The "Scoping study for supporting the development of a Code of Practice for researchers on standardisation" aims to identify elements of good practice for researchers dealing with standards and standardisation in the course of research projects funded by Horizon 2020. The study is a key document for the HSbooster.eu project as it provides first-hand insight into the needs, requirements and experiences of EU projects which address the topic of standardisation.
The study identifies elements of good practice for researchers dealing with standards and standardisation in the course of research projects funded by Horizon 2020. The study involved (a) screening the replies to a European Commission survey sent to 2,200 beneficiaries of Horizon 2020 with evidence of standardisation activities (valid responses obtained from 1,020 projects with a 46 % return rate) and (b) applying a set of exclusion (‘must have’) and bonus point criteria, derived from targeted literature and expert interviews. 40 projects exhibiting a range of ‘elements of good practice’ for case study analysis were selected and which identified any additional elements of good practice.
Results indicate the existence of a stable and recurring set of elements of good practice. One important result is that the more exploratory research activities and the more formal standardisation processes are different in nature and difficult to synchronise. Standardisation activities within a research project largely lead to a need to engage in wider stakeholder management. There need to be close ties between the research consortia and the technical committees that develop standards. Researchers’ awareness of and know-how about standardisation processes are frequently low, and the development of recognised performance indicators to track the success of technology transfer and valorisation activities is in its infancy.
Recommendations were developed for universities / public research organisations (institutional level), researchers (project level), policymakers and the wider stakeholder community, and specifically regarding the development of performance indicators. T to he findings and results from the report are being used by the HSbooster.eu consortium to design and set up support services to the EU project community to ensure that experts can address the challenges that projects face in contributing to standardisation.
