Involving companies in the early stages of standardization: the view from SIST

In the global race for digital leadership, the ability to co-create European and international standards is essential for competitiveness. In this case, co-creating means a proactive involvement of companies in the standardization process from the initial stages up to the stage of public enquiry, after which changes can no longer be enforced. SIST pursues the goal of establishing new areas of standardization and wishes for Slovenian companies to get involved in the early stages of standards development, as this will provide them with a better starting point and greater competitiveness.

In March this year, the European Commission published the 2023 Annual Union Work Programme for European Standardization, which contains 84 actions divided into four main categories: Green transition, Digital transition, Resilience of European industries and Internal market for products and services. The document specifies areas and actions for the development and revision of European standardization documents that support the EU's priorities. The Work Programme has been a good basis for SIST to identify priority areas that are not yet covered at the national level, and include them in its work programme as soon as possible.

The EU expects support at national level, which means that national standards bodies should promote the involvement of companies in the work of technical committees in the above-mentioned priority areas. SIST has already taken some actions in this direction, such as inviting companies to get involved in the work of technical committees of the identified priority sectors. SIST approaches companies through various channels - by publishing articles, by organising events, by posting regularly on social media, etc... The main goal is to learn about new technologies and materials, to integrate them into products or services and to become more competitive.