1. A study on services certification linked to service
standards at national level in Europe
Technopolis Ltd
Nordic Innovation / EFTA workshop
EFTA Secretariat
Brussels, 1st March 2012

2. Study objectives
• Main objective
• Identify the extent to which the development of standards for services is
followed by the development of related certification schemes at national level
within Europe (32 countries)
• Specific requirements for the study were to…
• Identify trends in the development of service standards at national and EU
level
• Identify certification schemes linked to service standards operating at national
level
• Briefly describe these schemes (title, scope, sector, standards covered,
geographic applicability, certification body operator)
• Identify which areas of services are most affected with regard to certification
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3. Approach
• Desk research to identify all existing formal national and European
service standards
• Validation of those lists by CEN and national standards bodies (NSBs)
• Desk research to identify certification bodies in Europe
• Survey of certification bodies
• Collect factual information on existing and planned certification schemes
linked to service standards
• Identify expected future trends
• Analysis of service standards and related certification schemes
• Understand trends in rate of development over time
• Identify the areas of services most affected by standardisation and
certification
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4. Results – development of standards for services
• Relatively few service standards (n=435) have been developed to date
• Most are national standards (n=380) rather than European (n=55)
• The rate of development of new service standards is higher at national level
than at European level ….
• …. and on current trends the gap will become wider in future
• Uneven pattern of development across different areas of services
• Many standards - facilities and maintenance, construction and utilities, procurement
and contracts, transport and logistics, finance and real estate
• Few standards – ICT services, security, customer contact, education and training,
tourism
• Postal services is the only area with more European than national standards
• There are high numbers of national standards compared to European ones in the
areas of construction and utilities; education and training; finance and real estate;
food and accommodation; health and personal services
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5. Results – certification schemes linked to service standards
• Approximately one in four (26%) service standards have led on to the
development of related certification schemes
• European standards are more likely (than national standards) to lead to
certification schemes
• Most schemes
• are run by certification bodies with close ties to NSBs
• have a ‘one-to-one’ relationship to standards
• are launched within three years of publication of the standard to which they
relate
• The study identified 16 areas of services where several schemes operate in
different countries linked to different sets of requirements
• Security, transport, and call centres are the areas of services most
affected by certification
• Certification bodies expect both the number of new schemes and their use
to increase in future
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6. Conclusions and issues for discussion
• The numbers of national and European service standards will increase
• The ratio of national to European standards will grow
• As more standards become available the number of certification schemes will
increase
• These trends should generate many positive effects (e.g. improved service quality,
increased consumer confidence, improved health and safety)
• BUT, none of the certification schemes, even those linked to European standards,
are mutually recognised across borders
• SO, what will be the impact on the single European market for services?
• Will the multitude of standards and schemes create confusion among users?
• Will they create inefficiencies for service providers?
• Will they introduce ‘non-tariff’ barriers to trade in certain EU countries?
• We have recommended the situation be monitored to provide early warning of
proliferation of standards and schemes
• We have also highlighted specific areas for more detailed investigations aimed at
understanding the actual impact of certification on the internal market for services
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7. Thank you
For further information please contact
James Stroyan
james.stroyan@technopolis-group.com
Neil Brown
neil.brown@technopolis-group.com
technopolis |group| has offices in Amsterdam, Ankara, Brighton,
Brussels, Frankfurt/Main, Paris, Stockholm, Tallinn and Vienna
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