bipm visitor programme · janv.-01 oct.-03 juil.-06 mars-09 déc.-11 sept.-14 proposal for a...
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Proposal for a
“BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019”
July 2014
2 Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019"
This proposal has been prepared for discussion at the 25th CGPM.
Comments are invited from Representatives and NMI Directors from Member States
and Associate States and Economies of the CGPM, which should be sent to the
BIPM Director, Dr Martin Milton at [email protected] and copied to
Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019" 3
Proposal for a “BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019”
Introduction and aims of the programme
This proposal has been developed as part of the BIPM’s mission to “ensure and
promote the global comparability of measurements”. It addresses the need to strengthen
the world-wide metrology infrastructure by building the necessary human and
institutional components in those Member States that do not have a well-developed
metrology infrastructure. It proposes work to be carried out by the BIPM in
collaboration with the RMOs with the following aims:
– To strengthen the capacity of the international metrology community to operate
the world-wide measurement system on an equitable cost-shared basis, and
– To support Member States in developing the metrology infrastructure needed to
underpin their national efforts towards the 2015 Millennium Development
Goals1 and the Rio+20 Sustainable Development Goals
2.
The proposal was triggered by Resolution 5 of the 24th meeting of the CGPM which
invited the CIPM to bring forward proposals by which “intergovernmental
organizations, in particular those from regions without well-developed metrology
infrastructure, can be involved in the work of the BIPM”.
This proposal is additional to the well-established practice of engaging visiting
scientists as part of the BIPM laboratory programme. The opportunities proposed here
are aimed at staff from NMIs in states with emerging metrology systems and will
contribute to strengthening the expertise available at such NMIs and in the RMOs.
Objectives of the programme and proposed activities
The objectives of the proposed programme are:
– To increase the number of NMIs capable of contributing strongly to the global
metrology community, and in particular being able to contribute to the work of
their RMOs.
– To increase awareness of the benefits of a well-developed global metrology
infrastructure among international organizations that are concerned with
developing global trade and quality infrastructure.
– To support Member States that are developing the human and institutional
components of their metrology systems to support the Millennium Development
Goals and Sustainable Development Goals through the organization of a
comparison of specific interest to the developing world (selected in consultation
with the RMOs).
1 www.un.org/milleniumgoals/
2 http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.html
4 Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019"
The programme will address these objectives through three types of activity:
– Establishing new opportunities for visiting staff to work at the BIPM from
Member States that are currently developing their metrology infrastructure.
– Promoting the need for states to develop their metrology infrastructure through
the training and “awareness building activities” of the Network on Metrology,
Accreditation and Standardization for Developing Countries (DCMAS)3.
– Organization of a comparison of specific relevance to the Millennium
Development Goals (for example, a comparison relevant to basic healthcare or
monitoring the environment).
The opportunities proposed here are for visiting staff from Member States with
emerging measurement systems and are in addition to the visiting opportunities
proposed in the BIPM Work Programme 2016-2019 which are open to all Member
States.
Impact of the Proposed Programme
The impact of the proposed programme will be apparent in several different ways:
– NMIs that are developing their metrology infrastructure will benefit from
sending staff to the BIPM on secondment. When such visitors return to their
NMIs they will take with them the benefits of exposure to the operation of the
world-wide metrology system experienced during their time at the BIPM.
– The RMOs will participate in the process of identifying the highest priority
candidates to take part in the programme and will benefit from the stronger
contribution that those individuals will be able to make to the RMO’s activities.
– The world-wide metrology infrastructure will benefit from access to an enlarged
pool of scientific and technical staff leading to the work being shared on a more
equitable cost-shared basis world-wide.
A further impact of the proposed programme is that Membership of the
Metre Convention will have a more tangible benefit to those Associate States that have
been formally encouraged to join.
Rationale for the BIPM Visitor Programme
Whilst the technical and coordination work of the BIPM is focused at the international
level, its mission envisages a level of comparability of measurements that can only be
achieved if all Member States invest in the necessary human and institutional capacity.
Indeed, the benefits derived by any particular state from investing in measurement
capability are greatly increased as other states develop their own capabilities to similar
levels. This enables the minimization of duplicate measurement between trading
parties. It also ensures that all states can contribute to supporting the global
measurement system and hence that its costs are shared equitably.
3 DCMAS is a collaboration between BIPM, ILAC, ISO, OIML, UNECE, UNIDO, and four other international
organizations.
Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019" 5
Additionally, the BIPM is able to help address the needs of States whose national
capability is developing, through its role in coordinating activities to improve the global
measurement system and also in promoting the importance of metrology to science,
industry and society. This Visitor Programme puts forward specific proposals to
increase the impact of the BIPM’s activities in this area.
The Development of the Membership of the Metre Convention
Since the signing of the Metre Convention by 17 States in 1875, it has grown to a
membership of 56 States in 2014. Approximately 25 % of the current Member States
acceded to the Metre Convention since its centenary year in 1975. Many Member States
that have acceded since then are not able to take full advantage of the scientific and
technical opportunities of BIPM membership because their metrology systems have not
reached a level of development where they meet the technical and organizational
criteria for full engagement with the Consultative Committees of the CIPM. Such
Member States have “emerging metrology systems” and are generally undergoing rapid
developments in their human and institutional capacity.
Development of membership of the Metre Convention since 1875
In 1999, the 21st CGPM created the new category of “Associate State or Economy of
the CGPM” of which there are 39 in 2014. As a result of the decision by the
24th CGPM (2011) to double the minimum level of subscriptions, the income to the
BIPM from subscriptions is equivalent to more than 4 % of the dotation paid by
Member States4. Among these Associate States, there are currently 15 that satisfy
defined criteria and have now been formally encouraged to accede to the Metre
Convention. They are considered to be “Prospective Member States”. As a result of a
Resolution of the 24th CGPM (2011), their subscriptions are increasing (or will start to
increase from a defined date)5 to a level where they will be 90 % of their notional
contribution as a Member State. The number of such states is expected to increase
further during 2014.6 The decision as to when to become a Member State is generally
influenced by the benefits of membership that a state will be able to access in the short
4 In 2013, the subscriptions received from Associates States and Economies were 530 k euros and the contributions
received from Member States were 11 744 k euros. 5 Belarus, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, FYR Macedonia, Jamaica, Lithuania, Latvia, Panama, Republic of Albania,
Republic of Moldova, Republic of the Philippines, Slovenia, Ukraine and Viet Nam. 6 Estonia, Georgia, Peru and Paraguay will meet the criteria before the 25th meeting of the CGPM.
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6 Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019"
term. Additional benefits accrued on accession such as access to a properly funded
BIPM Visitor Programme can only help in the discussions held internally within states
prior to accession.
Growth in the number of Associates of the CGPM
The Work of the Regional Metrology Organizations and the BIPM in Demonstrating the Global Equivalence of Measurements
At present, the majority of the coordination work needed to coordinate the world-wide
comparability of measurements is carried out by the RMOs and the BIPM. In this
respect, the RMOs depend on a relatively small number of their NMIs to take the
leading roles, particularly those relating to the CIPM MRA. In order to share the costs
of these activities more equitably among the NMIs there is a need to increase the
number of NMIs with the necessary institutional and human capacity.
The BIPM Visitor Programme will address this requirement by providing individuals
from NMIs in Member States that do not have a well-developed metrology
infrastructure with exposure to the technical and coordination work of the BIPM. In
order to ensure that the proposed programme has the greatest impact at the regional
level, it is proposed that the RMOs will be involved in the identification of the most
suitable candidates.
In the same way that the proposed programme will address the need to share the costs
of regional and world-wide coordination work equitably, it will also address the same
trend in the technical work required to coordinate key comparisons at the global level.
At present these responsibilities are taken by the BIPM and a small number of the
larger NMIs that have the necessary resources and expertise. A specific objective of this
programme is to seek a long-term re-balancing of this commitment. The opportunities
for Visiting Scientists to work at the BIPM supported by this programme will build the
capacity in Member States with emerging metrology systems to take a role in
coordinating key comparisons at the global level in the future.
Increased metrology capacity among Member States with emerging metrology systems
will improve the quality and safety of goods and products traded by these countries.
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Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019" 7
It will also improve the world-wide response to grand challenges that rely on global
data.
National Infrastructure to address sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals
The development agenda among International Organizations and their member states is
currently centered on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were officially
established following a United Nations summit in 2000. The MDGs encapsulate
eight globally-agreed goals, of which the actions in the areas of access to food and
water, environmental sustainability, and reducing communicable diseases, are the most
dependent on access to a robust quality and measurement infrastructure at a national
level. As the target date of 2015 for the MDGs is approaching, a debate on the
framework of international development beyond 2015 has started. In this context,
192 UN member states agreed to start a process of designing sustainable development
goals (SDGs) at the Rio+20 summit. It is apparent from the preliminary consultation
phase that the SDGs will address and include targets related to topics such as
technologies for sustainable development, health, climate change and the environment.
Successful progress towards these goals and the wider sustainable development agenda
can only be built on infrastructure developed at the national level that can underpin
activities and monitor their results. Important parts of this infrastructure are the
technical and administrative functions that enable a comparable basis for
measurements. These provide a transparent and cost-effective foundation to ensure the
quality of food, water, pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostics. For example, by
providing,
reference materials and methods to ensure measurements are adequate to control
mycotoxin contamination in both food crops and feed and ensure safety for both
internal and export markets;
certified reference materials to ensure the quality and efficiency of diagnostics
for diseases such as tuberculosis.
Proposed activities
It is proposed that the programme will run for four years, and be integrated into the
BIPM Work Programme 2016-2019. Activities are proposed in three areas:
VP-A1 - “Visiting” opportunities for scientists from Member States with “emerging
metrology systems” to work at the BIPM.
An aim of this programme is to strengthen the capacity of the international metrology
community by offering opportunities for visiting scientists to work at the BIPM. To
achieve the objectives of the programme, applications to take part in the programme
will be prioritized in favour of visiting scientists from states with emerging
measurement systems. It is proposed that the RMOs will be involved in establishing the
criteria used for this prioritization and identifying potential candidates.
8 Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019"
It should be recognized that the visiting opportunities proposed as part of this
programme are separate from those proposed in the BIPM Work Programme
2016-2019. The opportunities in the latter are principally aimed at visitors who will be
able to make a strong contribution to the work carried out at the BIPM for its Member
States. The opportunities proposed here are aimed at visitors who will benefit from
technology transfer in the BIPM laboratories and from exposure to specific training
from BIPM staff relating to the world-wide measurement system.
It is proposed that the duration of the visiting opportunities proposed here will typically
be 2 to 3 months. The laboratory work will largely involve the mass and time
laboratories of the BIPM, together with involvement in the comparison described in
VP-A3 below which is likely to be focused within the BIPM chemistry laboratories.
The programme will be operated in liaison with those NMIs that organise dedicated
training programmes aimed at developing metrology capacity in other states.
VP-A2 - Promotion of the Visitor Programme and outreach to Member States with
emerging measurement systems.
Both aims of the programme will be addressed by a range of promotional and outreach
activities. These will include: workshop(s) and a Summer School focused on the needs
of Member States with emerging measurement systems. These will be based on new
support material of specific relevance to states with emerging metrology systems.
Additionally, the BIPM will participate more actively in delivering the metrology
component of the training programme on Quality Infrastructure organized by the
revitalized DCMAS Network.
VP-A3 - Organization of a comparison of specific relevance to the Millennium
Development Goals (for example, a comparison relevant to basic healthcare).
The second aim of this programme is to support Member States in developing the
metrology infrastructure needed to underpin their national efforts towards the 2015
Millennium Development Goals and the Rio+20 Sustainable Development Goals. It is
proposed that this will be met by carrying out a comparison of relevance to the
metrology systems needed to underpin basic healthcare. The comparison will be of
specific interest to the developing world and will be selected in consultation with the
RMOs.
Proposal for a "BIPM Visitor Programme 2016-2019" 9
Outline tasks and estimated costs
Task / Activities Resources
Number of person months
Operating costs
(in k euros)
VP-A1 - “Visiting” opportunities for scientists from Member States with “emerging metrology systems” to work at the BIPM.
Promotion of opportunities in the Visitor Programme and liaison with the RMOs and NMIs with global metrology training programmes.
26 900
Selection of priority candidates (against criteria established in consultation with the RMOs).
Identification of opportunities within the BIPM WP of greatest benefit to participants in the Visitor Programme. Development of a plan of activities for each participant.
Support for approximately 240 person-months of participation of typically 2 to 3 months for each visitor.
Coordination of travel and accommodation
Supervision of time spent at the BIPM
Review of benefits for participants
VP-A2 - Promotion of the Visitor Programme and outreach to Member States with emerging measurement systems.
Workshop(s) and a Summer School focused on the needs of MS with emerging measurement systems.
Preparation of new support material of specific relevance to states with emerging metrology systems.
Greater participation in delivering the metrology component of the training programme on Quality Infrastructure organized by the revitalized DCMAS Network.
Improved input to Conformity Assessment materials produced and distributed by other organizations (eg ISO and ILAC).
Resources focused on MS with emerging measurement systems for World Metrology Day through the BIPM and MetrologyInfo websites. 16 300
VP-A3 - Organization of a comparison of specific relevance to the Millennium Development Goals (for example, a comparison relevant to basic healthcare or the environment).
Development of plans for comparison activity in consultation with the RMOs.
6 500
Method development and piloting of a comparison (led by a fixed-term scientist for 3 years (at 300 k euro) with 200 k euro laboratory costs
Review of benefits for participants, Member States and the BIPM.
Total (over a 4-year programme)
48 person
months 1700