After deliberation and approval by the Inter-Ministerial Joint Meeting for Standardization Coordination and Promotion of the State Council, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the National Standards Administration recently issued the “Guiding Opinions on Cultivating and Developing Group Standards” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guiding Opinions”).
The “Guiding Opinions” pointed out that cultivating and developing group standards is an important measure to give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of standardized resources and accelerate the construction of a new national standards system. In accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, we must take service innovation-driven development and meet market demand as the starting point, and take “delegation, management, and service” as the main line to stimulate the vitality of social groups in formulating and applying standards, standardize group standardization work, increase the effective supply of standards, promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and support sustainable economic and social development.
The “Guiding Opinions” clarify the main goal of cultivating and developing group standards: by 2020, the development of group standards independently formulated by the market will be relatively mature and better meet the needs of market competition and innovative development.
——The number and competitiveness of group standards have steadily increased. Social groups have formulated a large number of competitive group standards in areas with a high degree of marketization and active technological innovation.
——The influence of group standard-setting institutions has increased significantly. Group standardization work has been widely recognized by society, forming a number of group standard-setting institutions with international reputation and influence.
——The group standardization working mechanism is basically complete. The operating mechanism for independent standards set by social groups is more standardized, and the mechanisms for third-party evaluation, public supervision, and government supervision during and after the process are more complete.
The “Guiding Opinions” take “delegation, management, and service” as the main line, and proposes main measures to cultivate and develop group standards from three aspects: “releasing market vitality, innovating management methods, and optimizing standard services”, actively creating a loose development space for group standards, striving to promote the orderly and standardized development of group standards, and effectively ensuring the sustainable and healthy development of group standards.