New standardization frameworks add versatility to Canada’s national standards development system
Canadians will benefit from two new standardization options that bring more versatility to better support innovators, including those in legislative settings, seeking faster cost-competitive ways to get their cutting-edge ideas to market. These are especially well-suited for cases when technology or the regulatory environment is changing rapidly.
The guidelines to develop a National Workshop Agreement and a National Community-Sourced Guidance are now available as part of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC)’s programs and services modernization efforts. Following the guidelines outlined in these documents gives credibility by ensuring that the basic principles of national standardization – like transparency, fairness and inclusion – are applied. These two new deliverables are now part of Canada’s standards development system, along with the longstanding National Standard of Canada and the National Technical Specifications deliverable which was released in August 2019.
A National Workshop Agreement is a document that can be developed to kick-start the consensus process usually associated with developing a National Standard of Canada. It intends to bring thought leaders together to reach general agreement on best practices as it relates to an emerging issue and allows market players to negotiate in an open workshop environment. Ultimately, this helps shape the future direction of standardization in a subject area and can provide a roadmap for future activities.
A National Community-Sourced Guidance deliverable offers a publicly accessible and collaborative online mechanism to capture current practice, state-of-the-art knowledge and stakeholders’ understanding related to an emerging or existing area. It is developed by collecting information using an online platform, which allows for the continuous renewal of its content.
The National Workshop Agreements, National Community-Sourced Guidance and National Technical Specifications guideline documents outline how to develop these deliverables, provide guidance to developers, align with similar international deliverables, and bring consistency in terms of terminology and development process. These documents were developed using international best practices, and SCC worked closely with national stakeholders in the standardization development community.
Work is already underway with SCC’s Innovation Initiative to help companies explore how they can leverage these new standardization options to support their trailblazing ideas. These new frameworks also provide a mechanism to leverage Canadian intellectual property through licensing opportunities. As well, standardization strategies can help accelerate a company’s path to success by providing credibility, attracting investment and stimulating research and development. Inquiries about these frameworks should be directed to csd@scc-ccn.ca.