| Zugriffsnummer | 26969 |
| Dokumenttyp | Bericht |
| Sprache | Englisch |
| Titel | Thoughts on a national quality policy |
| Autor(in); Institution |
Kellermann, Martin; not affiliated
|
| Quelle/Jahr | (2011), 35 S. |
| Schriftenreihe | Discussion paper. Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, International Technical Cooperation: 4 |
| Herausgeber(in) |
Q.5, Technische Zusammenarbeit, PTB-Braunschweig
|
| URL | |
| Verlag | Braunschweig [u.a.]: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt |
| Freie Schlagworte | quality policy ; technical cooperation |
| Zusammenfassung | As the globalization of the markets continues its relentless pace and as it is shaped by technological developments, more and more governments are carefully reconsidering the overall arrangement of their national quality infrastructure. This is coming about because enterprises in the developing economies in particular face daunting challenges in accessing markets in the more developed economies. Over and above the financial, management, logistics and skills challenges, they also need to have access to a supportive but internationally recognized quality infrastructure that can provide the independent attestation of product or service quality, without which access to developed markets is well-nigh impossible. At the same time, it is becoming apparent that the technical regulation regimes of developing economies are oftentimes in disarray, fragmented, non-compliant with WTO-TBT and SPS Agreement requirements, with massive overlaps occurring amongst various regulatory agencies. These agencies, sometimes up to six of them, stand on each other’s feet in trying to control the integrity of products entering the market, thereby creating bureaucratic chaos for suppliers. These technical regulation regimes, therefore, constitute a major impediment to trade. But the technical regulation regime and the national quality infrastructure are interwoven in complex ways that cannot be separated. Hence, if a country reviews the one, it cannot but review the other as well. Lastly, as governments are pursuing good governance in order to integrate better with the international community, and establish policy frameworks conducive to social, ecological and market-economic development, they also realize that the establishment of an effective and efficient quality infrastructure contributes in no small way to good governance. An effective and efficient quality infrastructure together with an efficient technical regulation framework can promote the rule of law at the technology level; can help in the fight against corruption; can simplify bureaucratic processes; and enhance macro-economic stability. With the foregoing in mind, it is therefore logical that governments need to develop the appropriate policy framework in order to re-engineer the quality infrastructure and the technical regulation regimes, and to determine the proper division of the responsibilities, i.e. a division of work. Such a policy framework is known by many names, but for this publication the name National Quality Policy is utilized. This publication provides guidelines as to the elements such a policy should contain, and provides some recommendations on the optimum arrangement of the quality infrastructure and the technical regulation regime. In the final analysis, however, the National Quality Policy should be written in the style of the country and should meet demonstrable needs. In order to obtain the biggest buy-in for the National Quality Policy, the government will have to engage in extensive debate with a whole variety of stakeholders. Proper re-engineering of both the quality infrastructure and the technical regulation regime in most countries inevitably requires much and often painful change. Involving the stakeholders early on in discussions about the environment and, hence, the policies makes them realize they should not be happy with the status quo, makes them aware that there are many views of the world, and many possible futures – which prepares them to deal with the “changing tomorrow”. It is only continuous conversation that gets people involved, and when they feel involved they contribute. |
