The IFAN International Standards Users Report

The data covers 250 standards users worldwide, including users handling standards from another country or countries outside of their own. Questions included inquiries on the data users’ commercial policies of standards sellers, digital rights management, publication formats, data protection and content management within user organizations.

Highlights include a summary of worldwide standards users, based on geographical and size criteria. Many (80%) of the respondent companies directly participate in developing standards, which also shed a light on why and how standards are used. The report discovers the impact of issues like Remote Meetings and Working at Home. Other topics include the degree of understanding of copyright vs utility, as well as the new formats of standards.

IFAN, CEN and CENELEC have been working together since 2011, focusing on joint activities and studies related to standardization. With this cooperation, the organizations focus on improving the education about standardization and strengthening the link with their shared customers, the standards users.

In the last few years, a growing interest has been observed in standards users sharing their experiences and ideas for the improvement in access and distribution of standards. This Report is intended to be the first instalment of future reports about the standards community worldwide.

If you are interested in receiving a full copy of The International Standards User Report 2023, please contact IFAN directly at ifan@ifan.org.

Background on IFAN

The International Federation of Standards Users is an independent, not-for-profit international association of

• national organizations for the application of standards, and
• companies, professional and trade associations, academia, conformity assessment bodies, consultancies and governmental agencies, that are concerned with the use of standards.

NOTE: IFAN does not include associations whose membership is concerned with the end use of products and services complying with standards. IFAN was founded in 1974 when eleven national standards organizations met in Paris for an International Conference.