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History

The topic of standardisation at the ESS level goes back to the Workshop on Standardisation held in Brussels, on 14th-15th October 2010. The workshop concluded that a European Statistical System Collaborative Network (ESSnet) (later called: ESSnet STAND-PREP (ESSnet on Preparation for Standardisation)) was to be launched in the same year in order to prepare actions to be carried out later by the Sponsorship on Standardisation
 
Workshop on Standardisation 
Eurostat, 18 Member States of the EU, the USA, Australia, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) attended the workshop, where the importance of the issue of standardisation at ESS level was highlighted. The scope of the workshop was to share experiences in standardisation, to highlight the scope and priorities of standardisation at ESS level and to define the scope of what should be standardised. 
 
ESSnet on Preparation for Standardisation (ESSnet STAND-PREP) 
The ESSnet project, endorsed by the Workshop on Standardisation, focused on the following perspectives of standardisation at ESS level (deliverables of the ESSnet STAND-PREP):

  • Stocktaking of literature on standards and standardisation 
  • Proposal on use of the ISO/IEC vocabulary for ESS needs 
  • Classification of standards 
  • Process for the adoption of standards 
  • Conformity assessment, support measures 
  • Detailed analysis of several handbooks 

Sponsorship on Standardisation 
The Sponsorship on Standardisation carried out its work from 2011 until 2013. In the framework of this collaboration, the Sponsorship on Standardisation worked out the framework of the ESS standardisation system. The Sponsorship on Standardisation concluded its work in the form of recommendations that were adopted by the ESSC on 27th September 2013. The Sponsorship recommended to start practical implementation of its recommendations thus it was the main motivation for the establishment of the ESSnet on Standardisation. 
 
ESSnet on Standardisation 
The ESSnet on Standardisation is directly connected to the Sponsorship on Standardisation established to develop strategic guidance for standardisation at ESS level. The Sponsorship on Standardisation delegated tasks to this ESSnet, prior to its launch.  
The ESSnet on Standardisation focused on the practical implementation of many, but not all, of the recommendations provided by the Sponsorship on Standardisation. It was launched in 2013 and finished in March 2015. 

The Catalogue of ESS Standards 
Following the work of the Sponsorship and the ESSnet on standardisation, the ESSC endorsed the creation of a Catalogue of ESS Standards and of the standardisation procedure as it stands today. Following this decision, the first standards were approved for inclusion in the Catalogue in 2017.  
The Standards Working Group, which includes Eurostat as well as representatives of all ESS member states, is responsible for the maintenance of the Catalogue.