B.1.2.
Technical
Bodies
Technical Committees (TCs)
Standardization work is developed
in groups of experts
(Technical Committees – TCs)
that represent stakeholders.
Each TC has its own field of operation
(scope) within which a work programme
of identified standards is
developed and executed.
In TCs work, delegates represent their respective national point of view (National Delegation Principle).
This principle allows the TCs to take balanced decisions that reflect a wide consensus.
TCs have:
-
a Secretariat, held by a National Standards Body,
-
a Chairperson in a personal capacity,
-
and several delegates.
Subcommittees (SC)
Subcommittees (SCs) can be established within a TC, in the case of large work programs.
However, this is discouraged in order to keep the structures simple.
Working groups (WG)
The actual standards development work is undertaken by Working Groups (WG) within TCs.
In WGs, experts, appointed by members but speaking in a personal capacity, come together and develop a draft that will become the future standard.
This reflects an embedded principle of 'direct participation' in the standardization activities.
WGs have:
-
a Convener, acting in a personal capacity,
-
and several experts.
Workshops
Workshops are particularly relevant in emerging or rapidly changing technologies that require quickly developed specifications or results of research projects.
At European level, they produce CEN and/or CENELEC Workshop Agreements (CWAs). There are also national equivalences.
Workshops have:
-
a Secretariat,
-
a Chairperson,
-
and several experts.
Handy reference materials
Catalogs of standards and lists of technical committees of the different organizations can be found here:
Go to the next chapter: