Cross-Frontier Accreditation

GQII DATA & ANALYTICS PAPER NO.2

“Global data and analysis on cross-border accreditation” is the second publication within the GQII Data and Analytics Paper Series and was presented in a webinar on September 1st, 2021 attended by nearly 150 participants from 5 continents.

About the Research Paper

The authors of the study define accreditation as “the formal certification of the independence and technical competence of a conformity assessment body“, a central instrument for building confidence in international trade and a constituent part of the global quality infrastructure.

Through multilateral agreements, accreditation bodies recognize the equivalence of their services. Mutual recognition prevents tests or certifications from being issued more than once and reduces transaction costs for companies.

The study used data from the Global Quality Infrastructure Index, GQII, and collected public information from 201 accreditation bodies in 184 economies.

To analyze the data, the authors opted for Social Network Analysis (SNA), an empirical social research method for recording and analyzing relationships, providing a particular insight by emphasizing the relational nature of social networks.

The analysis of the data shows, as a result, different patterns in cross-border accreditation and succeeds in visualizing for the first time the international accreditation network.

This is the first study to address the phenomenon of cross-border accreditation based on empirical data and its results provide a solid basis for expert dialogue on the advantages and limitations of cross-border accreditation.

Download PDF Cross Frontier Accreditation

Download PDF Cross Frontier Accreditation (Spanish edition)

Live Presentation of the Cross Frontier Accreditation Research Paper

An empirical basis for an expert debate on the benefits and limitations of cross-border accreditation to improve international Quality Infrastructure

The webinar for the presentation was moderated by Mr Christian Schoen, Mesopartner, while the context of the study and its main findings were presented by its authors: Dr Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke, Mesopartner and Dr Andrés Matta, University of Córdoba (Argentina).

by Dr Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Andrés Matta

The presentation also included valuable contributions from Mrs Etty Feller, CEO Israel Laboratory Accreditation Authority, ISRAC, ILAC Chair and Mr Emanuele Riva, ACCREDIA Vice General Manager, the Italian NAB, and IAF Vice-Chair, as representatives of international accreditation cooperation.

In addition, comments were made by the following representatives of Conformity Assessment Bodies:

Mrs Hanane Taidi, Director General, TIC Council.
Mrs Maureen Mutasa, Director General of the Southern African Development Community Accreditation Services SADCAS
Mr. Ferney Chaparro, Director of Management and Development Improvement of ONAC, National Accreditation Body of Colombia, IAAC MLA.

“I think the report is impressive and gives a snapshot of what is happening in the world”
Etty Feller, CEO of ISRAC, ILAC Chair

“We’ve seen the report and, it’s interesting of course, but I’ve been surprised they were able to collect all this data. It was not, for sure, an easy task”
Emanuele riva, accredia vICE gENERAL mANAGER

“The data collected by the authors help to understand how cross-frontier accreditation intertwines with the range of accreditation services by ABS worldwide and specially in those smaller developing regions for which cross-frontier accreditation can make a huge difference”
Hanane Taidi, Director gENERAL AT tic council

“We believe that the multi economy accreditation model is an option in developing countries whose clientele base is not enough to sustain a national accreditation body, it is also a tool for the development of accreditation infrastructure in Africa, especially in the deep reds [areas shown in the report] around East, Central and West Africa.”
Maureen Mutasa, CEO of SADCAS

“We ensure that activities are equivalent and that the principles facilitate international trade while eliminating these technical barriers and we ensure that they make these accreditations credible and usable”
Ferney Chaparro, Director of Management and Development Improvement of ONAC, IAAC MLA.