A major European initiative designed to help research and innovation (R&I) projects shape industry standards concludes today with a final event in Brussels. The Horizon Standardisation Booster (HSBooster.eu) project, led by academics from the ADAPT Research Ireland Centre at DCU, has provided expert support to over 260 EU-funded projects, enabling them to translate cutting edge research into globally recognised standards.
Launched in April 2022, HSBooster was designed to provide expert guidance and practical tools to help R&I projects navigate and contribute to the European standardisation landscape. The initiative directly supported the European Commission’s Standardisation Strategy and Code of Practice on Standardisation, aligning with key policy priorities, including the twin green and digital transitions.
Speaking about the project, Sharon Farrell of ADAPT at Dublin City University, said: “Standardisation is essential in transforming research into practical solutions that benefit society. The HSBooster project has helped researchers understand how standards work, connect with the right experts, and apply the correct standards to projects, ensuring their innovations can be adopted widely and with confidence.”
Standardisation involves developing and implementing technical standards to ensure compatibility, safety, and efficiency across industries. HSBooster.eu offered free, tailored support to Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Digital Europe Programme (DEP) projects, enabling participants to understand the importance of standardisation, develop tailored standardisation strategies through engagement with standardisation experts, and contribute to the development of standards that help bridge research outputs with the global marketplace.
The project also featured tools and services to help projects embed standardisation into their workflows. These tools included:
The Standards Orientation Tool (SOT) for guidance on developing informed standardisation strategies.
Norma, the first standardisation chatbot, offering instant advice and information.
A comprehensive Standards Catalogue offering over 700 resources to support projects at every stage.
Over its 36-month duration, HSBooster made a significant impact, fostering a network of over 204 standardisation experts, with 92 actively supporting projects, and contributing across major EU priority areas such as Sustainable Digitalisation (264 projects), Green Transition (115), Health (83), Resilience (79), and Smart Cities and Circular Economy in Buildings (48). In addition, the project helped to forge relationships between research, innovation, and industry, helping to enhance trust in new technologies and fostering knowledge transfer.
The final event in Brussels brings together key players from the European standardisation community to reflect on the project’s achievements, share insights, outline recommendations for future success, and discuss the future of standardisation in Europe’s innovation landscape.
HSbooster.eu received funding from the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement no. 101058391.
