THE PROJECT

The objective of the project is that quality infrastructure institutions in the Eastern Partnership countries have adapted their services to European and international requirements through regional networking.

The project intensifies the transfer of knowledge and experience between the national quality infrastructure institutions of the Eastern Partnership countries through regional exchange. The focus is on strengthening professional regional networks in the fields of metrology, accreditation and standardisation, as well as working groups on specific technical topics. Within these networks the quality infrastructure institutions can pool their expertise in areas to offer regionally available services such as internal audits or interlaboratory comparisons. They also increase their technical capacities through trainings or other peer-to-peer learning formats. These capacity development activities result in knowledge products such as guidelines, recommendations, checklists, reports and best practices that serve as a practical working basis and promote a harmonised application of procedures and standards. The quality infrastructure institutions explore how digital tools or a digital platform can facilitate their collaboration in the project and beyond the project. 

At national level in Armenia and Azerbaijan, the project continues to provide targeted support for national developments and to address specific needs with regard to the international recognition of services. 

This includes technical training and capacity development in metrology and accreditation as well as internal audits and intercomparisons to demonstrate the competence of qualified personnel. For selected institutions, especially metrology institutes of the region, the project offers support with digitalisation solutions for quality infrastructure processes.

The quality infrastructure institutions of the Eastern Partnership strengthen their technical capacities, taking into account digitalisation solutions.The transfer of knowledge and experience between the institutions is intensified through regional exchange. 

Through targeted support and regional exchange for alignment with European and international standards, the quality infrastructure ihstitutions are improving their services and processes. This will lead to a certain degree of harmonisation, so that the region as a whole will move closer to European and international good practices. This increases confidence in quality infrastructure services for products and services. The supported international recognition of quality infrastructure institutions is particularly important for export-oriented companies and enables companies in the Eastern Partnership to improve their market access. It can also promote environmentally friendly production processes, energy efficiency and resource conservation. The support in digitalisation will create the necessary foundations, so that partner countries will gradually be able to connect with European and international developments in the area of the Digital Product Passport.

The training of skilled personnel, especially women in technical professions, and the access to regional knowledge products supports equal opportunities. The expansion of trustworthy quality infrastructure services improves consumer protection and strengthens public confidence in state institutions

PTB will continue its long-standing cooperation with quality infrastructure institutions from the Eastern Partnership countries, namely the National Metrology Institutes, National Accreditation Bodies and National Standards Bodies. Depending on the priority sector selected in Armenia, the project will closely collaborate with private and public testing laboratories as well as users of quality infrastructure services such as enterprises, associations or clusters in the sector.