Horizon Standardisation Booster (CSA)

Expected Outcome:Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Increased participation of research performers in standardisation activities by establishing a long-term, sustainable link between R&I and standardisation.
• Increased development and adaptation of standards to meet new industrial needs, particularly in critical technology areas, driven by EU and national research.
• Increased uptake of new technologies through enhanced standardisation activities.

Scope:Standards are crucial in ensuring the safety, functionality, and interoperability of EU products. They help maintain compliance with policy and legal requirements while also enabling access to global markets when they are cutting-edge and established through international organisations. This highlights the important role that standards play in the EU's policy agenda, particularly in initiatives like the Digital Decade, the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, the Commission’s EU standardisation strategy[1], the Communication on Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership[2] and the Communication on European Economic Security Strategy[3]. Future Commission actions – whether it is the implementation of legal frameworks like the AI and Data Act or the roll-out of the Commission Recommendation on critical technology areas[4] for the EU’s economic security – will depend on standards.

To maximize the impact of R&I, early integration of standardisation, as recommended in the Code of Practice on standardisation[5], is crucial for aligning innovations with policy goals and enhancing market competitiveness.

This action aims to create a full-fledged standardisation mentoring scheme, by providing expert services to European projects to valorise project results by contributing to the creation or revision of standards. The action should take into account the achievements and lessons learnt of the Horizon Standardisation Booster (HS Booster) pilot, which is running from April 2022 to March 2025. In line with the EU Standardisation Strategy, the HS Booster aims to increase the impact of European standardisation resulting from Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects by designing, launching, and managing a dedicated service for beneficiaries.

To further support the valorisation of project results, the full-fledged Standardisation Booster will assist beneficiaries, primarily, but not exclusively, in the technology domains identified by the Commission Recommendation on critical technology areas[4], whose research results appear to lead to the revision or creation of a standard. This service will involve testing the relevance of their results for standardisation activities.

The premium service concept of the currently running Horizon Booster pilot has a proven track record of providing pertinent support. A similar, high-quality concept is fundamental for a booster successor. It is crucial that such a service increases the number of European standards, compared with the ongoing service scheme. Therefore, the HSbooster.eu platform and tools should be further developed, promoted, and utilised to reach their full potential.

Education and training are prerequisites for a successful and mutually beneficial relationship between R&I and standardisation. A future booster should increase the use of the existing Training Academy, continuously add new elements based on user feedback and data tracking, and be further developed and advertised to enhance usage.

Scaling and full implementation at the member state level are paramount for a booster to create significant and long-term impact. Therefore, besides ongoing and closed Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects, and other EU-funded projects, the Booster will be open to national publicly funded R&I projects. The service will help these beneficiaries engage with standardisation bodies and contribute primarily to the creation of standards through preparation and elaboration of standardisation activities, such as participating in focus groups, setting up new technical committees, drafting technical specifications or technical reports.

Applicants can vary widely, including standard development organisations, research and technology organisations (RTOs), universities, private companies, SMEs, industrial partners, innovation agencies and national metrology institutes. The project may benefit from being addressed by a consortium that is formed by experts in standardisation, able to support Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, and other publicly funded project beneficiaries.

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022DC0031

[2] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/document/download/0fcf06ea-c242-44a6-b2cb-daed39584996_en?filename=com_2024_98_1_en_act_part1.pdf

[3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023JC0020&qid=1687525961309

[4] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202302113

[5] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023H0498&qid=1678171117168

[6] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202302113