ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Standardization; Understanding and supporting SME involvement in ICT standardization

DSR/BOARD-00009

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 02-Mar-2011
• Technical Committee: BOARD - Board
• Current Stage: 12 - Completion
• Due Date: 10-Mar-2011
• Completion Date: 03-Mar-2011

Standards Content (Sample)

Special Report
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
in Standardization;
Understanding and supporting SME involvement
in ICT standardization
2 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)

Reference
DSR/BOARD-00009
Keywords
SME
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3 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
Contents
Intellectual Property Rights . 4
Foreword . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 References . 5
2.1 Normative references . 5
2.2 Informative references . 5
3 Definitions and abbreviations . 6
3.1 Definitions . 6
3.2 Abbreviations . 6
4 Executive summary . 7
4.1 Introduction . 7
4.2 Study overview . 8
4.3 Main results . 8
4.4 Recommendations . 9
5 Context and objectives . 9
5.1 Importance of SMEs in European industry . 9
5.2 European standardization policy support . 10
5.3 European standardization landscape . 11
5.4 Objectives of the study . 11
6 Methodology . 12
6.1 Methodology over vie w . 12
6.2 Data collection . 13
6.2.1 Upstream Analysis . 13
6.2.2 Web Survey . 14
6.2.3 Phone interviews . 14
6.2.4 Case studies (see annex A) . 15
7 Analysis of the results obtained . 15
7.1 Results of the web-based survey . 15
7.1.1 Demographic and background information . 15
7.1.2 Drivers and benefits of participation in standardization . 17
7.1.3 Difficulties and barriers faced . 18
7.2 Case study analysis . 21
7.2.1 SMEs who participate actively in standards development . 21
7.2.1.1 Main statements . 21
7.2.1.2 Needs and expectations . 22
7.2.2 SMEs who participate passively in standard development . 23
7.2.2.1 Main statements . 23
7.2.2.2 Needs and expectations . 23
7.2.3 SMEs who use standards without participating . 23
7.2.3.1 Main statements . 23
7.2.3.2 Needs and expectations . 24
7.3 Identified benefits of participation in standardization . 24
8 Operational recommendations . 25
8.1 Educational tool . 26
8.2 Financing Tool . 27
8.3 Process Change Tool . 27
8.4 Assessment Tool . 28
8.5 Communication Tool . 28
9 Conclusions . 29
Annex A: List of Case study subjects . 30
History . 31
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4 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
Intellectual Property Rights
IPRs essential or potentially essential to the present document may have been declared to ETSI. The information
pertaining to these essential IPRs, if any, is publicly available for ETSI members and non-members, and can be found
in ETSI SR 000 314: "Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); Essential, or potentially Essential, IPRs notified to ETSI in
respect of ETSI standards", which is available from the ETSI Secretariat. Latest updates are available on the ETSI Web
server (http://webapp.etsi.org/IPR/home.asp).
Pursuant to the ETSI IPR Policy, no investigation, including IPR searches, has been carried out by ETSI. No guarantee
can be given as to the existence of other IPRs not referenced in ETSI SR 000 314 (or the updates on the ETSI Web
server) which are, or may be, or may become, essential to the present document.
Foreword
This Special Report (SR) has been produced by ETSI Special Task Force STF 376, reporting to the ETSI Board. ETSI
STF 376 was established with the aim to improve the participation of innovative SMEs in European ICT
standardization. The project has taken a pro-active approach with the following high level objectives:
1) to increase the participation in ETSI standardization of R&D performing SMEs;
2) to increase the competitive advantage of European R&D performing SMEs by connecting them to the
standardization process.
The project performed a wide analysis of the current best practices/behaviour of successful SMEs using standardization
for improving their results, and then developed tools/methods/best practices which can be applied by SMEs, and more
particularly, by SME advice and support agencies, in their efforts to support the development and growth of SMEs.
ETSI STF 376 and the development of the present document have been co-financed by the European Commission and
EFTA under the Standardization Action Grant SA/ETSI/ENTR/000/2008-11.
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5 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
1 Scope
The present document addresses the subject of the SME participation in Standardization.
It is based upon the outcome of ETSI STF 376. This STF, co-financed by the European Commission and EFTA and
reporting to the ETSI Board, has conducted a study into SME participation in ICT standardization, evaluating the main
benefits of participation and the main barriers which prevent SMEs taking a direct role. A number of case studies were
developed of SMEs who actively participate in standardization. The present document provides the background to the
project and describes the methodology used. It presents the main findings from a survey and from the case studies. It
also proposes a number of tools and best practices which have been researched and which should support a greater level
of SME participation in ICT standardization.
2 References
References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or
non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the
reference document (including any amendments) applies.
Referenced documents which are not found to be publicly available in the expected location might be found at
http://docbox.etsi.org/Reference.
NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication ETSI cannot guarantee
their long term validity.
2.1 Normative references
The following referenced documents are necessary for the application of the present document.
Not applicable.
2.2 Informative references
The following referenced documents are not necessary for the application of the present document but they assist the
user with regard to a particular subject area.
[i.1] Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro,
small and medium-sized enterprises.
NOTE: Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:124:0036:0041:en:PDF.
.
[i.2] SME Performance Review 2008: "First Section of the Annual Report on EU Small and Medium-
sized Enterprises", EIM Business & Policy Research, January 2009.
NOTE: Available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/files/craft/sme_perf_review/doc_08/spr08_annual_reporten.pd
f.
[i.3] Eurostat Statistics in Focus 72/2007: "Community Innovation Statistics".
NOTE: Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-07-072/EN/KS-SF-07-072-
EN.PDF
th
[i.4] Council of the European Union, 2769 COMPETITIVENESS (Internal Market, Industry and
Research) Council meeting: "Council conclusions on a broad-based innovation strategy: Strategic
priorities for innovation action at EU level".
NOTE: Available at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/intm/91989.pdf.
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6 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
[i.5] European Commission COM(2008)133: "Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament and the Council: Towards an increased contribution from standardisation to innovation
in Europe", March 2008. .
NOTE: Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0133:FIN:en:PDF.
[i.6] European Commission: "2008 ICT Standardisation Work Programme".
NOTE: Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/files/wp2008_en.pdf.
[i.7] European Commission DG Enterprise website.
NOTE: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/european-standards/index_en.htm#top
[i.8] European Commission COM(2004)674: "Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament and the Council on the role of European standardisation in the framework of European
policies and legislation", October 2004.
NOTE: Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2004:0674:FIN:en:PDF.
[i.9] CEN/CENELEC Guide 17: "Guidance for writing standards taking into account micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) needs", 2010.
NOTE: Available at: http://www.cen.eu/cen/Services/SMEhelpdesk/Guide17/Pages/default.aspx.
[i.10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi_method
3 Definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Definitions
For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions apply:
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME): autonomous enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and
which have an annual turnover not exceeding €50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding
€43 million
NOTE: Enterprise defined under European Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC [i.1].
3.2 Abbreviations
For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations apply:
BWA Broadband Wireless Access
CEN European Committee for Standardization
CENELEC European Committee for Electrotechnical standardization
COPRAS Cooperation Platform for Research And Standards
DG Directorate General (of the European Commission)
EC European Commission
EFTA European Free Trade Association
ESO European Standards Organization
ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute
EU European Union
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
IPR Intellectual Property Rights
ISO International Organization for Standardization
IT Information Technology
ITU International Telecommunications Union
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7 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
NORMAPME European Office of Crafts, Trades and Small and Medium sized Enterprises for Standardization
OMA Open Mobile Alliance
OMG Object Management Group
R&D Research and Development
SDO Standards Development Organization
SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
STF Special Task Force
SWOT Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat
W3C World Wide Web Consortium
4 Executive summary
4.1 Introduction
There is growing evidence that an integrated approach to ICT standardization by Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) can achieve significant benefits. Much ICT standardization is already taking place at an international or
global level, as indeed most ICT markets are global markets. And yet much of the advice available to SMEs on
their standardization policy is focused on encouraging involvement at a national level, with National Standards
Organizations (NSOs) consolidating national opinion and taking that to the appropriate European or international SDO.
This may be based on the belief that standardization activities are a straightforward additional cost for SMEs.
Since most ICT standardization fora and consortia, and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as an
ESO, are organized on a direct participation per member company basis, such advice is inappropriate in the context
of ICT standardization and ETSI and any support policies developed under this thinking will fail when applied
to SMEs involved in the ICT industry. And furthermore the advice may be based on an incorrect belief in the value of
standardization, without taking into account the benefits of direct participation. International fora and consortia have no
obligation to take account of SMEs' needs, they also have no encouragement to do so. They do not recognise national
standards bodies, and an SME representative body has much less weight in a direct participation model than numerous
SMEs participating individually. SME standardization support processes at European, national and regional level
must take account of the reality of the ICT standardization sector.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises represent 99 % of all enterprises in the EU and collectively provide for
approximately 70 % of employment in the EU. SMEs are a significant source of innovation in Europe and merit a
dedicated approach, and standards are a real opportunity for SMEs to increase their competitive advantage and to gain
international recognition and new possibilities for collaboration.
SMEs and micro-enterprises make up a significant proportion of ETSI's membership. Over 25 % of ETSI's members
are SMEs: ETSI can count over 200 SMEs including micro-enterprises among its members. Some 60 % of these
SME members are active participants in the standardization process, having recently registered for and attended a
standards meeting. And it is estimated that approximately 10 % of official positions (chair, vice-chair, rapporteur, etc.)
in ETSI Technical Bodies are filled by representatives from SMEs.
Therefore in ETSI's limited experience, SMEs appear to be both willing and able to engage in the standardization
process. Indeed, ETSI's SME members appear to recognise that standardization can be a real opportunity for SMEs to
disseminate and exploit their results, but also to increase their competitive advantage and to gain international
recognition and new possibilities for collaboration. ETSI's SME members clearly experience benefits in participating
directly, since they continue to remain members of the organization and participate actively.
4.2 Study overview
ETSI has been conducting a study in 2009 and 2010, co-financed by the EU and EFTA, to evaluate how to improve the
participation of SMEs in ETSI standardization. This study is known at ETSI as Specialist Task Force (STF) 376.
Supported by a high level expert group which met at regular intervals during the study, a linear analytical framework
has been used.
In an initial phase of this study, an online survey was distributed to almost 9 000 ICT SMEs throughout Europe to
evaluate their perception of standardization, the barriers they face in participating, and the drivers which encourage
them to use standards. 18 follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with a number of SMEs who requested in
their survey responses to be contacted by ETSI.
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8 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
Specific SMEs have been analysed in more details in case studies, mostly SMEs having had successful experience with
their participation in the standardization process. However also less successful SMEs were sampled, as was the case of
an industrial development agency having set-up a specific program to fund direct SME participation in standardization.
This field work was accompanied with a more formal approach where tools or initiatives to support SME participation
in standardization have been listed and analysed. In addition, indicators were analysed and developed to help measure
the impact of such initiatives both inside the SME and from a support agency perspective.
Finally, a list of recommendations was built and discussed with the high level expert group. They have been presented
during a final workshop gathering most of the stakeholders, including representatives of other SDOs.
4.3 Main results
The data collection process demonstrated that SMEs having participated in standardization identify a number of positive
outcomes from their participation. Three participations level were identified.
• As a user of standards: without being a member of an SDO, the SME chooses to follow the progress made on a
standard by making use of publicly available information. However it does not access draft copies of the
standard and is only able to see the contents of a standard when it is finally published.
• As a passive participant: the SME is a member of an SDO and is already involved in the development of
standard. It can choose to participate in meetings, but is not yet a leading contributor. As a member, the SME
benefits from access to draft specifications and from following discussions during the development of the
standard.
• As an active participant: the SME participates in standards meetings and also actively makes contributions to
the standard. It may even take a leading role such as rapporteur, chairman or vice-chairman in order to drive
the work in their desired direction.
Depending on the degree of involvement, there were many benefits identified. The most prominent ones are (in no order
of preference):
• Increased reputation of the company.
• Greater networking opportunities.
• Contact with potential customers in the standards committee.
• More commercial or research partnership opportunities.
• Competitive advantage knowing what's in the standard in advance and understanding the background.
• Exposure to industry best practices and new ideas.
• Better competitive intelligence.
• Influence on the contents of the standard.
• Benefit from common marketing campaigns often funded by larger players.
• Source of new recruits: SMEs can quickly access pools of experts who have in-depth knowledge of the
technology and of the standards process.
4.4 Recommendations
Beside the identified benefits outcome of participation, some barriers limiting the participation have been identified.
The three main one are:
• The cost: firstly of travels, with meeting places not always optimized to reduce the costs, but also the cost of
manpower to prepare and attend those meetings.
• The time required to understand and then going through the whole standardization process, which can be a
long-term investment with no immediate gain.
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9 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
• The difficulties and uncertainties related to IPR - whether protecting one's own IPR or accessing that of others.
To overcome these, the SMEs interviewed expressed a number of expectations and made suggestions on how to
improve the standardization landscape to ease SMEs participation. These suggestions have been turned into
recommendations and discussed within the experts group to evaluate their pertinence and feasibility in the ETSI case.
Out of the 17 potential recommendations, 8 have been identified as high priority:
1) Education: a standardization training offer adapted to SMEs should be developed. Use of e-learning of short (1
day) seminars is seen as an efficient approach.
2) Mentoring: newcomers should be mentored in their first steps in ETSI. More experienced SMEs, SMEs
associations and current or former chairmen could be the mentors. Funding for mentoring remains an issue.
3) Support programs: SMEs support programs developed at national or European level should include a support
to standardization activities. The successful Irish case demonstrates the added value of such an approach.
Awareness raising campaign at SME support agencies should be organized to encourage such practices.
4) Free membership test period: a free, limited time access to ETSI should be promoted to allow SMEs to test and
understanding the process. This is in-line with the existing guest status which should be better promoted
among SMEs.
5) Advertise the IPR policy: many of comments received in relation with IPR denote an insufficient knowledge
of existing procedures. ETSI IPR rules and existence of tools such as the ETSI IPR database should be more
advertised.
6) Human resources: it is recognised that efficient participation in standardization committees requires specific
skills. A human resource profile should be proposed, highlighting the technical, language and social skills to
master to efficiently participate in standardization committees.
7) Assessment tool: the decision to participate or not in the standardization process is often taken at senior level.
Decisions are taken based on the Return on Investment (RoI) and criteria to evaluate this RoI should be
proposed.
8) Communication: it appears that a number of the issues encountered by SMEs result from a lack of awareness -
of processes, of available support, of the status of an activity. Communications campaigns targeting SME
should be organized. A first step for this would be to add SME related webpages to the ETSI website.
5 Context and objectives
5.1 Importance of SMEs in European industry
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) currently represent 99 % of European enterprises and collectively provide
for approximately 70 % of employment in the EU [i.2]. Around 40 % of the enterprises with 50 to 249 employees can
be considered innovative i.e. they introduced new or significantly improved products or processes in the time frame of
2002 to 2004 [i.3]. SMEs are therefore a significant source of innovation in Europe and merit a dedicated
approach, and standards are a real opportunity for SMEs to increase their competitive advantage and to gain
international recognition and new possibilities for collaboration. The European Commission, in its Directorate General
for Enterprise, develops policies and programs to support SMEs in all fields of action at the European scale, including
support for SMEs in standardization.
5.2 European standardization policy support
The Commission of the European Communities has identified standardization as key as a means to foster innovation in
its Strategy for Growth and Jobs. More precisely, the Competitiveness Council of 4th December 2006, in its
conclusions, emphasized the need to enhance the European standards-setting systems [i.4].
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10 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
Regarding this rationale, in its communication COM(2008)133 of March 2008 ("Towards an increased contribution
from standardization to innovation in Europe") [i.5], the EC has identified nine key elements for focusing EU
standardization policy on innovation. These elements aim to strengthen the contribution of standardization to innovation
and competitiveness. Amongst these nine points, some concern a current priority of the European Commission, the
access to standardization made available to all stakeholders, in particular SMEs. In particular, the Commission
insists on the following point: "[…] how the standardization process could be revised in order to improve the
standardization activities and the cost-benefit balance of participation for SMEs […].
In 2008, the ICT Standardization Work Programme issued by DG Enterprise [i.6] solicits proposals on the horizontal
actions of awareness, promotion, information and education, to generate key messages and proofs of the benefits
of standardization for SMEs. The European Commission website for DG Enterprise [i.7] clearly mentions the
challenges related to the involvement of Small and Medium Enterprises in the standardization processes:
"Standardisation is the voluntary process of developing technical specifications based on consensus
among all interested parties (industry including Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), consumers,
trade unions, environmental Non Governmental Organisations (NGO), public authorities, etc.). It is
carried out by independent standards bodies, acting at national, European and international level.
While the use of standards remains voluntary, the European Union has, since the mid-1980's, made an
increasing use of standards in support of its policies and legislation.
Standardisation has contributed significantly to the completion of the Internal Market in the context of
'New Approach' legislation, which refers to European standards developed by the European standards
organisations.
Furthermore, European standardisation supports European policies in the areas of competitiveness,
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), innovation, interoperability, environment,
transport, energy, consumer protection, etc.
Standardisation is an excellent tool to facilitate international trade, competition and the acceptance of
innovations by markets. A key challenge for European standardisation is to strengthen its contribution
to the competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)."

More details have been given in the staff working paper supporting the 2004 Communication on "the Role of European
Standardisation in the Framework of European Policies and legislation" [i.8] regarding the targets and difficulties
related to the involvement of SMEs in the standardization processes:
• Improve involvement of SMEs in European standardization: "Small and Medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in standardisation work and the use of European standards present a particular problem in the sense
that access to standards must be improved."
• Lower the participation barriers: "Standards development is time-consuming and costly in terms of the
human and financial resources that have to be provided to achieve a meaningful input into the process. The
participation of SMEs and societal stakeholders can be hampered by a lack of resources and technical
expertise."
5.3 European standardization landscape
The landscape of European standardization is constituted by 3 ESOs (European Standards Organizations): CEN
(European Committee for Standardization), CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization) and
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), in addition to the National Standards Organizations (NSOs)
in each European country. ETSI together with the other ESOs, CEN and CENELEC, provides standards to support
European Union policies towards the development of the single market, and supports EC policies aimed at increased
SME involvement. Each of the three ESOs has different rules of functioning to conduct these missions:
• CEN is the European multisectoral Standardization organization active in all fields except the electrotechnical
and the telecommunication field. CEN functions by a national delegation representation. The CEN
National Members (30 NSOs) work together to develop voluntary European Standards.
• CENELEC provides standards in the electrotechnical domain, and functions in a similar manner to CEN (they
share the same management centre). CENELEC also functions like CEN by national representation.
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11 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
• ETSI produces globally-applicable standards for Information and Communications Technologies, this
includes, mobile, radio, converged, broadcast and internet technologies. ETSI has a direct member
representation and participation model, where each member represents their own interests, and the ETSI
work programme and standard approval is decided upon by the ETSI members themselves. ETSI has over 700
organization or company members, within which 25 % are SMEs, and 4 % are Micro enterprises. To
improve the participation of SMEs, ETSI practices a price differentiation policy for the membership fees
(currently 3 000€ for microenterprises, 6 000 € for SMEs, and between 9 300 € to over 150 000 € for other
members according to their turnover), and it reserves one seat in the ETSI Board for an SME representative.
In addition to the three ESOs, other players exist in the standardization landscape. There are numerous international
standards bodies, fora and consortia which produce formal or informal standards and specifications for ICT. Since
almost all of these specifications are voluntary, they can be freely used by industry anywhere in the world. International
formal standards bodies include the ITU, ISO and IEC. Regional bodies such as the IEEE, and fora such as the W3C,
IETF, OMG, OASIS, OMA, TMForum etc. play an important role for industry, and are open to wide participation.
Some have a narrow technical focus, some have quite a broad focus, but all except ISO and IEC practice a direct
participation model: companies or individuals must join these standards bodies and represent themselves, as they
generally do not recognise national standards bodies as representative bodies.
5.4 Objectives of the study
While several studies have been made to increase the participation of SMEs in standardization through the national
representation scheme, very few have been made in the context of the global ICT sector, where technology and markets
ignore frontiers, national standards bodies are less involved, and direct participation of interested parties is the accepted
method of participation in standardization. And yet much of the advice available in Europe to SMEs on their
standardization policy is focused on encouraging involvement at a national level, with NSOs consolidating national
opinion and taking that to the appropriate European or international SDO. This may be based on the belief that
standardization activities are a straightforward additional cost for SMEs. Since most ICT standardization structures
are organized on a member company basis, and not national delegation basis, such advice is inappropriate in the
context of the ICT industry and ETSI in particular, and any support policies developed under this thinking will
fail when applied to SMEs involved in the ICT industry. And furthermore the advice may be based on an incorrect
belief in the value of standardization, without taking into account the benefits of direct participation.
The STF 376 project aims to develop evidence to support the involvement of SMEs in ICT standardization, and to
look at all of the benefits which may accrue from such direct participation. With sufficient evidence, the project
aims to develop the tools, briefing and support material to enable ETSI to properly inform and assist advisors to SMEs
on the standardization advice they offer.
The high level objective of this project is to actively encourage and support the direct participation of SMEs from the
ICT sector in the standardization process.
6 Methodology
6.1 Methodology overview
The project was structured into three main phases with multiple sub-tasks in each phase.
ETSI
12 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
SMEs involved in SMEs involved in
ETSI Networks
FP6/7 projects COPRAS
Interviews –Agreement for their participation
Analysis of their processes
Best practices, tools and specifications report
Selection of the relevant SMEs
Tests
Evaluation / Validation
Further recommendations
Figure 1: Phases and high-level tasks of the project
The project followed three main work packages, as shown in figure 2:
WP1 – WP2 – WP3 –
Benchmarking and Needs, Tools and Tests Dissemination
SWOT Analaysis activities
• Stakeholders’ Needs and
• Upstream analysis • Workshop with all
expectations
stakeholders
• Interviews
• Tools definition and
•Further policy
• Set up & animation of the
specifications
recommendations
Expert Committee
• Selection of relevant
•White Paper
SMEs and Tests
Figure 2: Project work-package structure
The project began with a benchmarking and analysis stage, which was structured in 4 separate tasks:
a) An intensive upstream analysis of current SMEs' practices concerning the contribution of their involvement in
the standardization process to the improvement of their results. This analysis has focused on SMEs already
active in ICT standardization.
b) A survey of a minimum of 200 people involved in the standardization and innovation fields, through
questionnaires, completed with phone interviews.
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13 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
c) The creation of an Expert Committee, composed of individuals with outstanding track records related to
standardization and innovation, representing stakeholders from various sectors and various geographical areas,
including NORMAPME, the European Office of Crafts, Trades and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises for
Standardization. The members of this Expert Committee were tasked to ensure the right decision making
process within the project and to provide new ideas for a better study development.
d) Finally, the writing of a white paper gathering all the collected information during the first tasks. Results of the
white paper were discussed within a stakeholders' workshop. The Expert Committee has provided
recommendations for inclusion in the White Paper.
The second work package was composed of 3 tasks:
e) Firstly, the functional needs of stakeholders were characterised. In a series of case-study interviews, the
processes to encourage the emergence of high valued standards from innovation have been drawn. These
processes were based on pro-active approaches derived from the ones used in the field of innovation
management.
f) The tools required to support the processes previously identified have been drawn too and implemented. These
tools summarized documentation, methods and best practices such as interview guidelines, education and
training, auto-assessment tools and targeted financial support.
These tools also include promotional material for ETSI such as the case studies, dedicated web pages for
SMEs and a leaflet, to use in implementing the results of this project. Such material will be used in briefing
and ‘educating' consultants or advisors to SMEs in various national support structures. This support material is
being made available to those briefed, for integration into existing information packages and awareness
programmes.
g) The third task aimed at testing the tools/best practices over a selection of SMEs. Their behaviour when
submitted to the pro-active approach has been used to update the processes and tools definition.
The final stage of the project has been the organization of a workshop with stakeholders of standardization and
innovation in Europe (ESOs, international standards bodies, innovation community, public funding agencies, etc.). The
results obtained were discussed in order to finally write recommendations for a wider implementation within European
research and innovation policy.
6.2 Data collection
SME and micro-enterprises make up a significant proportion of ETSI's membership. Over 28 % of ETSI's members are
SMEs: ETSI can count over 200 SMEs including micro-enterprises among its members. Some 60 % of these SME
members are active participants in the standardization process, having recently registered for and attended a standards
meeting. And approximately 10 % of official positions (chair, vice-chair, rapporteur? etc.) in ETSI Technical Bodies are
filled by representatives from SMEs.
Therefore in ETSI's limited experience, SMEs appear to be both willing and able to engage in the standardization
process. Indeed, ETSI's SME members appear to recognise that standardization can be a real opportunity for SMEs to
disseminate and exploit their results, but also to increase their competitive advantage and to gain international
recognition and new possibilities for collaboration.
6.2.1 Upstream Analysis
During the first task of this mission, a desk research has been performed to compile a list of documents (reports,
memos, and analyses) from existing European initiatives related to innovation and the standardization process in the
ICT field, in order to identify structures, bodies and agencies or programmes to support SMEs.
This bibliographical analysis contains:
• An overview of policies for SMEs at the European level.
• Main institutions, bodies and programmes to support SMEs.
• Examples of National level support for SMEs of main European countries.
• Description of the European Standards Organizations (ESOs).
ETSI
14 ETSI SR 001 544 V1.1.1 (2011-03)
• Dedicated programmes to standardization.
A database of R&D performing SMEs identified in the ICT field has been built. The database includes general
information: name, field, contact point, involvement in standardization etc. This database contains over 2 000
enterprises and was used exclusively for a survey of SMEs on their knowledge and best practices related to
standardization.
6.2.2 Web Survey
ETSI carried out an online survey from June to August 2009. This survey was essential to provide objective information
on issues related to SME participation in standardization, and to be able to derive suggestions for overcoming
weaknesses and supporting the strengths of SME in ICT sector standardization in Europe.
The survey was distributed to almost 9 000 ICT companies mainly in the EU, including the 2 000 companies compiled
in the database, and we received more than 200 answers. The main res
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