Background

Quality Infrastructure (QI) has developed into an essential field of international cooperation. Statistical data is of particular importance for measuring the contribution of development cooperation in the field of Quality Infrastructure and for communicating the concept. The consulting firms Mesopartner and Analyticar have been working on the data-based comparison of the QI of different economies since 2010. A unique feature of the approach is that we use only freely available data. The pioneering study was published as a Working Paper by the International Cooperation of the German Metrology Institute (PTB). 

In 2019, the two authors, Dr Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Juan José Oteiza Di Matteo revised the formula for calculating a Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII). They presented it to the expert public for discussion. More than 1000 people read the draft version of the paper, and more 40 readers gave detailed comments. Also noteworthy was the validation of the data by representatives of international, regional and national quality infrastructure organisations.  The authors are currently working on a revised version for publication. 

Due to the high interest in the Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII), Mesopartner and Analyticar plan to expand the number of countries. In 2020, developing and emerging economies, which are essential for international cooperation, will be included in the GQII.

Mesopartner and Analyticar are in close contact with Quality Infrastructure institutions in various countries and at the level of regional and international specialist institutions. The GQII formula and the collected data are further developed and validated in dialogue with the QI institutions. Also, the consultants are raising funds to build the GQII further. It is important to us that the independence of the GQII and openness of the data is always maintained.