Consumer representation on consensus standards committees: a value-added practice
Anne E. Wilcock, Alejandra Colina · International Journal of Services and Standards · 2006
Representation of consumer interests in standards development is important because of market globalisation and because consumers are the end users of the products and services which are based on these standards. Nevertheless, there is little research on consumer representation. In this study, experienced consumer representatives on standards committees in Canada were interviewed about their training and resource needs. To assist them with their work, the consumer representatives recommended customisation of training to suit their individual needs, greater flexibility in training content and delivery format, and more access to technical resources. Mentoring of novice representatives by those with more experience was believed to be a practice that should be introduced. While it was recognised that these recommendations would be expensive, this additional investment should lead to improved standards for society at large.