The European Center for Certification and Privacy (ECCP) aims at bringing research and innovation to the service of data protection and regulatory compliance. It researches, develops and standardizes innovative certification schemes to assess and certify compliance with various laws and regulations. These include the Europrivacy and Interprivacy certification schemes, which enable organizations to check, document, certify, and value compliance with key obligations under international and regional data protection regulations, including GDPR compliance. It also provides certification solutions and expertise in the field of ethics, sustainable development, digital transformation, and innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence. ECCP joined IAF as an Association Member in 2022. Its Interprivacy certification scheme has been endorsed as an IAF MLA sub-scope.

BRC Trading Ltd. (BRCGS) is a market-leading global brand that helps build confidence in the supply chain. Its Global Standards set the benchmark for good manufacturing practice, and help provide assurance that products are safe, legal and of high quality.

BRCGS joined IAF as an Association Member in 2022. The BRCGS Global Standards for Food Safety, Agents and Brokers, Packaging Materials, Storage and Distribution, Consumer Products Personal Care Household, Consumer Products General Merchandise, Gluten Free Certification Program, and Ethical Trade and Responsible Sourcing have been endorsed as IAF MLA sub-scopes.

WSO is a global organization dedicated to promoting sustainable practices across industries, with a strong focus on environmental protection, ethical responsibility and marine conservation. WSO sets voluntary standards for the whole food range (seafood and agriculture), as well as non-food products and services. Through internationally recognized certification programs such as Friend of the Sea and Friend of the Earth, WSO works to ensure that products and services meet rigorous sustainability standards.

WSO joined IAF as an Association Member in 2022. Its Friend of the Sea certification scheme has been endorsed as an IAF MLA sub-scope.

IFS Management GmbH, owned by the retail associations HDE and FCD, develops globally recognized product quality and safety standards and development programs for companies within the food and consumer goods supply chain companies. IFS comprises six different food and non-food standards and four development programs. These assess if private label and branded product suppliers can deliver safe, quality products in line with regulations and customer specifications. This way, IFS helps ensure that consumers can trust that the products they find on retail shelves are safe and of good quality.

IFS joined IAF as an Association Member in 2020, and in 2023 signed an agreement with IAF for the inclusion of its IFS Food scheme in the IAF MLA.

As an international non-profit association under Belgian law with an office registered in Brussels (Belgium), the IAQG® sets the standard for quality within the worldwide aerospace industry supply chain. The organization is comprised of member companies within the aviation, space and defense industries that design, develop, manufacture and support original equipment at system or subsystem levels. The IAQG is committed to establishing a commonality of quality systems and improvement standards.  These standards are documented, published, and applied internationally by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and circulated throughout the supply chain.

FAMI-QS is an organization comprised of companies that manufacture or trade specialty feed ingredients. It owns the FAMI-QS certification scheme for specialty feed ingredients, which addresses safety, quality, integrity, defence and regulatory compliance.

FAMI-QS joined IAF as an Association Member in 2014. In 2017, FAMI-QS and IAF signed an agreement for the inclusion of the FAMI-QS certification scheme in the IAF MLA

The not-for-profit Foundation FSSC works with over 40 accreditation bodies worldwide and offers a trusted platform containing management system requirements and related certification data for the consumer goods industry. The FSSC 22000 food safety management systems certification scheme and FSSC 24000 social management systems certification scheme have been endorsed as sub-scopes of the IAF MLA.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI; the Coalition) is a Coalition of Action from The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), bringing together retailers and manufacturers from across the CGF membership and an extended food safety community to oversee food safety standards for businesses and help provide access to safe food for people everywhere.

Our ambition is to strengthen and harmonise food safety systems so they are able to feed the growing, global population and develop markets that can deliver food safely, no matter where in the world the consumer is. We believe this vision will enable the industry to safely build trust – with consumers and partners along the supply chain – at a time when demand for the world’s food supply continues to grow and when consumers are demanding more information, more choice and more authenticity in the food they buy. IAF and GFSI have signed an agreement to facilitate the endorsement of GFSI-benchmarked schemes under the IAF MLA.

Owned by Agraya GmbH (formerly FoodPLUS GmbH), GLOBALG.A.P. certification solutions aim to promote safer and more responsible farming practices in agriculture, aquaculture, and floriculture. Producers, retailers, and supply chain stakeholders in over 130 countries use the internationally recognized standards to support the production of food and other farmed products in a manner that addresses today’s needs while preparing for future demands. Nearly 200,000 producers operate under GLOBALG.A.P. certification – covering more than four million hectares of plant production and almost three million metric tons of farmed seafood production annually.

Agraya GmbH first signed a memorandum of understanding with IAF in 2006, joining IAF as an Association Member in 2010. Agraya GmbH and IAF have signed an agreement for the inclusion of the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) and GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) certification schemes in the IAF MLA.

ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, which was created in 1944 to support diplomacy on international air transport matters under the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).

Under the auspices of ICAO, countries have adopted over 12,000 standards and practices, which help to align their national regulations relevant to aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, enabling a truly global network to be realized.

ICAO forums provide opportunities for advice and advocacy to be shared with government decision-makers by industry groups, civil society non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other officially-recognized air transport stakeholders. IAF and ICAO have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that defines the cooperation between the two organizations in relation to the ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Part of this MoU is the realization of capacity building activities, such as the development and delivery of training courses on verification under CORSIA.

Millions of devices that contain electronics, and use or produce electricity, rely on IEC International Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems to perform, fit and work safely together.

The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), founded in 1906, is the world’s leading organization for the preparation and publication of International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. These are known collectively as “electrotechnology”.

IEC provides a platform to companies, industries and governments for meeting, discussing and developing the International Standards they require.

All IEC International Standards are fully consensus-based and represent the needs of key stakeholders of every nation participating in IEC work. Every member country, no matter how large or small, has one vote and a say in what goes into an IEC International Standard.

Close to 20 000 experts from industry, commerce, government, test and research labs, academia and consumer groups participate in IEC Standardization work.

IEC complements its standards development activities with international conformity assessment activities and thus creates greater value.

IEC operates four global conformity assessment (CA) Systems, IECEE, IECEx, IECQ and IECRE, each with participating testing laboratories and certification bodies from all over the world. Harmonised and documented operational and testing procedures combined with common interpretation of the international standards, then using peer assessment to ensure that the harmonised procedures and common interpretation are applied, ensures consistent and reproducible results from anywhere in the world. This is part of the value proposition offered by IEC global CA services, and is central to the success of the multilateral mutual recognition agreement that guarantees market access.

IAF, IEC and ILAC have a tripartite memorandum of understanding and maintain a website on their collaboration.

ILAC is the international organisation for accreditation bodies operating in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011 and involved in the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies including calibration laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), testing laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing laboratories (using ISO 15189), inspection bodies (using ISO/IEC 17020), proficiency testing providers (using ISO/IEC 17043), reference material producers (using ISO 17034) and biobanks (using ISO 20387).

Accreditation bodies that are signatories to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA) have been peer evaluated as competent to assess and accredit conformity assessment bodies to the relevant international standards. The results from the laboratories and inspection bodies accredited by the ILAC MRA signatories are then able to be recognised internationally.

The ILAC MRA provides significant technical underpinning to the results of the accredited conformity assessment bodies and in turn delivers confidence in the acceptance of results. The ILAC MRA supports the provision of local and national services, such as providing safe food and clean drinking water, providing energy, delivering health and social care or maintaining an unpolluted environment. In addition, the ILAC MRA enhances the acceptance of products across national borders. By removing the need for additional calibration, testing, medical testing and/or inspection of imports and exports, technical barriers to trade are reduced. In this way the ILAC MRA promotes international trade and the free-trade goal of “accredited once, accepted everywhere” can be realised.

IAF and ILAC have an agreement for closer cooperation, and tripartite memoranda of understanding with IEC, IHAF, ITU, ISO, OIML, UNIDO and the World Bank. In acknowledgement of the similarities between IAF and ILAC and a long history of collaboration, IAF and ILAC agreed at the 2019 Joint IAF-ILAC Annual Meetings to form a single international organization for accreditation.

This initiative seeks to bring together all specialized organizations that operate at an international level and that are active in promoting and implementing activities on

metrology, accreditation, standardization and conformity assessment as tools for sustainable economic development.

In 2002, a Joint Committee on coordination of assistance to Developing Countries in Metrology, Accreditation and Standardization (JCDCMAS) was established by eight international organisations working in these fields. In 2005, this group was renamed as the DCMAS Network to reflect its role more accurately, and two more organisations joined the group.

In November 2018, responding to the challenges of globalization and sustainable development, twelve international organizations involved with quality infrastructure, trade, and international development met in Geneva to enhance their cooperation in promoting the understanding, value and acceptance of the quality infrastructure and providing guidance and support for its effective implementation and integration worldwide. As a result, the International Network on Quality Infrastructure (INetQI) was born.

The Chair of the INetQI rotates annually amongst its member organisations. Information on how to contact the current chair can be found on the Contact page.

Information on each subject area, and on each member organisation can be found through the links on the site. Some public information documents are also available on the Promotional materials page.

IPC is an international association of personnel certification bodies and training providers. Along with developing certification schemes, IPC operates a multilateral recognition arrangement. IPC joined IAF as an Association Member in 2016, and in 2017 signed an agreement with IAF for the inclusion of its IPC Management System Auditors scheme in the IAF MLA.

ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 162 national standards bodies.

Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. Our Central Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

International Standards make things work. They give world-class specifications for products, services and systems, to ensure quality, safety and efficiency. They are instrumental in facilitating international trade.

ISO has published more than 19000 International Standards and related documents, covering almost every industry, from technology, to food safety, to agriculture and healthcare.

IAF, ISO and ILAC have a tripartite memorandum of understanding.

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs.

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technology (ICT), offering a neutral platform to broker consensus on technical and policy considerations crucial to the development of the global ICT ecosystem.

ITU has a unique private-private partnership of members comprising 193 Member States and over 900 private-sector players and academic and research institutes.

ITU is responsible for the global coordination of satellite orbits and radiofrequency allocations. We develop international standards (ITU Recommendations) that enable the interconnection and interoperability of ICT networks and devices. And we build capacity in the application of advanced ICTs within enabling policy and regulatory frameworks.

The ITU Conformity and Interoperability (C&I) Programme was initiated in 2008 at the request of ITU’s membership to enhance the conformity and interoperability of ICT products implementing ITU Recommendations or part thereof, solicit feedback to improve the quality of ITU Recommendations, and bridge the ‘standardization gap’ by assisting developing countries with human-resource and infrastructure capacity building.

This programme is based on four pillars: Pillar 1: Conformity assessment (CA); Pillar 2: Interoperability events; Pillar 3: Human-resource capacity building; and Pillar 4: Assistance in the establishment of test centers and C&I programmes in developing countries.

IAF, ITU and ILAC have a tripartite memorandum of understanding.

The International Organization of Legal Metrology is an intergovernmental treaty organization which:

– Develops model regulations, standards and related documents for use by legal metrology authorities and industry
– Provides mutual recognition systems which reduce trade barriers and costs in a global market
– Represents the interests of the legal metrology community within international organizations and forums concerned with metrology, standardization, testing, certification and accreditation
– Promotes and facilitates the exchange of knowledge and competencies within the legal metrology community worldwide
– Cooperates with other metrology bodies to raise awareness of the contribution that a sound legal metrology infrastructure can make to a modern economy

The OIML issues several categories of publications:

– International Recommendations, which are intended as model regulations for a number of categories of measuring instruments, and which OIML Member States are morally obliged to implement as far as possible
– International Documents, which are informative and are intended for guidance purposes
– Other publications such as Vocabularies, Guides, Basic Publications and Expert Reports

In addition, the OIML has developed the OIML Certification System (OIML-CS) which is a system for issuing, registering and using OIML Certificates and their associated OIML type evaluation reports for types of measuring instruments (including families of measuring instruments, modules, or families of modules), based on the requirements of OIML Recommendations. In the OIML-CS participants declare that they intend to accept and utilize OIML Certificates and/or OIML type evaluation reports from those participants that are entitled to issue them. The OIML-CS was launched on 1 January 2018, replacing the previous OIML Basic Certificate System and the OIML Mutual Acceptance Arrangement (MAA).

IAF, OIML and ILAC have a tripartite memorandum of understanding.

UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.

UNIDO’s vision is of a world where economic development is inclusive and sustainable and economic progress is equitable.

UNIDO aspires to reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID).

UNIDO’s mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which calls to “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The relevance of ISID, however, applies in greater or lesser extent to all SDGs. All countries should have the opportunity to grow a flourishing productive sector, to increase their participation in international trade and to safeguard their environment. Accordingly, the Organization’s programmatic focus is structured in three thematic priorities, each of which represents different aspects of ISID:

– Creating shared prosperity
– Advancing economic competitiveness
– Safeguarding the environment

UNIDO has developed a comprehensive programme to help developing countries and economies in transition to overcome the shortcomings of their standards and compliance requirements. UNIDO’s assistance in the area of metrology, accreditation, standards and conformity assessment aims to:

– Enable national standards bodies to offer services for industrial compliance with WTO agreements, especially on TBT/SPS, while taking into account private sector, exporter and consumer needs
– Develop local capacities in metrology, calibration and product testing, in order to provide services to local testers, producers and exporters according to international best practices, and also to enhance consumer protection
– Make internationally recognized certification services for international public and private standards regarding, inter alia, quality, environment, social accountability, food safety, and traceability, available to exporters and local enterprises
– Enable national and regional accreditation schemes to assess the performance of local and regional laboratories, inspection units and certification bodies; and
– Build the capacities of consumer associations to promote consumer rights based on national policies and in line with international best practices.

In carrying out the core requirements of its mission, UNIDO has proven its worth for diverse customers in different business sectors in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America. Its technical services have considerably increased over time. At the same time, it has also substantially increased its mobilization of financial resources, testifying to the growing international recognition as an effective provider of catalytic industrial development services.

IAF, UNIDO and ILAC have a tripartite memorandum of understanding.

With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the World Bank Group (WBG) is a unique global partnership:

five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries.

WBG works in every major area of development to:
1-Provide a wide array of financial products and technical assistance
2-Help countries share and apply innovative knowledge and solutions to the challenges they face

The WBG Quality Infrastructure (QI) team provides advisory support to the clients aimed at:

– Identifying critical gaps in QI through diagnostic and Gap Assessment
– Supporting quality policy development and dialogue, including dissemination of information and awareness raising
– Reforming QI legal and institutional framework, including capacity building
– Developing competent quality assurance service providers (national or regional)
– Streamlining technical regulations and standards, and harmonizing them with target markets
– Complying with industry standards to attract investments and join global value chains
– Fostering innovation and technology upgrade to meet high-quality standards.

IAF, the World Bank and ILAC have a tripartite memorandum of understanding.