The problem

Standards are vital to Europe for promoting competitiveness and interoperability of products and services, as well as protecting consumer health and safety and the environment. It is important that the development of standards is objective and timely, and that their usage is unimpeded by national, industrial or technical interests. Without a standard way of presenting research results, the cost of accessing and using them is higher and less efficient. This leads to a relative lack of competitiveness and poorer economic performance. 

Overview:

INTEREST will conduct taxonomies:

• formal and informal standards
• research outputs
• relationships between research and standards-setting activities.

This classification will speed up the spread and use of research results in the development of standards and products in Europe.

Contribution to policy development:

• INTEREST will identify rationales, incentives and barriers affecting the transfer of research results to the standards setting process
• It will provide deeper insight into how policy-makers can support and implement best practices for transferring knowledge and technology from research to standardisation
• It will integrate research into EU policies by classifying and improving the interrelations between research and standard setting work

Project deliverables

• Concordance between science and technology indicators and standardisation indicators – November 2005
• Case studies on patent pools and best practices – March 2006
• Final taxonomies and manuals – September 2006
• Final report and publication in scienfitic journals – November 2006

Dissemination

• Presentation of project at MAXIQUEST workshop in Germany and 9^th EURAS in Paris – done
• Presentation at the annual conference of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) – done
• Project website and newsletter – ongoing
• Workshops to present preliminary and final results – ongoing

Technical information

Project acronym: INTEREST
Project’s official full title: Integrating Research and Standardisation
Research priority: 3.1. Underpinning European integration, sustainable development, competitiveness and trade policies (including improved means to assess economic development and cohesion)
Specific webpage: Details not yet available
Proposal/contract no: 503594
Start date: 01/11/2004
Kick off meeting: 15/11/2004
Completion date: 30/10/2006
European Commission scientific officer: Ian Perry (ian.perry@ec.europa.eu) 

Coordinators:
Name: Knut Blind
Abbreviated name: Blind
Address: Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Breslauer Strasse 48, 76139 Karlsruhe
Country: Germany
Tel: +49 721 6809 212
Fax: +49 721 6809 260
Website: http://www.isi.fhg.de/  

Partners

Name: Rainer Bierhals
Abbreviated name: Bierhals
Country: Germany

Name: Rainer Frietsch
Abbreviated name: Frietsch
Country: Germany

Name: Dialogic
Abbreviated name: Dialogic
Country: The Netherlands

Name: National Physical Laboratory
Abbreviated name: NPL
Country: United Kingdom

Name: STEP Centre for Innovation Research
Abbreviated name: STEP
Country: Norway

Name: RWTH Aachen
Abbreviated name: RWTH
Country: Germany