Back in October 2008 and fully in line with the conclusions of the 2891st COMPETITIVENESS Council meeting (Brussels, 25 September 2008) where standardizers were invited “to work closely with the research community”, the CEN and CENELEC Technical Boards agreed in to create a joint strategic Working Group to address STAndardization, Innovation and Research, in short: STAIR.
The STAIR group has been at the forefront of the various initiatives to integrate standards into research and innovation activities, described under the other tabs on this site.
Participation in the STAIR group is open to representatives of the research communities appointed by CEN or CENELEC members. Additionally, the participation of EU-wide associations representing these communities is welcomed.
It is in this context that some relationships were formalized in the form of signed Cooperation Agreements, and are the basis of concrete collaboration initiatives, such as Putting Science Into Standards (PSIS) and Co-operation with EURAMET.