• About Us

    About Us

    Small Business Standards (SBS) is the voice of European SMEs in the standardisation process.

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    About Standards

    Standards are everywhere and cover many topics, products and services. From quality management systems and tattooing services to screw head sizes or safety of childcare articles or machinery.

    CE Marking

    The CE marking is an indicator that a product complies with EU legislation and enables the free movement of products within the European Market

    How are Standards Drafted

    Standards are the result of a consensus-building process involving different interests and stakeholders. Understand the process for the development of standards and how to get involved.

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    Explore the network of European, International and National standardisation bodies developing standards on diverse topics across different sectors.

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    Discover where and how to get a specific standard on a topic of interest to your specific sector and information on ongoing standardisation work.

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    Horizontal Topics

    Discover main horizontal topics of importance for small businesses in which SBS   is actively working to ensure SME views and interests are considered in standardisation and related legislation.

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    Enhance your knowledge of standardisation with our suite of learning tools. Tailored to the needs of SMEs, these educational resources provide the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complexities of the standardisation process and learn about standards in a specific area.

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    SBS constantly monitors new and existing standardisation requests to ensure SME concerns and key aspects are included during the consultation process.

    SME Compatibility Test for Standards

    SBS has developed a test for the assessment of the compatibility of standards with SME needs. Test a standard to see if it can be easily applied by smaller companies!

    Useful External Resources

    Discover the information and services that standards bodies offer SMEs to facilitate their access to standards and  standardisation.In 2010, CEN and CENELEC adopted the so-called Guide 17, a list of recommendations that standards makers should consider when writing standards to ensure they meet SME needs. The guide was also adopted by ISO and IEC in 2016. Guide 17 is available in several European languages.

    Monitoring Standards

    The monitoring of standards is an essential tool for SMEs and their associations providing them with a centralised hub for information on relevant new standardisation developments.

  • Publications

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    SBS aims at influencing EU policies to ensure the needs of SMEs are taken into consideration. SBS position papers offer insights and recommendations on key issues impacting SMEs and standardisation.

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    The SME Guides and learning materials provide practical and easy-to-understand information on standards, standardisation and related topics.

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    In this section, we provide you with the latest SME standardisation-related developments.

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STAND4EU survey: Bridging the gap between research, innovation and standardisation!

STAND4EU survey: Bridging the gap between research, innovation and standardisation!

The Horizon Europe project STAND4EU, in which SBS is involved, has just launched the first phase, consisting in a mapping of standardisation bottlenecks in research and industrial innovation.

The project is now gathering testimonials from experts representing diverse stakeholders categories spread all over the globe. Successively, the results of the survey will be used to develop recommendations and remedies with the aim of improving the European standards-making process in the field of R&I.

The standards-setting culture and formal rules are sometimes at odds with the culture and practice of research. Based on previous research the lack of openness and transparency, and a suboptimal interaction with academic research are issues that could explain a lack of success in a European setting.
It is important to recognize that standardisation plays an important role in research and innovation investment programs, as it helps pave the way for the widespread deployment of new and strategic technologies to boost European industry’s competitiveness and resilience.

Your feedback is important: if you are an SME or another type of organisation involved in research projects and/or working in R&I, please help us by completing this online survey.

This project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement noº 101070229.

For more information regarding SBS projects, please contact Mihaela Andreea David

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Views and opinions expressed are those of Small Business Standards (SBS) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EFTA. Neither the European Union nor EFTA can be held responsible for them.