On 21 October, the European Committee of Standardization (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) renewed their cooperation agreement for further five years. Through the agreement, the three organisations aim to enhance the exchange of knowledge and expertise between scientific research and European standardization.

The JRC and the European Committee of Standardization look back on a fruitful collaboration of more than 30 years, with its first agreement signed in 1994. The renewal of the collaboration with JRC, initiated in 2016, will continue to provide European and international standardization with scientific input and it will build on lessons learnt and successes achieved.

One of the main initiatives developed jointly by CEN, CENELEC and JRC is Putting-Science-Into-Standards (PSIS), which aims to facilitate the identification of emerging science and technology areas that could benefit from standardization activities. The PSIS initiative has proven to be a successful example of foresight aimed at the timely identification of new sectors where standardization can enable innovation and promote industrial competitiveness.

Based on existing experience, as part of the renewed agreement, the three organisations will seek to expand the scope of their collaboration addressing the following goals:

- Bridge research and innovation with standardization: facilitate the exchange between standardization and research, allowing the work from JRC and its research networks to provide input to technical committees at the European and, even, international level, by identifying opportunities to coordinate European input to international standardization;

- Help anticipate standardization needs: explore new ways to anticipate future standardization needs, further developing horizon scanning and foresight activities – building on the experience of PSIS;

- Aligning on strategic priorities: defining and maximising the strategic contribution of standardization also internationally in the areas of European Commission’s priorities and sustainable development goals and seeking to promote the value standards bring in supporting European public policy.

Elena Santiago Cid, CEN and CENELEC’s Director General, commented: “The objectives set in the renewal of our important agreement with JRC show the size of our ambitions and commitment. Furthermore, they are in line with the strategic reflection on how to develop the European standardization system so that it is fit for the future and whose ambitions are presented in CEN and CENELEC’s Strategy 2030.”

Stephen Quest, Director-General of the JRC, added: “Standards underpin every aspect of our lives and are a fundamental enabler for the Single Market. Through this collaboration agreement, the JRC is best placed to translate research and innovation into standardization activities in emerging areas with significant policy or technical innovation implications.”