Governments

What are standards?

Standards are best practices. They describe the best way to do something. Like making a product, providing a service or managing a process. Think about agreements around fire safety or Eurocodes, European standards for structural design and building development....

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What benefits do standards offer governments?

Using standards makes the work of policy staff much easier. Instead of working out technical regulations themselves, you use existing regulations: standards. This offers many advantages:

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How do you properly refer to standards in regulations?

There are several ways to refer to a standard in regulations. First, ask yourself these questions:

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• Do you conduct an analysis to ensure the standard is appropriate and meets regulatory needs?
• Is application of the standard mandatory or does it remain voluntary? Do you refer to the standard as the only solution or, in addition, do you allow alternative methods?
• Are you referring to the standard as a whole or to selected parts of it?
• How do you track standards development to evaluate whether the revised standard still meets policy objectives? And to update regulations if necessary?
• How do you follow up on standards development to be aware of the existence of additional standards in the same domain and refer to them if necessary?

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Getting started on standards for governments

To help you, the FPS Economy has summarized all the guidelines for incorporating standards into technical regulations in a handy guide: 'Referring to standards in technical regulations. Discover the benefits!'

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