Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INSTAR (International cooperation for digital standardisation)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-03-31
INSTAR unites experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to ensure global standards align with market needs and do not hinder technology innovation. By harmonising objectives and strengthening Europe’s leadership in ICT standardisation, INSTAR contributes to more secure, competitive, and widely adopted digital technologies. Its main objectives are to build alliances, explore opportunities for synergies and develop joint roadmaps with international like-minded partners to support the EU Digital Partnerships, Trade & Technology Agreements and contribute towards seamless, interoperable digital ecosystems.
Within the scope of the project are two key activities. The first is the operation of European Task Forces (ETFs), which are specialised groups of European standardisation experts dedicated to facilitating robust knowledge exchange and influencing the development of international standards in line with EU policies. These ETFs focus on 6 technology domains, namely: Artificial Intelligence (AI); Cybersecurity and Digital Identity (eID); Data; Cloud, Edge, Internet of Things (IoT); 5G+ and 6G; Quantum technologies. By integrating technical and industry expertise, the ETFs members come together to ensure that European perspectives and priorities are well-defined and that EU-supported standards are adequately represented and influential in shaping the future of technology. The second key activity is the work of International Task Forces (ITFs), set up to align European standardisation priorities with those of international partners across Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the US. The ITFs foster collaboration with key global actors to identify common interests and shared goals in the aforementioned technology domains. Once areas of alignment are established, the ITFs work together on a joint roadmap to advance these priorities across key standardisation communities.
Within the scope of the project are two key activities. The first is the operation of European Task Forces (ETFs), which are specialised groups of European standardisation experts dedicated to facilitating robust knowledge exchange and influencing the development of international standards in line with EU policies. These ETFs focus on 6 technology domains, namely: Artificial Intelligence (AI); Cybersecurity and Digital Identity (eID); Data; Cloud, Edge, Internet of Things (IoT); 5G+ and 6G; Quantum technologies. By integrating technical and industry expertise, the ETFs members come together to ensure that European perspectives and priorities are well-defined and that EU-supported standards are adequately represented and influential in shaping the future of technology. The second key activity is the work of International Task Forces (ITFs), set up to align European standardisation priorities with those of international partners across Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the US. The ITFs foster collaboration with key global actors to identify common interests and shared goals in the aforementioned technology domains. Once areas of alignment are established, the ITFs work together on a joint roadmap to advance these priorities across key standardisation communities.
6 ETFs were launched between April and May 2024 and engage a total of over 71 standardisation experts. They have produced 6 roadmaps reflecting Europe’s standardisation priorities, with reference to key available initiatives, documents and policy actions. The roadmaps factsheets are available on the INSTAR website. INSTAR has also formally established 2 ITFs with the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) of the Republic of Korea (September 2024) and the Japan Business Council in Europe (JBCE) (March 2025) respectively. These partnerships have cultivated into a series of events organised by INSTAR and a clear action plan leading to the release of joint roadmaps.
In the meantime, the project has produced rich knowledge regarding international progress on specific themes and working items, facilitating the prioritisation of standardisation initiatives across the INSTAR technological areas and geographical scope. It has also published Training materials for the standardisation community, based on refined content from the collaborating StandICT2026 and HSBooster strategic initiatives.
In terms of events, INSTAR has organised 4 workshops and 3 webinars focused on standards in different technology areas. Through these events, INSTAR has engaged various stakeholder groups such as European and International Task Force experts, industry players, researchers and policymakers, to share key results and promote industry competitiveness through standardisation.
Finally, the INSTAR Standards Dashboard is currently being developed as a central repository for harmonisation progress. The Dashboard will feature a Standards Tracer Module, an automated tool designed to systematically gather, analyse, and provide insights into standardisation activities and trends. The Dashboard and tracer will play a strategic role, once the joint roadmaps between INSTAR and the ITFs have been produced. Based on the content of the roadmaps, they will guide users from industry, research and policy to relevant resources, as they navigate the standardisation landscape.
In the meantime, the project has produced rich knowledge regarding international progress on specific themes and working items, facilitating the prioritisation of standardisation initiatives across the INSTAR technological areas and geographical scope. It has also published Training materials for the standardisation community, based on refined content from the collaborating StandICT2026 and HSBooster strategic initiatives.
In terms of events, INSTAR has organised 4 workshops and 3 webinars focused on standards in different technology areas. Through these events, INSTAR has engaged various stakeholder groups such as European and International Task Force experts, industry players, researchers and policymakers, to share key results and promote industry competitiveness through standardisation.
Finally, the INSTAR Standards Dashboard is currently being developed as a central repository for harmonisation progress. The Dashboard will feature a Standards Tracer Module, an automated tool designed to systematically gather, analyse, and provide insights into standardisation activities and trends. The Dashboard and tracer will play a strategic role, once the joint roadmaps between INSTAR and the ITFs have been produced. Based on the content of the roadmaps, they will guide users from industry, research and policy to relevant resources, as they navigate the standardisation landscape.
INSTAR has established multiple reliable communication channels among European and international standardisation stakeholders, paving the way for more cooperation in standards setting. The harmonisation impact is ongoing, with ETFs and ITFs continuing to serve as dynamic coordination bodies, actively preparing for the next phase of action to deepen integration of EU values in the working items of SDOs. It has also contributed to strengthening the connection between research and innovation and economic impact by actively involving R&I actors in the standards development process (ETFs and relevant events) and amplifying the voice of industry in policy settings, such as the Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSP) and High-Level Forum (HLF) meetings. Through tools such as the Standards Dashboard and Tracer it expects to strengthen the ability of SMEs, R&I initiatives, industry players and associations to deliver goods and services that embrace EU priorities and values, while remaining competitive. On the other side, it aspires to provide visibility of EU standardisation efforts, achievements and requirements to international industry players, promoting the integration of EU values in their respective products and services, with the aim of enhancing trade with Europe.