The second Europe INNOVA Conference held in Lyon, France, on 22-24 October 2008 offered a good opportunity to present the results of the work done by the Standards networks during the last two years, and to take home some official recognition from the Europe INNOVA community: STAND-INN was presented with the “Network of the Year” Award!

The standardisation world can be considered as retrospective: standards describe technologies and methods that are agreed by the stakeholders and used as a common platform. This belief has been challenged by the Europe INNOVA Standards networks: they have shown that intelligent use of standards and the combination of standards from different fields can initiate new methods, services and products.

There is no doubt that the established standardisation world will be interested in learning from the networks how to adjust the standardisation system so that it can play a more proactive role when it comes to innovative solutions. Right now, a CEN working group is investigating such possibilities and other organisations, such as the Israeli standardisation organisation, are also progressing in this field.

However, the Standards networks have only not been working on formulating innovation strategies. The most visible and perhaps most important outcomes can be found at a practical level, as the networks have been able to bring together the ”standards experts” with the broader “non expert” stakeholders, establishing real connections with potential standards users. One of the main results of the networks is the set of the Good Practice Handbooks published recently. Their objective is to pass on the knowledge gained to European SMEs, local authorities and regional initiatives in order that they may benefit from the experience and put the recommendations made into practice. Although the Standards networks have completed their work in the second half of 2008, most of the partners will pursue their activities, promoting the benefits of using standards in business processes.


More information: www.europe-innova.org > Standards Networks

One of the most important practical outcomes of the Standards networks, the set of Good Practice Handbooks, have been published. The Handbooks sum up the know-how collected and present practical solutions for European companies on how to use standards in their business processes to improve their competitiveness.

In the course of their lifespan, each of the Standards networks has been compiling and processing the main findings of the research done, results of discussions held with stakeholders and experience gathered from “hands-on” work in order to produce the Good Practice Handbooks. The Handbooks thus capture the insights of the different networks in the ingenious use of standards to foster innovation.

The target audience of the Handbooks are (potential) standards users in European companies in the industry sectors covered by the networks, addressing their specific problems and needs. However, the market players in other sectors can also benefit from the Handbooks as the examples are often universal or adaptable for different uses. For example, the utilisation of standards for product data representation and exchange play a central role, as the challenges in communication and information exchange are very similar in the health sector, the modelling of buildings or the design of furniture.


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Two of the Standards networks – INNOVAFUN and DEPUIS – in cooperation with the CEN/ISSS Focus Group CDC (Interoperability of computer sensible product dictionary and classification) organised a workshop on information standards and dictionaries in Brussels on 20-21 November 2008.

The workshop focused on bringing together experts and business managers from various sectors to share information about the application of information standards and to define shared interests and requirements. It also demonstrated with practical examples the role of data dictionaries in business processes and transactions. Presentations and comments were heard from business representatives from different countries in the areas of automation, furniture, HVAC, power generation, construction and environmental product design and it seemed evident that even though these industries may be generally different, they are facing very similar problems in efficient data exchange. Therefore more collaboration across industry borders to benefit from new or existing solutions should be encouraged.

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The European Commission and the STEPPIN network partners have initiated discussions on formalising the STEPPIN findings through a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA).

Usually, a CEN Workshop starts with a kick-off meeting where the general outline of the CWA is agreed. In the period from the kick-off meeting until the final workshop the parties can comment on the draft agreement and make their contributions to the document. For STEPPIN, the kick-off meeting is scheduled to take place before the end of 2008 and the Workshop schedule is planned to run for 6 months.

CWAs are consensus-based specifications, drawn up in an open Workshop environment. In the case of STEPPIN, the Workshop will feature representatives from interested parties from all over Europe: procurers from public authorities, representatives from industry, procurement consultants as well as standardisation experts.

By concluding STEPPIN with a CWA several advantages will be gained. Firstly, the CWA will guarantee a formal validation of the network’s findings. Secondly, the open Workshop environment will enable even more people to become acquainted with the project and give their input. Finally, a CWA ensures the maintenance of the STEPPIN results since it is a dynamic document which will be available to all users of standards.

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The STAND-INN network has explored the standards and technologies that will give the European construction industry a sharper competitive edge in terms of value for money and sustainability. The most impressive of these is BIM – building information modelling in full. BIM is a central 3D model and database allowing all the information on a building to be exchanged and shared using the internet.

STAND-INN has come out firmly in support of BIM, which is most effectively used in conjunction with the IFC open standard for data exchange. So, when the Build London Live design event was announced, members of STAND-INN joined participants from around the world . The event which took place over 48 hours on 24–26 June 2008.

Build London Live was a design competition to create virtual buildings on a real-world site in south-east London. Despite the name, teams participating in the event did not have to be located in London – and teams enrolled from Asia, the Americas and Europe. The teams themselves did not need to be in a single location.

This ‘distance’ participation mirrored the flexibility that BIM allows in real-world projects. Any construction project using BIM can benefit from the collaboration of supply-chain partners wherever they are located and anyone can be given access to the central BIM.

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In June 2008, Europe INNOVA published two brochures featuring the results of the 11 cluster and the 10 financing sectoral networks after 2 and a half years of work. The projects have facilitated networking amongst a wide range of innovation actors from right across Europe and developed tools and instruments to provide better support to innovative SMEs.

The brochure featuring the results of the six Standards networks was presented during the 2^nd Europe INNOVA Conference in Lyon, France, on 22-24 October 2008. This brochure highlights the outcomes of each network, describing the measures taken to close the gap between policy makers, standardisation organisations and European companies. The aim is to promote better use and potential of existing standards to improve business processes especially among SMEs.

In personal interviews, the network coordinators presented the tools and know-how developed in the course of two years and also shed some light on the future of the networks.

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Public procurement has been found to be an effective instrument for demand-driven innovation policy. Often the take-off of new products and technologies and their penetration in the market is hindered by a lack of knowledge among possible early adopters. Other factors also combine to make the situation more complex, such as low acceptance, high costs due to lack of economies of scale, steep learning curves and non-existent network externalities (e.g. the option to communicate with other subscribers within information and communication infrastructures without compatibility and interoperability problems) on the demand side.

Public procurement can help reduce, or even eliminate some of these barriers. Firstly, by implementing new technologies and products, public authorities can serve as demonstrators, with a positive influence on potential early adopters who may not otherwise have been sufficiently informed about, or convinced of the quality, the risk and the performance of the innovation. Similar effects can be generated on the demand side. For example, positive “direct network” effects will increase with the number of participants in communication systems.

Taking a still broader perspective, public procurement can go even further in promoting innovation. For instance, if public authorities inform innovators of their intentions and needs in advance, risk will be reduced by the prospect of having a stable and significantly large initial demand for the innovators’ products. This is crucial when high entry costs are involved.

Referencing International Standards in public procurement processes allows public procurers to purchase less expensive products and services due to the global competition that relies on cost-saving standards. From a dynamic perspective, diffusion and implementation of standards promote further cost savings. Furthermore, proper implementation of interface and compatibility standards reduces the cost of finding adaptable solutions and prevents costs related to incompatible interfaces.

This article in full length by Knut Blind was first published in ISO Focus - The Magazine of the International Organization for Standardization, September 2008. Reprinted with permission of ISO Central Secretariat (www.iso.org). Subscription enquiries: sales@iso.org.

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