What is DEVCO?
ISO has established a policy committee - DEVCO - specifically to address the needs of developing countries.
Developing countries need to focus both on acquiring world-class technological competence and on achieving a good understanding of the technical requirements underlying global trade. For over 40 years, ISO has been assisting in both these areas through ISO/DEVCO, the ISO Committee on developing country matters. DEVCO's membership comprises over 120 national standards institutes from industrialized as well as developing countries.
The committee has four main objectives:
- To identify the needs and requirements of developing countries in the fields of standardization and related activities (i.e. conformity assessment including accreditation, quality and metrology) and to assist the developing countries, as necessary, in defining these needs and requirements.
- Having established these needs and requirements, to recommend actions to assist the developing countries in meeting them.
- To monitor the implementation of the ISO Action Plan for developing countries.
- To provide a forum for the discussion of all aspects of standardization and related activities, and for the exchange of experience among develped and developing countries.
In all these activities, DEVCO works closely with other ISO policy committees (COPOLCO - dealing with consumer matters, CASCO - dealing with conformity assessment), the Technical Management Board (TMB), as well as with specialized agencies of the United Nations and with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).