Belize | Dominica | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Haiti
UNIDO – ACP Quality Infrastructure Programme
EU & OACPS Funded | Implemented in collaboration with CROSQ

 

Assignment Overview

Served as Standardization Expert under the ACP Quality Infrastructure Programme to develop and revise National Standardization Strategies (NSS) in four CARICOM Member States.

The assignment contributed to strengthening national quality infrastructure governance and aligning standardization systems with regional integration frameworks and multilateral trade obligations.

Final consolidated report submitted: December 2025.

 

Technical Scope and Methodological Framework

The engagement was structured as an institutional reform and systems design intervention.

Each NSS was developed in accordance with:

• ISO Guidance on the Development of National Standardization Strategies (2020)

• CARICOM Regional Standards Development Priority Plan (RSDPP 2022–2027)

• WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement principles

• National development strategies and sectoral policy frameworks

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) alignment

The methodology combined:

• Sector prioritisation using socio-economic impact criteria

• Stakeholder mapping and structured consultation processes

• Governance and committee architecture design

• Resource and workload modelling (ISO-based FTE analysis)

• Implementation sequencing with defined monitoring mechanisms

More than 160 public and private sector stakeholders were engaged across the four jurisdictions.

 

Institutional Outputs

Each validated National Standardization Strategy included:

• Defined governance structures and coordination mechanisms

• Three-year prioritised standards development portfolios

• Adoption pathways for regional and international standards

• Workload and capacity modelling

• Monitoring and evaluation frameworks with review milestones

• Resource mobilisation considerations aligned with donor programming cycles

• Mechanisms supporting regional harmonisation under CARICOM

 

Systemic Constraints Addressed

The strategies were designed to respond to common structural limitations, including:

• Limited technical and institutional capacity

• Gaps in testing, inspection, and metrology services

• Fragmented inter-agency coordination

• Limited standards awareness within productive sectors

• Weak alignment between standardization and national industrial policy

 

Strategic Relevance

The resulting NSS frameworks position standardization as a policy instrument supporting:

• Trade facilitation and export diversification

• Climate resilience and infrastructure standards

• Food safety system strengthening

• MSME competitiveness

• Regulatory coherence and regional harmonisation

The strategies developed provide replicable approaches for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and emerging economies seeking to integrate standards into broader economic reform and competitiveness agendas