Key points
• Strengthen the role of SMEs in international standardisation, both at policy and technical level. Measures such as establishing a SME policy group within ISO-IEC would provide a necessary forum to discuss standardisation issues affecting SMEs. On the technical side, it is vital to streamline the cumbersome liaison request process for SME associations, which is a primary way in which SMEs representatives and experts can directly impact the work of ISO and IEC Technical Committees (TCs) and Subcommittees (SCs). Another vital measure would be to allow conditional access to relevant normative references to SMEs and societal stakeholders‘ representatives.
• Strengthen the participation of SMEs in international standardisation by boosting their role and importance at the national level, leveraging the national delegation principle. To achieve this, SBS leads a dedicated workstream under the High-Level Forum on European standardisation to identify best practices and recommendations to improve access and participation of SMEs and societal stakeholders in national standardisation.
• Stronger support from political and standardisation decision-makers to SME participation. SBS supports the use of existing fora with like-minded trade partners around the world to push the inclusiveness agenda at the international level. The European standardisation Organisations (ESOs) should also strengthen the current cooperation agreements with their international counterparts from an inclusiveness point of view. A stronger support can also be given by the ESOs and the National standardisation Bodies (NSBs) when SME representatives submit liaison requests to ISO and IEC Technical Committees and Subcommittees.
• Leverage the role of national and European SME associations as multipliers, both in terms supporting the dissemination of knowledge about standards among SMEs and by acting as hubs for contributions and involvement of SMEs in standardisation. Training and capacity building programmes aimed at SME associations, backed by the necessary financial and organisation resources, would be extremely valuable
• Stronger awareness and dissemination of existing tools. For instance, ISO-IEC Guide 17 for writing standards taking into account the needs of SMEs should be further promoted, particularly among TC Secretariats and WG Convenors, and be the subject of specific trainings and sessions. SBS has also developed the SBS SME Compatibility Test, based on Guide 17, aimed at evaluating the SME-friendliness of any standardisation deliverable, either published or still under discussion.
• Help SMEs navigate standards and the standardisation process, by avoiding an excessive proliferation of standards and by establishing monitoring tools to keep track and individuate relevant standardisation activity and deliverables.
