The pandemic has permanently altered how we work and collaborate, reinforcing the need for easy, online access to standards content directly in the user workflow. To manage costs and respect intellectual property, organizations are looking for innovative strategies, management systems, and processes to help them innovate and compete more effectively. Standards are a critical component to these efforts.
Ironically enough, while technical and data standards are generally recognized as an important component in speeding research workflows, they are also often overlooked in discussions of the future state and impact of these evolving workflows. CCC has brought together a panel of industry experts who will discuss the role of standards in helping to bring about that future, and will be offering their perspectives in a virtual event on Jan 27th, 2022. The event is supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration’s Market Development Cooperator Program.
Moderator Jonathan Clark, Independent Advisor on Strategy & Innovation, Jonathan Clark & Partners B.V. will be discussing a range of experiences and perspectives with:
- Simon Klaris Friberg, Senior Librarian/Information Consultant, Rambøll Danmark A/S
- Tatiana Khayrullina, Consulting Partner, Standards and Technical Solutions. Outsell Inc
- Cord Wischhöfer, CEO DIN Software GmbH
But what do we mean by standards in this context? For that answer, we went to Andrew Robinson, Principal Consultant, CCC, and host of this virtual event.
DD: Let’s frame this in a little. What’s a standard, Andrew?
AR: It’s a very common term outside of any technical context, of course. At the highest level of abstraction, when we refer to a standard we typically mean an authoritative document (whether in digital or print format) that is a) created over time b) by a group of knowledgeable people c) who agree on its contents. A standard of that sort has usefulness to the community of interest who have settled on it as it enables repeatability for processes, methods, products, systems, quality and can provide health, and safety guidelines and much more besides. We’ll get into much more of this during the event. This is what we are hearing, and will hear in greater detail in the event: that users must be enabled to use the content as they need to, and that barriers in the way of that use must be lessened (or removed entirely).
DD: OK, I get that. Why the focus on standards, and why now?
AR: The pandemic has permanently altered how we work and collaborate, reinforcing the need for easy, online access to standards content directly in the user workflow. Many of our customers have relied for years — sometimes, for decades — on standards to guide their research and development efforts. With hybrid and work-from-home models creating an online collaboration imperative, they’ve asked us to help support easier access to these high-priority materials.
DD: I see. What is your overarching goal for this virtual event? Also, who should consider attending and why?
AR: We want to look beyond the traditional use of standards and consider ways of working with content beyond print and PDF documents, as well as the continuing use and management of standards in a copyright compliant manner. Â This will be of interest to anyone producing and distributing standards, as well as those consuming them. Our aim is to engage standards organizations and businesses who rely on standards, helping them work together to design better ways to incorporate standards and drive innovation.
Attendees will learn about what’s happening in the market, the role of National Standards Bodies (e.g. DIN Software GmbH ) and will also hear the view from a corporate technical library on how they see the future.  We are encouraging everyone to take part and engage in the discussion.
DD: Sounds like fun. But also like a lot of material to cover.
AR: Yes, indeed – and we’re looking forward to it. This event is the first in a new series that will look at the use of standards in the corporate environment today and in the future. In this event, a panel of experts will share their views on the role of standards in the workflow of the future, followed by an open discussion on what challenges and opportunities this will bring to all stakeholders, and we expect that interest will be high. We are planning for an engaging session where attendees will be able to take part directly and share their thoughts and opinions.
