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Clear thinking for consortia
30 Nov 2009
Topics: Consortia, PAS 98
While there was a time when companies would never consider working alongside the competition, today's marketplace demands a more flexible approach. Collaboration is fast becoming par for the course. For example, large government contracts often require expertise that goes far beyond any one company's capacity to deliver. Forming a consortium brings together the right experience in the right place, and it can mean the difference between winning or losing a tender.
With this in mind, BSI began work on PAS 98 Code of practice for the establishment and management of consortia in June 2009. The goal is to create a benchmark for organizations managing consortia and those seeking to join an existing consortium, helping them in key areas such as market analysis, standards development, interoperability, education and lobbying.
"Consortia have enjoyed success over the past few years, most notably in the ICT sector where industry collaboration has produced interoperable technologies," says Mike Low, director of Standards, BSI. "There is now wide-spread enthusiasm for a robust best-practice guide, which will enable consortia in any sector to operate successfully."
An initial workshop identified support for the project and brought together a range of stakeholders. Delegates debated the issues affecting consortia and agreed on the primary challenges that would need to be addressed by such a good practice guide. Much progress has been made since the workshop. Following a very positive Steering Group meeting held at BSI in October, the draft is now being updated in line with the feedback received. The revised draft will be circulated to the Steering Group again for comment and a second meeting will be held in January 2010. A more advanced draft of PAS 98 will be released for wider stakeholder review once all Steering Group comments have been resolved. This is likely to be in February 2010.
If you are interested in getting involved in the development of PAS 98, contact Tara West at tara.west@bsigroup.com
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