Who We Serve: Industry & Academia

The following resources show how businesses, academia, government agencies, and the public work together to understand, develop and support effective standards and conformity assessment.

Industry

Businesses rely on standards to reduce the cost of product development, expedite market entry, and open new markets at home and abroad.

U.S. Policy

View policy documents favoring use of industry-developed standards: Circular A-119 and the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) promote reliance on voluntary consensus standards (Link to NTTAA/OMB A-119)

Current Standards

Standards Incorporated by Reference: Incorporation by reference (IBR) allows Federal agencies to comply with the requirement to publish rules in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by referring to materials already published elsewhere.

Support and Information

Request quick research, referrals, and publications: The Standards Information Center provides quick reference and guidance on standards-related topics, including navigating complex U.S. and international standards landscape

Locate Trade Information: Access the latest notifications issued by the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

Academia

Institutions of higher education help our future workforce understand the value, development, and use of standards and standardization in a range of career fields.

Academic Programs

NIST Standards Services Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program: The  Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program provides funding, through a competitive process, to support the integration of standards education into undergraduate and graduate course curriculum.

Standards Coordination Office Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SCO SURF): The Standards Coordination Office offers paid summer research opportunities to undergraduate students that help in advancing the development or assessment of performance standards and test methods of benefit to manufacturers, end users, and federal agencies.