Introduction

Standard-setting is an essential element of an economic development strategy as it is a commercial tool that reflects the current state of market practices. It creates incontestable signs of quality by certifying conformity and product characteristics. These activities are part of economic development; today, their management is based on modern techniques that provide a lasting solution to economic actors’ issues.

The current context modifies and improves the suggestions of various partners in terms of creating standards and support activities. These latter include disseminating information on standards, training on compliance techniques, especially those concerning management systems, and certifying standards compliance.

Adaptation to this new context requires the definition of a development strategy that takes into account the current system’s features, the experiences of other organs with similar activities and the international dimension that follows from our country’s efforts to enter the global economy.

In this light, the restructuring of Morocco’s standard-setting system bears witness to public actors’ awareness of this new context’s constraints. Putting in place new structures to manage standard-setting, certification and information will ensure the success of this system.

The acceleration and convergence of technologies, the globalization of trade and health, safety and environmental concerns must be accompanied by standard-setting. The evolving demand for certification must be met with new development, particularly of management systems, in this competitive field,

In order to attain our objectives in this field we must make better use of the internet’s various possibilities, not only for tools and methods of work but in order to collect and disseminate information and develop relationships with international and foreign organs charged with these activities. This will give us a context for the rapidly changing nature of this particular field as well as general business practices.

This strategy’s main goal is to develop a Moroccan standard-setting and certification system that can play an effective role in the country’s socioeconomic development and accompany Moroccan economic operators in their steps towards progress.

The elements of the strategy that apply to standard-setting, certification and information are as follows:

- Adapt SNIMA’s services to the needs of institutional and industrial partners. (This applies equally to standard-setting and certification as to information and training);

- Develop all activities through use of the internet, particularly surveys of the public, the sale of products, exchange with other organizations and the putting online of training offers;

-Reinforce technical cooperation with foreign organizations in order to optimize the transfer of knowledge and facilitate the assimilation of practical techniques for activity management;

-Employ communication techniques to ascertain our large-scale potential and ensure a good market position;

- Increase participation in international activities in order to gain awareness of current trends and organize responses to them in a reasonable time frame;

- Contact sectors that are not already covered by these activities, such as tourism and services, in order to help them profit from the advantages of standard-setting and certification;

-Improve the quality of service for pre-existing quality systems and expand them to fit new activities;

- Develop management system and general standards training in order to assist businesses in implementing general and sector-specific standards.

Given here are the common elements of the standard-setting and support activity development strategy. Elements specific to each activity are given below.