Background Information

Standards are produced following discussions with a wide variety of interested organizations and groups, at national and international level. The following structures are involved with respect to global/international standards:

National
The National Standards Body (NSB) is usually its biggest producer of formal Standards within a particular country. The NSB brings together representatives from relevant sections of business, industry, government and society and forms technical committees to actually develop the Standards. For example, NSBs include ANSI (US Standards), BSI (British Standards), BIS (India), AFNOR (France) and DIN (Germany).

European
CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, represents the national Standards bodies of countries in the EU. CEN promotes technical harmonization in Europe and worldwide, and all European Standards are adopted by the EU country members.

International
ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is the largest developer of Standards in the world. Its membership comprises the National Standards Bodies of countries around the world. IEC, the International Electrotechnical Commission, oversees the development of electrical and electronic Standards for participating countries.

How Are Standards Created?

Most Standardization work takes place through specialist groups of experts, known as technical committees. At national, European or international level, committees are made up of representatives from business, industry, trade associations, government, academia, consumer and other relevant groups.

ISO 27000 Directory - Background