A golden opportunity to make life better for people, businesses, the environment (and yourself)

Who makes standards? Quite simply, people like you. People who want to make the world a better place. See if you recognise yourself in the descriptions below.

Who can contribute to a standard?

We welcome all applications; you only need to have relevant knowledge and experience, or to represent a relevant group of stakeholders.

The goal is to have a balance of views around the table. The more different viewpoints feed into a standard, the more inclusive and robust the standard is likely to be.

Our standards-makers include:

• Individual experts of all ages and backgrounds
• Seasoned professionals or industry innovators
• Nominated representatives of government, professional bodies and academia
• Representatives of charities and public interest groups

In short, you’re exactly the right person working in the right place, and you can make a difference to the development of a standard, in the multiple ways we describe below.

How can you get involved?

There are several different ways to get involved with standards development:

1. Comment on proposals for new standards
You can do this through the Standards Development Portal. When a new standard is proposed, the Title, Scope and Purpose are drafted and published for comment before the work of drafting the standard begins. You can comment on whether you agree with the proposals. These comments will be reviewed by BSI and submitted to the relevant committee for consideration.

2. Comment on draft standards
Once a committee has made a draft of a new standard, this is made available for public comment. Through the Standards Development Portal, you can comment on whether you agree with the draft, point out any omissions or errors, or suggest other areas that should be covered. Again, these comments are reviewed by BSI and passed on to the drafting committee, which may amend the draft standard in response.

3. Develop your own new standard
If you have an idea for a new standard, you can opt to ‘propose your idea’ within the Standards Development Portal. This allows you to submit an idea which may be taken up by BSI.
Alternatively, you can sponsor your own Publicly Available Standard (PAS). This is a fast-track standardization document that is developed with input from a steering group of stakeholders, facilitated by BSI. The resulting PAS can help establish your credentials in a particular field, help you to gain influence or simply act as a useful tool for you and your business partners.
BSI has recently introduced Flex standards, which use an iterative development process to produce standards in fast-changing areas. These can also be commissioned by a sponsor.

4. Become a committee member
More than 12,000 people serve as committee members for BSI, helping to develop standards from scratch or revise existing standards. Some committee members are nominated representatives, meaning they have been put forward by an organization such as a trade association, professional body or government department to represent the views of its stakeholders.
Other committee members may be acting in an individual capacity because they have valuable knowledge or experience of a topic.

5. Join the Consumer and Public Interest Network (CPIN)
CPIN brings the voice of the consumer into standards development, ensuring the public is involved in these important documents. CPIN representatives play an important role in standard covering areas such as safety, consumer vulnerability, sustainability and services.
The role is voluntary, with full training on consumer issues provided to help individuals make a meaningful contribution. Costs such as travel and subsistence are covered and the role takes around 6-8 days per year, including meeting attendance, preparation and follow-up work.

What can standards do for you?

There are many potential benefits in contributing to standards development:
1. Satisfaction
This might be the key benefit. Using your knowledge and experience to distil best practice so others can benefit is an immensely satisfying and rewarding thing to do. You can be proud of making a tangible and meaningful impact through your work.
2. Networking
Collaborating with other specialists can help build your professional network and give you access to insights and perspectives that inform your own work.
3. Recognition
Serving on a standards committee demonstrates your credentials as a knowledgeable person whose opinion and advice are valued. This can help establish you more firmly in your chosen field.
4. Market knowledge
Creating or revising a standard helps you understand the recent innovations, emerging areas and evolving market needs in a particular area. Input from other market players can give you a broader perspective that helps you understand the market better.
5. Professional development
Contributing to a standard helps you to understand the details and underlying debates around a particular area, helping your professional development. You may also receive training in a technical area to help with your role.

What’s required from you?

To contribute to standards, you need to be willing to volunteer some of your time. This is possibly the main impact, although it is balanced out by benefits in terms of professional development.

UK committee members can access certificates of recognition for their work, as well as free training courses on a range of technical and specialist areas.

Standards development is about finding consensus, which sometimes means resolving different perspectives or finding compromise. You can expect some robust discussions, so this role might not exactly be restful, but that is balanced by a real sense of satisfaction of genuinely making a difference to all those that standards affect.

Time to get involved?

BSI is always looking for people to contribute to standards development. It’s a fascinating and rewarding role, so why not become a standards maker today?