Working Group 3: National Quality Infrastructure Alan Steele Canada

National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) Launched as part of the Plan of Action of Panama from the Third OAS Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities of Science and Technology in November 2011 NQI Objective Help member states to have access to internationally recognized quality-infrastructure services to foster competitiveness, innovation, trade and consumer safety

NQI Stakeholders The set of country institutions that provide the scientific and regulatory framework and services to guarantee the quality and safety of products and services offered in local and foreign markets in each of the 34 Member States of the OAS. Standards Accreditation Metrology

NQI Pillars Standards : meet customer and user needs by documenting the requirements for products and services Accreditation : ensure that all are playing equitably through competent technical verification Metrology : assess products and services in a reliable and objective manner using appropriate measurement and scientific tools

NQI Regional Organizations COPANT – Pan-American Standards Commission IAAC – Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation SIM – Inter-American Metrology System

Inter-American Council on Quality Infrastructure

Why Create a Council on Quality Infrastructure? To address the need for a sound national and regional system that provides the foundation for innovation and competitiveness To ensure that commerce, trade, security and consumer safety concerns adapt to changing and increasingly complex requirements in the global marketplace

Why COPANT, IAAC and SIM? The complementary and mutually supporting nature of standards development, accreditation, and scientific and legal metrology are the key elements of quality infrastructure Independent Regional Organizations each have long history of activity with broad participation from the countries in the Americas in their respective areas of expertise

Intent of the NQI Council Creating a formal structure for joint projects, information sharing, and cross-functional training and development that, by acting collaboratively, exceeds the abilities of any organization acting alone Joining together as the Inter-American Council on Quality Infrastructure, an organization of peers that provides a single point of contact for action and collaboration to support the expansion of national quality infrastructure in the Americas

Intent of the NQI Council Creating a structure for joint projects, information sharing, and cross-functional training and development that, by acting collaboratively, exceeds the abilities of any organization acting alone Joining together as the Inter-American Council on Quality Infrastructure, an organization of peers that provides a single point of contact for action and collaboration to support the expansion of national quality infrastructure in the Americas

Possible Next Steps for Working Group 3: To report on progress of the Inter-American Council on Quality Infrastructure To help link national quality infrastructure with our national innovation and competitiveness agendas To support CIDI in conducting a review of the relationship between SIM and the OAS

A Story About Time… NIST physicists Jefferts and Heavner with the new NIST-F2 “cesium fountain” atomic clock Credit: NIST