Engaging with consumers: how to get started

For helpful tips on engaging consumers, see a practical booklet, Involving consumers – why and how: practical guidance for standards development bodies, which provides useful information and case studies, along with additional contacts (see below).

A comprehensive list of training resources developed by COPOLCO, many of which are aimed at guiding consumer representatives in standardization activities, is available on ISO Online. This includes the COPOLCO distance learning module Consumers and standards: partnership for a better world available on ISO Online or on a CD-ROM and presentations to be used in the COPOLCO Train-the-trainer course.

For more details on how specific ISO members involve consumers in their standards activities, see the ISO Directory of Consumer Interest Participation. This directory also identifies staff at the NSBs who may be a further resource for additional information about how consumer participation is organized.

Additional useful contacts

• ANCO – Asian Network for Consumer Participation in Standardization
  www.standardsusers.org
  
  
• ANEC – The European Consumer Voice in Standardization
  www.anec.org
  
  
• ANSI – American National Standards Institute, Consumer Affairs
  www.ansi.org/consumer
  
  
• BIS – Bureau of Indian Standards
  www.bis.org.in
  
  
• BSI – British Standards Institution, Consumer & Public Interest Unit
  www.bsigroup.com/en/Standards-and-Publications/How-we-can-help-you/Consumers
  
  
• CFA – Consumers’ Federation of Australia
  www.consumersfederation.org.au
  
  
• CI – Consumers International
  www.consumersinternational.org
  
  
• Consumer Voice
  www.consumer-voice.org/
  
  
• CSA – Canadian Standards Association, Consumers
  www.csa.ca/cm/ca/en/consumers
  
  
• DIN – Deutsches Institut für Normung, Consumer Council
  www.verbraucherrat.de
  
  
• DSM – Department of Standards Malaysia
  www.standardsmalaysia.gov.my
  
  
• ICONTEC – Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certificación
  www.icontec.org
  
  
• IRAM – Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación (IRAM)
  www.iram.org.ar
  
  
• JISC – Japanese Industrial Standards Committee
  www.jisc.go.jp/eng/index.html
  
  
• KATS – Korean Agency for Technology and Standards
  www.kats.go.kr/en_kats
  
  
• SA – Standards Australia
  www.standards.org.au
  
  
• SCC –Standards Council of Canada, Consumer and Public Interest Committee
  www.scc.ca/en/about-scc/governance/advisory-committees-at-scc/cpic
  
  
• Standards Users – Malaysian Association of Standards Users
  www.standardsusers.org
  
  
• UL – Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Standards Technical Panels – Consumer News
  http://ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com/stp/consumer_news.html