-site assistance services.

ISO intends to take advantage of all opportunities to extend the numberof countries receiving support. In the medium-term, this support shouldreach most (if not all) of the ISO members in developing countries.


3.5.3 Donor programme support

Technical assistance programmes for developing countries are spon-sored by many organizations, some at international level (e.g. UNCTAD,UNIDO and UNDP2) and many in the bilateral assistance context,involving national and regional governmental agencies. ISO membersin donor countries are those best positioned to influence their ownagencies, with appropriate support as needed from the ISOProgramme for Developing Countries. The Programme should focuson influencing those agencies operating at international level.

4Summary of ISO’s major strategies 2002-2004

* Detailed indications concerning initiatives and target dates for the various strategic elements will be included in the pertinent working documents to be examined by Council

– Definition andimplementation ofcooperationframework

4.1 Increasing ISO’s market relevance. Strategy addressing key objectives: 2.1, 2.3, 2.9 and 2.10

Better understanding marketneeds and improvingparticipation of enterprises

Council – Organizationalimprovements

– Sector initiatives– Partnerships

Member bodymanagement, ISO/CS,TMB

More effectiverepresentation ofconsumers andsocial forces

Council(strategic guidelines)and COPOLCO(imput and recom-mendations)

– Partnerships– Raising awareness

Member bodysecretariats, ISO/CS,COPOLCO

Strengthening technicalprogramme management

Member bodysecretariats, ISO/CS(support functions)

Council (strategicguidelines) andTMB (rules,procedures)

– Enhancement andcontinuous manage-ment of procedures

– Implementationsupport (e.g. tools,training)

– Monitoring and control

Adopting InternationalStandards and guides as abasis for institutionalrecognition

Council – Awareness andimplementationof WTO/TBTrecommendations

– Promotion of ISO'smechanisms andachievements to theWTO, working moreclosely with the TBTCommittee

Members

Central Secretariat

Providing uniqueadded value to theISO constituency

Council TMB – Raising awareness Members

Increasing harmonizationof the internationalstandardization andconformity assessmentsystem

ISO/IEC/ITU-T WorldStandards Cooperation,ISO Council, CASCO(input for global con-formity assessmentframework)

Members, ISO/CS,CASCO

Major StrategiesStrategic elements

Key tasks * ImplementingISO bodies

Initiating andresponsibleISO body

4.2 Strengthening ISO's institutional recognition. Strategy addressing key objectives: 2.2, 2.5, 2.6,2.8 and 2.9

2. UNDP: United NationsDevelopment Programme


4.3 Promoting the ISO system and its standards. Strategy addressing key objectives: 2.1, 2.5, and 2.8

4.4 Optimizing the use of resources. Strategy addressing key objective: 2.7

4.5 Supporting national standards bodies in developing countries.Strategy addressing key objectives: 2.1, 2.4, and 2.8

Improving outreach toindustrial leaders

Council – Ad hoc initiatives– Management of

relationships

ISO/CS, Principal ISOOfficers, memberbody seniormanagement

Improving communicationsand information delivery

Council and GA(strategic guidelines)andISO/CS (planningand control)

– Identification ofissues and lines ofaction

– Coordination ofimplementation

– Monitoring andcontrol

ISO/CS, regionalorganizations,member bodies

Commitment todemonstrate use ofISO standards

Council – Policy definition– Monitoring and

control

Members

Council Council (through adhoc committees),ISO/CS, memberbodies

– Evaluation ofalternativescenarios

– Policy definition


Focus on priorities andstrict cost management

– Priority setting– Policy definition– Monitoring and

control

Council TMB

** Information Technology Strategies Implementation Group

Threshold infrastructuresconcept development

DEVCO – Planning and prioritysetting

– Projectsimplementation


Members, ISO/CS,donor agencies

Enhancing participation bymeans of IT

Council – Priority setting– Programme planning– Projects

implementation– Monitoring and

control

Members bodies

Initiating andresponsibleISO body

Major StrategiesStrategic elements

ImplementingISO bodies

Key tasks*

ISO/CS, memberbody secretariats

Serving market needsand funding operationsaccordingly

Council (togetherwith ad hoc groupsreporting to Coun-cil, e.g. ITSIG**)

ISO/CS, ITSIG,member bodies, TCs

– Definition ofstrategic objectives

– Project planningand implementation


Protecting ISO's image,integrity and intellectualproperty

– Policy definition– Ad hoc initiatives– Monitoring and

control

Council Members, ISO/CS

Full exploitation of the ICTpotential

Coordinated donorprogramme support

ISO/CS (DEVPRO) – Collection ofrequirements

– Programme planning– Ad hoc initiatives

Members, ISO/CS,donor agencies

Summary of ISO’s major strategies 2002-2004 (continued)



Criticalsuccessfactors,performancemeasuresand financialconsiderations

5 5.1 Critical success factors

The success of any strategic planning exercise is, of course, fully de-pendent on the degree of commitment within the organization as a wholeto implement the plan. In the case of ISO, those ultimately responsiblefor implementing the required improvement actions are the memberbodies, particularly those responsible for TC and SC secretariats, andthe Central Secretariat.

In ISO, the actions required to achieve the objectives have to be initi-ated and agreed by the elected representatives of the member bod-ies, i.e. the Principal Officers and the member body representativesserving on Council, the Technical Management Board and the policydevelopment committees. If full commitment to act – even in cases wheregoverning body decisions were not unanimously supported - is notachieved then neither will be the objectives of the plan.

Staff development is the final critical factor. To deliver the directionsand strategies outlined in this document, investment in the develop-ment, performance management, and motivation of the ISO staff is ex-tremely important. In all of its operations, central and distributed, ISOwill develop systems that reward and manage the performance of thestaff, that motivate and encourage behaviours consistent with best prac-tice and the directions and values embedded within ISO's strategies.

5.2 Performance measures

Performance measures have to be defined for each strategic elementthus far identified and proposed, and for the various initiatives thatwill be undertaken to achieve the objectives of the ISO strategic plan.A continuous effort is required to identify and perfect objective indi-cators and appropriate procedures to monitor them, as the basis forany evaluation of strategy implementation.

During the past few years, several important elements have beenintroduced by ISO, laying the groundwork for an effective and articu-lated system of performance measurement. These elements aremainly the result of initiatives undertaken in the framework of the ISOstrategic plan for 1999-2001 and include, in particular the:

a) TC business plans (TCBP);

b) Standards Value Assessment Tool (SVAT);

c) standards development and standards production statistics (de-rived from the ISO/CS Project Management Database);

d) sales analysis;

e) website statistics (available for ISO Online version 3);

f) database of the technical assistance projects for developingcountries in the field of standardization, testing and metrology(SGM Forum database).


The tools that have been developed and the processes that havebeen put in place to collect data and perform analysis will be refinedand enhanced during the next few years. New tools and proce-dures to improve performance measurement will be introduced aswell, but the existing structure already provides a "good-enough"basis, if supported and consistently applied by all the partiesconcerned (ISO/CS, TCs, member body secretariats) to evaluatethe degree of success with which the strategies are being imple-mented, as presented below.

a) TC business plans (TCBPs) provide a framework and a guide:

• to define precisely the reference market for the aggregate of prod-ucts, services or other meaningful entities of interest for a par-ticular TC, e.g. overall size and trend of the market – combinedrevenues, number of enterprises and number of employees,growth rates, market share structure, breakdown of revenuesper region and per country, volume of international trade;

• to assess the market representativeness of the participants inthe standardization process, e.g. the number of worldwide orregional market leaders involved, associations, consumer organi-zations, etc.;

• to set and justify priorities, define target dates and milestones;and

• to justify, on a quantitative and qualitative basis, the activitiespursued by the TC.

b) The Standards Value Assessment Tool (SVAT) has been devel-oped to help TCs follow objective criteria in terms of market rel-evance when evaluating new work item proposals, the establish-ment of new committees and the review of existing standards.

c) Regarding statistics:

• those provided by the ISO/CS Project Management Databaseoffer detailed data enabling the Central Secretariat to reconstructthe history and development status of the various work itemswith multiple levels of aggregation, and to monitor several keyperformance indicators (elapsed time between stages, averageprocessing time, etc.);

• new technical developments and new procedures will enablethe Organization to perform a more detailed estimate of the costsassociated with the most important phases of the developmentand production process, to improve the global assessment ofprocess efficiency; and


• the increasing use of IT services to provide information and tosupport standards development and standards delivery isgenerating a wealth of new data (related with access and useof services) that will offer some ways to analyze the behaviourand the satisfaction of different categories of stakeholders.

d) The process of data collection and sales analysis, begun in theyear 2000, will allow the Central Secretariat:

• to consolidate data from all ISO members; to aggregate dataregarding the sales of ISO standards and national adoptions;

• to extract detailed information on the sales of individual ISOstandards; and

• to make estimates of the standards penetration within thevarious industry-sectors and geographies.

e) Web site statistics supplied by the new version of ISO's website (ISO Online) and by the ISO/CS web store will provide forsubstantial progress in evaluating the number and quality of con-tacts with the different kinds of users, which can be combinedwith measures of customer satisfaction and evaluations of ISO'simage.

f) The database of technical assistance projects for develop-ing countries (SGM Forum database), completed in 2001, isanother very useful tool to improve the management of projectsand to support the coordination of initiatives with partner agen-cies.

In general terms, the most significant effort to be pursued in thecoming years is a timely and coherent application of the criteriaand procedures throughout the system. It will be necessary to col-lect data, track processes, and ensure an extensive adoption ofthe appropriate decision-support tools.

5.3 Financial considerations

Meeting all of the proposed objectives will naturally imply increasedfinancing by at least some elements of the ISO system. For exam-ple, the establishment of new TCs requires the commitment of netadditional resources by participating member bodies, secretariatsand working groups, if all existing TCs in which the member partici-pates are to continue to be supported. These considerations are ofimportance mainly to each individual ISO member.

ISO maintains liaison relationships at the TC/SC level with a largenumber of international and broadly based regional organizationsthat have an interest in specific sectors of ISO's work. Until now, the


costs involved in maintaining these liaisons (providing documents,sending invitations and hosting meetings, handling correspondence,etc.) have been paid entirely by ISO, and this policy needs to bereviewed and possibly modified. As a guiding principle, organiza-tions in liaison should be invited to ensure that their contributions tothe ISO processes (technical and/or monetary) are in balance withthe benefits they obtain from the liaison relationship.

For jointly shared costs (those normally assigned as central expen-ditures for basic services), it is anticipated that the diligent, system-wide application of process simplification, process re-engineering,and extensive use of electronic information processing and com-munication tools should enable the Organization to maintain a con-stant rate of productivity improvement. These gains should at leastcounterbalance the increasing demand for high quality servicesfrom members and the expansion of higher value-adding activi-ties.

For new programmes and additional services, the cost of which mightalso be centrally financed (e.g. specific initiatives to support devel-oping countries, to improve communication, to improve the qualityand efficiency of tasks of common interest to the members…),mechanisms should be sought to cover additional costs by obtain-ing resource support from direct participants, sponsors and donors.Proposals for such programmes need to be considered by Councilas packages that include finance mechanisms.

New programmes of a "strategic" or "political" nature, such as theestablishment and maintenance of collaborative relationships withWTO or other international organizations, may also require netincreases in central expenditure, as well as new expenditure forthe members deriving from their relationship with national membersof WTO and other organizations.

Following traditional practices, revenues derived from sales of ISOstandards will be shared between the ISO members and the Cen-tral Secretariat in accordance with the policies established by Council.This remains necessary to sustain the Organization at all levels andto safeguard the sources and levels of revenue needed to helpsupport ISO work at national level.


Council Resolution 14/2001

Council, referring to the discussion it had during its brainstorming ses-sion on the ISO relationship with other standards developing organiza-tions,

confirms the fundamental principles of the ISO system as set out inAnnex 1 to Council 12/2001,

decides that ISO should position itself to be inclusive and flexible ratherthan exclusive in its relationships with other standards developing or-ganizations,

expresses the view that ISO can only gain from such cooperative rela-tionships as long as ISO's fundamental values are protected and whensuch partnerships increase the speed, scope and market relevance ofISO standards,

appreciates that the brand name "ISO" should only be used in resultingpublications with partners in ways that will not depreciate the value ormarket understanding of the ISO brand,

endorses the partnerships thus far established, which conform to thecurrent policies, and decides that ISO should become more proactivewith other standards developing organizations that are having a signifi-cant impact on the global economy,

entrusts the Secretary-General to promote agreements with possiblenew partners, in consultation with the TMB to ensure that no duplicationor conflicts would result, and when appropriate to propose new agree-ments for approval by Council,

invites the Secretary-General to take the steps required to implementthe conclusions of the Council discussion.

ANNEX

ANNEX 1 to Council 12/2001[ANNEX 12 toGeneral Assembly 12/1999]

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LIST OF FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE ISO SYSTEM

as approved by Council under Resolution 25/1999

In the context of the Council discussion of potential pilot projects with the USA Standardsdevelopment organizations (SDOs), Council has approved the following list of fundamentalprinciples of the ISO system, to serve as the guiding framework for negotiating any relevantcollaborative agreements.

1. Principles of due process, transparency, and consensus-based voluntarystandardization at the global level.

Recalling ISO’s vision statement (ref. Long Range Strategies 1996-1998, and 1999-2001):

ISO intends to be recognized as an influential and responsive producer inthe development of globally applicable international standards, which meetor exceed the expectations of the community of nations. ISO shall strive atall times to perfect the application of consensus and transparencyprinciples in standardization and, in this way, promote the values ofrationality, safety and environmental protection for the benefit of allpeoples.

1.1 The principles of consensus and due process organized and safeguarded by the nationalmembers∗ of ISO, who are responsible for casting all national/country votes in the ISOstandards development and policy development processes.

1.2 The principle that an ISO TC/SC must follow authorized procedures in carrying out itswork, and that the consensus of the relevant TC/SC members must be supportive of anyspecial procedural exceptions proposed for authorization by the TMB or Council.

1.3 The principle that a member of ISO has the right to adopt, and is encouraged to adopt,any ISO International Standard or other ISO normative publication as its own nationalstandard.

2. Member rights, responsibilities and operating principles of the ISO system havingbeen stable and widely appreciated for several decades

In brief, without resort to a word-by-word review of the Statutes and related decisions ofCouncil, the rights and responsibilities of ISO members may be summarized as follows:

Right 1: Only one ISO member per country is recognized by ISO. Each ISO member can beassured that it is the ultimate representative of ISO for its own country.

Responsibility 1a: An ISO member undertakes to be the organization most broadlyrepresentative of standardization in its country. An ISO member may delegate itsmembership rights and obligations to other organizations in its country if it so wishes butremains responsible to the other members of ISO for its primary responsibilities. These

∗ The entire document refers to "members of ISO"; it should be noted, however, that in certain cases

the principles, rights or responsibilities do not apply to correspondent members and to subscribermembers.

ANNEX 1 to Council 12/2001[ANNEX 12 to General Assembly 12/1999]Page 2

jk/vg/12422650

responsibilities include providing open and consensus based representation of their owncountry’s views in both technical and policy related matters.

Responsibility 1b: An ISO member accepts to pay “its fair share” of the costs to maintainthe ISO infrastructure, including the core function costs of the ISO Central Secretariat,according to subscription levels decided by Council.

---------------------------

Right 2: ISO members may distribute and sell national adoptions of ISO Standards (see 1.3above) without paying royalties or additional fees to ISO or to any of its othermembers.

Responsibility 2a: When selling ISO publications which are not adopted as nationalstandards, ISO members are required to pay royalties or copying fees to ISO accordingto rules established by Council.

Responsibility 2b: Each member shall take appropriate actions to ensure the correctuse of the ISO name and Mark (logo) in its country, and to prevent unauthorized sale ofthe texts of ISO publications in any form.

------------------------------------

Right 3: ISO members have the right to seek appointment or election to ISO’s governingbodies, i.e. Council and the Technical Management Board (TMB). They may be appointed orelected as members of these bodies according to democratic procedures set out in the ISOStatutes.

Responsibility 3a: When serving as elected representatives of the ISO membership onCouncil or the TMB, members are expected to act on behalf of the membership as awhole.

Responsibility 3b: In matters pertaining to the delineation of work between ISOTechnical Committees (TCs) and the performance and assignment of TC/SC Secretariats,ISO members are obliged to respect the decisions of the TMB.

Responsibility 3c: In matters pertaining to strategic and policy development initiativesof the Organization, and to the rules applied to its members in financial and commercialmatters, ISO members are obliged to respect the decisions of Council.

------------------------------------------

Right 4: ISO members have the right to participate in any standards development workwhich is intended to result in the approval of an ISO Standard, or to another normativepublication to be approved by ISO (e.g. new deliverables such as PAS, TS, TR and ITAs∗ ).They also have the right to appeal, within time limits set by the Council, against any actionor inaction of a technical committee or the TMB, with final appeals being decided by Council.

∗ PAS: Publicly Available Specification

TS: Technical SpecificationTR: Technical ReportITA: Industry Technical Agreement

ANNEX 1 to Council 12/2001[ANNEX 12 to GeneralAssembly 12/1999]Page 3

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Responsibility 4a: For the ISO work in which they choose to participate, ISO members areexpected to organize national consultation mechanisms, according to their national needsand possibilities, which prepare national positions that reflect a balance of their country’snational interests and are presented by their national delegations for consideration byrelevant ISO TC/SCs (or other technical bodies established by the TMB).

Responsibility 4b: When participating in the standards development work of ISO, ISOmembers are obliged to adhere to procedural rules established by the TMB. These rulesmay be different in various cases, depending on the kind of normative agreement beingdeveloped, or for specific standards (e.g. fast track procedures, or special case proceduresapplicable to particular standards development or adoption objectives).

------------------------------

Right 5: ISO members have the right to comment and vote, within specified time limits,on any normative publication of ISO, according to voting rules and procedures approved byISO (on a one-vote per country basis with negative votes requiring objective justifications).

Responsibility 5a: When developing national positions on proposed ISO Standards,members are expected to organize public review processes in their own countries in orderto achieve the widest possible exposure to all interested parties, including governments,consumers, and other potential users.

Responsibility 5b: ISO members must respect the results of ISO’s consensus buildingprocesses, i.e. that an ISO normative document is approved when there is an absence ofsustained opposition by any important part of the concerned interests, and according to aprocess that involves seeking to take account of the views of all parties and to reconcile anyconflicting arguments.

------------------------------

Right 6: ISO members have the right to seek appointment as Secretariats of ISOtechnical committees and subcommittees (TCs and SCs) in accord with the rules set outby the TMB. They may do this on behalf of another organization in their country, but remainresponsible for the effective discharge of the responsibilities accepted.

Responsibility 6: When appointed as a TC or SC Secretariat the member or its delegatedrepresentative undertakes to provide the necessary human and monitary resources toadhere to the TC/SC Service Agreements required by ISO for the performance ofSecretariat duties which include acting in an unbiased capacity for the administration of therelevant ISO work.

NATIONALSTANDARDSSTRATEGYFOR THE

UNITED STATES

A NATIONAL STANDARDS STRATEGY FOR THE UNITED STATES

2

Voluntary consensus standards for products, processes and

services are at the foundation of the U.S. economy and society.

The United States has a proud tradition of developing and using

voluntary standards to support the needs of our citizens and the

competitiveness of U.S. industry. The American National Standards

Institute (ANSI), the coordinator of the U.S. standards system, has

brought together public and private sector1 interests to make this

happen.

But the system is facing new challenges. Increasing global concern

for health, safety and the protection of the environment combined

with dramatic increases in world trade and competition from other

countries have altered the standards landscape. At the national

level, Congress has directed federal agencies to rely on voluntary

consensus standards where compatible with their mission, raising

the importance of national standardization processes for both the

market and society.

IINTRODUCTION

1 The word �sector� is used in two different meanings in this document. The first use divides theworld into the �public sector� and the �private sector,� distinguishing between the roles of govern-ment and non-government. The second use refers to a technology area where customer needs dic-tate a coherent and consistent approach to standardization. This use is sometimes called �industrysector� or �market sector� but we have chosen to use the simpler term �sector� to include all inter-ested parties and not just commercial interests. Most standards are related to specific sectors (e.g.,information technology, automotive) and are not applicable to the needs of other sectors.


3

IMPERATIVES FOR ACTION

The standardization world has changed.

We can�t assume that U.S. technology and practices will automatically be adopted every-where, nor can we assume that within the U.S. everyone will be satisfied with �businessas usual.�

Internationally

u The European Union is aggressively and successfully promoting its technology andpractices to other nations around the world through its own standards processes andthrough its national representation in the international standards activities of theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotech-nical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

u Emerging economies with the potential for explosive growth are looking to ISO and IEC for standards. In some sectors these standards do not reflect U.S. needs orpractices.

The exclusion of technology supporting U.S. needs from international standards can be a significant detriment to U.S. competitiveness. The U.S. will lose market share as com-petitors work hard to shape standards to support their own technologies and methods.Equally important, standards are the basis for protection of health, safety and the envi-ronment. When our standards in these areas are not accepted elsewhere, we all lose.

At home

u U.S. public and private sector interests have reduced their investment in the develop-ment of globally accepted standards because of downsizing and deregulation.

u Customers of standardization want more for their money � a reduction in the dupli-cation and overlap that sometimes results from a decentralized system, and betteroptions for the delivery and utilization of standards.

u Government2 agencies demand evidence that voluntary consensus standards meethigh principles so that they can rely on them for both regulation and procurement.

2 The word �government� in this paper means government in all places and at all levels. Wheremore specificity is intended, qualification is provided � thus �U.S. government� means the partor parts of the U.S. Government relevant to the discussion. The paper does not attempt to identify specific agencies and functions within any government designation beyond this.

II


4

U.S. interests strongly agree on the principles necessary for the

development of national or international standards to meet

societal and market needs.

In successful standards processes

u Decisions are reached through consensus among those affected. u Participation is open to all affected interests.u Balance is maintained among competing interests.u The process is transparent � information on the process and progress is

directly available.u Due process assures that all views will be considered and that appeals are possible.u The process is flexible, allowing the use of different methodologies to meet the needs

of different technology and product sectors.u The process is timely; purely administrative matters do not slow down the work.u Standards activities are coherent, avoiding overlap or conflict.

Successful standards processes yield the right results

u Standards are relevant, meeting agreed criteria and satisfying real needs by providingadded value.

u Standards are responsive to the real world; they use available, current technology anddo not unnecessarily invalidate existing products or processes.

u Standards are performance-based, specifying essential characteristics rather thandetailed designs.

IIIPRINCIPLES

5

U.S. leadership in implementing these principles nationally and

internationally will turn visions into reality.

Internationally

u There is at most one globally applied standard and one globally accepted test, withconformity assessment processes appropriate to the needs of the parties, for eachcharacteristic of a product, process or service.

u Governments use voluntary consensus standards in regulation and procurement. u The system provides fair treatment for U.S. products and services, accommodating

flexible standardization solutions.u For some technology sectors, ISO and IEC are the preferred organizations within

which to achieve one global standard. Other sectors utilize other organizations toachieve that goal. The U.S. confirms its commitment to contribute consistently andeffectively in all international standardization activities.

u The standards development and delivery processes have been re-engineered toinclude full implementation of electronic tools, providing the potential for accelerat-ing the work while reducing costs and making the resulting standards available inmore convenient and responsive ways.

At home

u A cooperative process involving industry, government and consumers in the U.S. produces coherent and unified messages and well-coordinated U.S. positionsinternationally.

u All stakeholders participate in development of U.S. consensus positions. u The coordination function of ANSI is strengthened to minimize duplication and over-

lap of national standards development and to develop coherence with internationalstandards where beneficial. All materially affected interests recognize the importanceof this function and support ANSI�s role.

u Public and private sector management recognize the value of both national and inter-national standardization and fund them appropriately.


OUR STRATEGIC VISIONIV

The strength of standardization in the United States is a sectoral

focus supported by a dynamic infrastructure.

The sectoral focus comes from the participants � companies, government agencies, pub-lic interest organizations, talented individuals � who understand what is needed in theirsector, and the standards developers through which they work to meet those customerneeds. The sectoral approach allows interested parties to address their own issues anddevelop working methods that fit the problems at hand, since no single standardizationsystem can satisfy all needs. This allows efficient standards development and fostersinnovation and competition. When cross-sectoral issues arise, sector definitions change,or in venues where a single national voice is required, the infrastructure provided by theAmerican National Standards Institute (ANSI) provides facilitation and mediation.

A sectoral approach recognizes that there is no simple recipe that can be handed down tofit all needs. Sectors must develop their own plans; the purpose of a national strategy isto provide guidance, coherence and inspiration to those inside and outside the systemwithout constraining creativity or effectiveness. The U.S. National Standards Strategytherefore consists of a set of strategic initiatives having broad applicability which will beapplied according to their relevance and importance to particular sectors. Stakeholders areencouraged to develop their own tactical initiatives where needed and the national strate-gy suggests some which have widespread applicability.


6

VMOVING FORWARD

7

1 � Build on the trend in government to use voluntary consensus standardsthrough existing public/private partnerships

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in governmental reliance on voluntary consensus standards. Domestically, our vision is coming true because of cooperative public and private leadership. Public Law 104-113, the National Technology Transferand Advancement Act of 1995 (NTTAA), is the cornerstone for this at the federallevel, promoting increased use of voluntary consensus standards for both regulationand procurement. We are also making progress internationally; examples include re-engineering at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and NATO�s use of voluntary consensus standards.

Further progress can be made as standards developers in all sectors work with the appro-priate governmental agencies to increase use of the voluntary consensus process. In addi-tion, new initiatives can increase the use of voluntary consensus standards at the state andlocal level to reduce the cost to the public, government and business (including conform-ity assessment) without compromising public interests. Tactical initiatives include:

u ANSI should provide state and local government with ways to easily identify where their interests are being addressed, and mechanisms for participating in overall policy development;

u Standards developers should work with governmental organizations to supportincreased use of voluntary consensus standards in their areas of expertise;

u U.S. Government, in addition to its ongoing efforts in support of the NTTAA,should provide leadership in intergovernmental activities at the regional and glob-al levels for closer cooperation with voluntary consensus standards processes;

u U.S. Government should use existing relationships with state and local government and their responsibilities under NTTAA to support greater use ofvoluntary standards.

2 � Address the ongoing need for standards in support of health, safety and theenvironment

While U.S. standards have contributed significantly to improving safeguards for health,safety and the environment, the U.S. standards system must continue to incorporate technical excellence based on sound science. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers should establish specific guidance to encourage partici-pants to include health, safety and the environment as integral aspects of theirwork;

u Government should participate in standards development efforts to define tech-nical specifications that meet public objectives, and encourage the sameapproach internationally;

u Industry should support participation in standardization nationally and interna-tionally, and make sure that the resulting standards add value;

u ANSI should provide active coordination in the areas of health, safety and theenvironment for U.S. standards developers to ensure that the principles of open-ness, balance, due process and consensus are met;

u ANSI and the standards developers should also be proactive in internationalgroups such as ISO, IEC and ITU that rely on national body representation.


3 � Improve the responsiveness of the standards system to the views and needs ofconsumer interests

The representation of consumer interests in standardization is important because standardsare increasingly used to define parameters of products and services critical to consumers.Consumers have always been part of the U.S. standards development process, and princi-ples such as openness and balance ensure that their voices can be heard. The U.S. standards system needs to continue to pay attention to consumers and make sure that theirvoices not only can be heard, but are heard. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers should review consumer participation in their committees,determine if there is appropriate representation, and develop plans to address theresults;

u ANSI, standards developers and government should establish initiatives to educate consumer organizations on investing in both technical and policy partic-ipation, and the methods available to do so;

u ANSI should explore with the standards communities of Canada and Mexico thepossibility of establishing a regional body for consumer interests;

u Industry should use consumer research as the basis for standardization initiativesand decisions;

u Government should review its consumer-related programs and initiate standardsinformation and participation programs where appropriate;

u Consumer organizations should establish programs to review information suchas ANSI�s Standards Action to identify areas where they need to be active.

4 � Broaden the U.S. standards �umbrella� to include all those organizations thatare contributing to the standards system

Standards in the U.S. are developed by a variety of organizations ranging from thoseaccredited by ANSI to special purpose industry consortia. This diversity is welcomed �the U.S. sees no need to force everyone into a single mold, and applauds the benefits thatresult. The U.S. process will be further strengthened when the talents of all these organ-izations are directed toward common objectives. As newer organizations develop theirspecifications, their work becomes the basis for action by the formal process when thatadds value. Further linkages between these different types of organizations can thereforeresult in better standards. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers should review their own operations to see if alternativeprocesses such as those provided by leading U.S. standards developers to supportnon-traditional standards groups would further strengthen standardization intheir sectors;

u ANSI should review its accreditation process to ensure that it adds value, andinvestigate its applicability to broader constituencies;

u U.S. Government should encourage more use of the principles embodied inaccreditation by recognizing the ANSI process as providing sufficient evidencethat American National Standards (ANS) meet federal criteria for voluntaryconsensus standards;

u Non-traditional standards organizations should review their objectives to determinewhere closer interaction with the formal system will help add value to their efforts;

u Industry should review its activities in all standards developers to improve theoverall effectiveness of standardization.


8

9

5 � Work to improve processes internationally to more closely reflect our principles and vision

The U.S. recognizes that not all standards development reflects the ideals embodied in ourprinciples and visions. Our objective, therefore, is for each part of the U.S. system tostrive toward better implementation of those principles and visions and to work towardsimilar improvements where we participate outside the U.S. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers in the U.S. who provide for international participationshould make sure that all viewpoints, including those from developing nations,receive proper consideration;

u ANSI should take the leadership in ensuring that our principles and visionsincluding the advantages of a sectoral approach and the desirability of globallyaccepted standards are addressed in regional organizations such as the PacificArea Standards Congress (PASC) and the Comisión Panamericana de NormasTécnicas (COPANT);

u U.S. Government should, in its interactions with other governments, supportprocess improvements and encourage them to provide similar support for theirvoluntary consensus standards developers.

The majority of U.S. participation outside the U.S. takes place in ISO and IEC and there-fore deserves special attention. Reviewing the work now underway to re-engineer theITU, for example, can help introduce new �best in class� processes. Tactical initiativesthat should be undertaken by all organizations working in ISO and IEC � ANSI, stan-dards developers, industry, and government � to further achieve the best standards tosupport trade and commerce while protecting health, safety and the environment include:

u Provide leadership in moving further a toward flexible sector-based structure andmanagement;

u Provide leadership in further streamlining their processes and operations, includ-ing further alignment and consolidation of functions where possible;

u Provide leadership in advancing U.S. principles, and initiate change where needed;u Work to develop alliances with industry, national standards bodies, and govern-

ments in other nations to ensure that best processes are adopted; u Consider separating technical development of standards (by directly participat-

ing technical experts) from final approval (by national bodies), and review whatorganizational changes would be desirable;

u Review the Vienna and Dresden Agreements3 and determine whether they stilladdress the best interests of all parties;

u Consider whether the current �one nation, one vote� which ignores both decen-tralized and regional approaches to standardization � is still the most effectivemethodology for all sectors.


3 The Vienna Agreement is a cooperative agreement between ISO and the European standardsorganization CEN that provides for development in one and approval, with parallel voting, inboth. It also provides for ISO observers in CEN technical committees when work is being donethere. The Dresden Agreement provides a similar framework for cooperation between IEC andCENELEC.

6 � Work to harmonize the use of standards worldwide as a tool for meetingregulatory requirements

For products, processes and services having an impact beyond the U.S., we seek at mostone globally applied standard and one globally accepted test with conformity assessmentprocesses appropriate to the needs of the parties. Tactical initiatives include:

u Industry and government should identify needed new standards and pursue globalsolutions;

u Standards developers should work with other standards bodies to identify exist-ing standards in need of harmonization and pursue those changes;

u U.S. Government should work with governments in other countries, and throughintergovernmental organizations, to minimize the use of different standards forthe same purpose, different or duplicative tests for the same standards, and theuse of standards as non-tariff trade barriers;

u ANSI and government should improve understanding of the use of voluntaryconsensus standards in regulation.

7 � Provide an outreach program to show those outside the U.S. the value of U.S.technology, standards and processes

The decentralized system in the United States is not well understood. Not only can thisdisadvantage U.S. interests, but the benefits of our system � flexibility and relevance tousers � are not always recognized by global interests even when they represent a bettersolution. It is in our interests to make sure that everyone understands the strengths offeredby the U.S. approach. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers should initiate education processes worldwide for theirsectors to ensure that opportunities for direct participation in U.S.-based activitiesare available to all;

u Standards developers should partner inside and outside the U.S. in areas ofmutual interest such as health, safety and the environment;

u U.S. Government should increase the level of standards-related resources availableto other countries, particularly those countries where U.S. industry is competingfor key business or where the possibility for strategic alliances exists;

u ANSI should provide leadership in informing those in other countries of the benefits and results of U.S. standardization efforts, reinforcing complementaryefforts by U.S. standards developers and U.S. Government agencies;

u ANSI and standards developers should provide leadership in coordination of sectoral initiatives with other nations.

u Industry should support the incorporation of U.S. needs in standards by workingwith industry outside the U.S.;

u All participants should work to make sure that those requiring standards in othernations understand the benefits of using the U.S.-based sectoral approach to meettheir needs.


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8 � Improve the standards process within the U.S. to address customer needs forefficiency

No system is perfect. While the sectoral approach does provide maximum flexibility, itcan develop inefficiencies. All parties in the U.S. standards process should continue toimprove. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers should increase their use of information technology toimprove the working processes for standards development and make thoseprocesses increasingly available to those participants whose resource limitationsprevent the use of the �meeting and paper� model;

u Standards developers should work toward the use of compatible tools, so thatparticipants working in more than one standards developer will have the benefitof common tools and systems;

u Standards developers should use standards distribution systems that meet theneeds of today�s customers, establishing, for example, cost-effective mechanismssuch as alerting systems and flexible licensing agreements so that both small andlarge organizations can take better advantage of electronic availability;

u ANSI should provide a forum for standards developers to work together so thateveryone can take advantage of �best in class� technologies and processes;

u Industry and government should encourage standards developers to emphasizethese activities.

9 � Improve the standards process within the U.S. to address customer needs forcoherence

A sectorally based, decentralized system can sometimes lead to overlap in work programsand occasionally to overlapping or conflicting standards. In many cases, this merelyreflects a different set of customer needs for different sectors. However, we need to guardagainst duplication of efforts and results where it does not add value. Tactical initiativesinclude:

u ANSI should provide an �early warning� system to make sure that potentialduplication can be identified as soon as possible and appropriately addressed,and provide facilitation and mediation services to effect a proper resolution;

u ANSI should review its procedures to make sure that standards receiving the ANSdesignation are relevant and do not conflict with other standards;

u Standards developers should work together to eliminate areas of redundancy,making the process more efficient as well as more coherent;

u Industry should be proactive at eliminating duplication by focusing their partic-ipation through fewer different organizations;

u Government should also be proactive through its participation and through devel-opment of early warning systems for proposed regulatory actions.


10 � Improve communications between various public and private elements of theU.S. standards system

A system with many partners can sometimes suffer from communications lapses. All participants in the U.S. should strive to improve both internal and external communica-tions using advanced technologies. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers should establish information dissemination mechanismsfor interested parties outside their direct membership;

u Government should establish processes to ensure timely communication of standards related needs and activities � both internal ones and those in inter-governmental activities so that voluntary consensus processes can provide thebest standards development support;

u ANSI should provide linkages between standards developers, government agencies, and others to ensure timely distribution of information to the widestpossible audience.

11 � Make the value of standards development both apparent and real by educatingpublic and private sector decision-makers about the value of standards andhow to take advantage of the process

It is clear that management in both the public and private sectors are not sufficiently awareof the benefits of external standardization, or their current reliance on voluntary consen-sus standards, even when they are vigorously implementing standardization programs intheir internal operations. An organized education process will provide broader participa-tion, more effective participants, and higher quality standards. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers should develop education programs for their sectors toaddress management and technical personnel in industry and government on thebenefits of standardization;

u ANSI should develop a program to introduce standards and their effect on tech-nology and trade into university curricula in business, engineering, and publicadministration;

u Government should develop and implement appropriate training programs for government personnel at all levels;

u All participants should develop case study evidence that demonstrates the valueof relying on voluntary consensus standards in both regulation and procurement.


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12 � Establish a stable funding mechanism for the standardization infrastructure

Standards development systems around the world have in recent years come underincreased financial pressure. The U.S. realizes that standards development must be avalue-added process � if it meets public and private needs, then those who want theresults will ensure that the necessary funding is provided. Tactical initiatives include:

u Standards developers, as part of their education initiatives, should provide economic examples of how the process works;

u Government should pay its fair share of the process costs, not just as a major participant, but as the representative of the broader public interest;

u ANSI should sponsor a summit on funding, giving all parties an opportunity toaddress alternative methodologies and best practices in light of the needs of allparties;

u Industry should take steps to ensure that standards development in their respec-tive sectors is appropriately funded.


The proof of a strategy is in its execution. This document rep-

resents an architecture for achieving goals. The next step is for

all concerned to address the tactical issues involved in making

the strategy a reality. Doing so will require communication,

cooperation and planning among all the concerned parties. The

American National Standards Institute will continue to serve as

a mechanism for coordinating, integrating, and reporting

progress. ANSI should provide an annual report on actions

taken in support of the strategy and, after a suitable time �

perhaps three years � all of the parties to this strategy should

reconvene to determine the progress that has been made, the

actions needed to make further progress, and whether new

situations dictate strategic revisions and offer new opportunities.


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