Educational Outreach

1
Educational Outreach

• International Committee on Education for
  Standardization
• February 21, 2008
• Gaithersburg Maryland
• Stephen Head/Anne Sharkey

2
Standards Council of Canada (SCC)

• Role
• Encourages and enables the widespread use of
  voluntary standards in Canada
• Purpose
• To enhance Canadian competitiveness and promote
  Canadas social and economic well-being in the
  global economy

3
Standards Development Organizations (SDOs)

• Four Accredited Standards Development
  Organizations
• Bureau de normalisation du Quebec
• Canadian General Standards Board
• Canadian Standards Association
• Underwriters Laboratories of Canada

4
National Standards System

• Focal point of standardization activities in
  Canada
• More than 15000 people
• Close to 400 accredited organizations
• Coordinated by Standards Council of Canada

5
Canadian Standards Strategy

• Definition
• The blueprint for standardization activity in
  Canada
• Purpose
• Advance the social and economic well-being of
  Canadians in a global economy
• http//www.scc.ca/Asset/iu_files/CSS_update_e.pdf

6
History and Context

• April - November 2004 SCC Council determines
  that there is a need for more Canadian
  standardization-research and education
• Result - CSS Update Activity 4.4 (c) -
  Research and make recommendations on the
  development of a Canadian Centre for
  Standardization (CCSR) that would conduct,
  collect, and disseminate research on the value
  and importance of standardization in Canada
• September 2005 Council Meeting Information
  paper summarizes CCSR research to date, outlines
  existing standardization research centres notes
  other possibilities in lieu of a CCSR

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History and Context

• December 2005 phased approach recommended to
  supported by Council in order to gauge interest
  in the possible future creation of a CCSR.
• December 2005- Council approves two immediate
  projects
• Hold a Standardization-Research in Canada
  academic conference
• Complete a Value of Standardization in Canada
  economic study

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Standardization-Research in Canada Academic
Conference

• The Conference was held in Ottawa on 2006-11-20
• Conference Aims
• Stimulate academic dialogue
• Raise awareness about the current state of
  standardization-research in Canada
• Assess interest urgency for CCSR
• Outline Three (3) panels, cross-cutting issues,
  variety of academic stakeholders (e.g., public
  policy, engineering, trade-policy, economics,
  etc.)

9
Conference Outcomes

• Some interim measures should be explored before
  revisiting the need to create a CCSR
• Many potential topics to pursue from a
  standardization-related research perspective
• We need to collect what has already been done and
  connect those already working in the area
• There is potential to leverage existing sources
  of research funding to pursue specific
  standardization-related academic projects

10
The Study

• In 2006, the Standards Council of Canada asked
  The Conference Board of Canada to examine the
  economic benefits of standardization for Canada
• What has the economics literature said?
• What are Canadians saying?
• What does the Canadian data say?

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Key Findings

• Interviews and Case Studies
• Economic Impact of Standards in Canada

Key stakeholders provided compelling examples of
the benefits of standardization
Standards have had a significant, positive impact
on Canadian economic growth
12
Qualitative Analysis

• Purpose was to support empirical evidence with
  qualitative information
• 15 interviews with industry leaders
• 2 case studies
• Provided a Canadian perspective

13
Interviews Showed Significant Benefits From
Standards

• Facilitating trade
• Encouraging innovation, RD and continuous
  improvement
• Establishing credibility and quality
• Setting a level playing field
• Improving productivity and reducing costs
• Ensuring reduced health and safety risks

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Standards, Economic Growth and Productivity
International Results

• Jungmittag et. al. (1999) study of the German
  experience over 1961-1996 found
• Increases in the quantity of standards are
  associated with increases in economic output
• Department of Trade and Industry (2005) study of
  the British experience over 1948-2002 found
• Increases in the quantity of standards are
  associated with increases in labour productivity

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Economic Impact of Standards The Canadian
Results
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Highlights of Findings

• Over the 1981-2004 period
• Standards had a positive and significant impact
  on labour productivity and economic growth in
  Canada
• On average, the existence of standards added .25
  of a percentage point to output growth in Canada
  each year

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Studying the Impact of Standards in Canada

• Follow established methodology set out by German
  and British studies
• Examine the long-run relationship between the
  quantity of standards and labour productivity
• Quantify the contribution of standards to
  economic growth

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Canadian Results

• The positive impact of standards on labour
  productivity was significant and robust.
• 10 increase in the quantity of standards is
  associated with a 3.56 increase in labour
  productivity and economic output

19
Canadian Results in Context

• Over the study period - 1981-2004 period, the
  growth in standards accounted for
• 17 of the growth rate in labour productivity (9
  growth rate of real output (GDP)
• In 2004, the economic output (real GDP) would
  have been 62 B lower if there had been no growth
  in standards during the 1984-2004 study period

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Standards Matter

• The empirical results presented here confirm that
  the findings in the British and German studies
  also apply to Canada

Standards are an important source of economic
growth !!
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SCCs Educational Policy for Standards in
Universities and Colleges

• The Canadian Standards Strategy 2005-2008
• Communicate effectively the role and benefits of
  standards and conformity assessment priorities.
• SCC Corporate Plan 2005-2006
• Develop new and leverage existing relationships
  and partnerships within the National Standards
  System (NSS) to raise awareness and promote the
  value and importance of the development and use
  of standards and accreditation in Canada by
• Encouraging the development and implementation
  of standardization education and training in
  Canada, particularly in post-secondary and trade
  sectors.

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SCCs Educational Policy

• Policy to provide ISO and IEC standards to
  universities and colleges
• Some Restrictions
• Digital Rights Management

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Promotion of SCC Educational Policy

• National Council of Deans of Engineering and
  Applied Science
• Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
• Association of Universities and Colleges of
  Canada
• Association of Community Colleges
• Technical Committee members from academia

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Results of Outreach - Educational Policy

• Current Status
• 24 license agreements
• 55 courses 309 standards
• Forum for International Trade Training (FITT)

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Where Do We Go From Here?

• ISO is collecting similar economic studies from
  its members now have UK, Germany and Canada
• ISO will be developing a model for conducting
  these type of studies
• SCC is conducting a study on inter-provincial
  trade barriers in the oil and gas sector
• SCC will be considering examining other sectors
  in future
• SCC will work with stakeholders to get the word
  out
• SCC plans to establish a working group of
  academics engaged in standardization-related
  research
• SCC Executive Director has included this
  information as part of a package to Government to
  increase federal support for the National
  Standards System