Project description
Governance in global digital standard-setting
The governance of global technical standard-setting is undergoing significant transformation and contestation. Historically dominated by wealthy countries, new influential players, particularly China, are reshaping the landscape. Other Global South countries are also entering this field. The ERC-funded TECHtonics project aims to introduce two new theoretical concepts to the international standardisation literature and global governance scholarship. It will study how developing countries gain standards powers and analyse the contestation in global technical standard-setting. Using mixed methods, the project will examine rising standards powers in Kenya, India, and China, and investigate governance ruptures in global digital standard-setting. The project aims to impact practitioners by directly sharing academic insights with standardisation organisations, ensuring broader research impact.
Objective
The governance of global technical standard-setting is in the midst of unprecedented transformation and contestation. Long dominated by wealthy industrialized countries, international standardization organizations have been shaken by the emergence of rising standards powers, above all China. Alongside China, several other Global South countries are now breaching the high barriers to entry in this field.
TECHtonics will contribute two theoretical innovations addressed to both the international standardization literature and scholars of global governance more broadly. One aim of the project is development of a framework to study how and why some developing countries manage to acquire standards power, against the odds. A second contribution is introduction of the concept of governance rupture to study the multifaceted forms of contestation unfolding in global technical standard-setting. Since both topics addressed by these frameworksinstitutionalized inequality and complex governance challengesare not unique to technical standard-setting, the findings will advance theory-building on power, politics and contestation in the global governance literature.
The project employs mixed methods to provide empirically rich, granular analyses of rising standards powers and governance ruptures in international standardization. One work package features case studies of rising standards powers at different levels of influence in international standardizationaspiring (Kenya), rising (India) and risen (China). A second work package will study the dynamics of governance rupture in global digital standard-setting unfolding across four theatres: power, practice, authority and bloc formation.
TECHtonics will directly transfer insights to the practitioners world. A practitioner lab and secondments to standardization organizations will be established in order to directly fuse academic insights with practitioners needs, ensuring a high degree of research impact beyond academia.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
10117 Berlin
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.