The communication role of standards and standardization in the contemporary society

Boljanović, Ana Marija. (2017). The communication role of standards and standardization in the contemporary society. PhD Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Information Science
Department of Information Science > Chair of librarianship.
(Poslijediplomski doktorski studij informacijskih i komunikacijskih znanosti) [mentor Živković, Daniela].

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Abstract

Standardization, although evolved as an organized activity as early as in the beginning of the 20th century, has gained in importance only in contemporary society. The use of new information and communication technologies has enabled general public to take part in standardization processes, resulting in the publication of standards adopted by consensus and having a broad impact on society, in particular on the safety and well–being of citizens, the environment, workers’ safety and working conditions, the efficiency of networks, accessibility and other public policy fields. This work examines national standardization in the context of European standardization, the latter consisting of the European Standardization Organizations (ESOs) and their members – national standards bodies (NSBs). They jointly support EU legislation and policies and EU position in the international market. This has been contributed to by the EU Regulation 1025/2012 on European standardization. The Regulation emphasizes the importance of participation of all stakeholders in standardization activities, particularly those that have turned out to be under–represented in such activities, but whose participation is of particular importance for the society as a whole. Industry is the main stakeholder that in most cases initiates standardization projects. Other stakeholders participating in standardization processes are scientific and educational institutions, policy–makers, consumers, etc. The Regulation has recognized SMEs, trade unions and environmental interests as under– represented in standardization activities and encourages the use of communication tools and activities to achieve their equal representation in European standardization. Some of the communication tools described in this work have been developed in response to the requirements of the Regulation. Croatia has implemented the Regulation since its EU accession on 1 July 2013. Several years earlier, in 2010, after the assessment of a series of criteria for the membership in European standardization organizations CEN and CENELEC, the Croatian Standards Institute (HZN) demonstrated that it was capable of being an active participant in European standardization and keeping pace with other national members in meeting all the requirements imposed on members, e.g. concerning the transparency of work, ensuring national consensus, IT infrastructure enabling communication within the European system, implementation of CEN and CENELEC IPR policy, etc. In connection with the aforementioned, the work presents the development of Croatian standardization, the integration of the Croatian NSB into European standardization and the results of standardization work since the establishment of HZN in 2005. Changes in the field of standardization as a result of the needs for harmonization with European standardization are presented: the Croatian NSB transformed from a state authority into an independent institution, the Croatian Standards Institute. All the existing communication tools and services of the Croatian NSB (e.g. HZN Bulletin, Standards Library, Repository of Croatian Standards, SME portal, etc.) and communication elements relevant for the development of communication tools and services such as designation of standards, ICS classification, designation of technical committees, standards development stage codes, etc. are presented. Special attention is given to the protection of IPRs which are specific to standardization and must be taken into account in the development of any information and communication tools and services in this area. The work examines the communication role of standards, so far unresearched in Croatia, as well as the communication tools of HZN and ESOs. The development of these tools has improved their communication with the public and increased the number of standards users and public awareness on the social importance of standards and standardization. The basis of this work is a study of communication tools and related promotional activities implemented on the European and national levels. In the study, by analysing and comparing the data collected, the communication tools existing in European standardization were established, as well as promotional activities, examples of good practice and recommendations applied by national members to ensure a wider application of such tools and encourage the interest and involvement of the public in standardization process. The extent to which the Regulation on standardization has contributed to the development of new communication tools and an increase in the number of participants in standardization processes has been established. A survey conducted among HZN members has shown the extent to which they are familiar with national communications tools and has collected the respondents’ proposals for the improvement of the existing tools and services. The collection, overview and analysis of information and a critical review of the study results are used as a basis for recommendations for HZN’s communication strategy. As HZN has no specific communication goals established, the works gives recommendations for the development of its communication strategy in form of a proposal for communication goals, communication messages and communication performance indicators. This work will contribute to new insights into the communication role of standards and standardization in contemporary society and their importance for the general public. A particular contribution will be given in the context of establishing the communication role of the NSB. The recommendations for a communication strategy are expected to contribute to the strategic planning process in HZN, i.e. the planning of communication activities and resources for the further development of tools and applications for communication with stakeholders in the area of national standardization. These recommendations for a communication strategy should also contribute to the increase in HZN’s visibility in society. In other words, the results of this work are expected to contribute to successful achievement of the communication role of HZN and thus of Croatian standards and Croatian standardization in the future.

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