The NSAI has partnered with Engineers Ireland to launch a new €25,000 fund to support members participation in standards development.

The NSAI, established under the National Standards Authority of Ireland Act 1996, is Ireland’s official standards body responsible for developing and publishing national, European and International standards for products, processes and services. The new fund developed by the NSAI will support expenses incurred by engineers in participating in standards-related work.

“Standards are built on a foundation of collaboration, knowledge exchange and professional experience” commented Caroline Spillane, Director General of Engineers Ireland. “Standards and the methods used to assess conformity to standards are critical. They are essential components of our nation's technology infrastructure—vital to industry and commerce, crucial to the health and safety of our people, and basic to the nation's economic performance.”

“We actively encourage members’ participation in the continuous maintenance, development, and implementation of standards and we are pleased to work with the NSAI to support member involvement in standard development,” Ms Spillane added.

Amanda-Jane Gainford, Standards Officer – Electrotechnical, at NSAI, said: “We are pleased to work with Engineers Ireland to support their members’ involvement in standard development. Standards development provides engineers with the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the industry and in parallel, improve professional knowledge. I would encourage all professional engineers play an active role and share their expertise by participating in standards development.”

Members of Engineers Ireland who would like to apply for support from this fund must first register your interest by completing the application form and emailing to finance@engineersireland.ie.

Further details

What the fund is for:

  • The fund is to support Engineers Ireland members to attend International technical committee standardisation meetings.
  • The fund is to be used for meetings taking place from 2021-2023. International Travel in 2021/2022 may still be restricted so the date has been extended to 2023.
  • The fund is to be used for attending Standardisation meetings carried out by one of the following Standardisation bodies: 
    • IEC
    • CENELEC
    • CEN
    • ISO 

Selection criteria:

  • The expert must be a member of Engineers Ireland.
  • The expert must join one of NSAI technical committees to be able to attend the meeting.
  • The expert should not work for a large company (>250 employees).
  • The Standardisation work must be under development by IEC, ISO, CEN, CENELEC.
  • The application shall be made in advance of travel and allowing adequate time for the application to be approved.
  • The expert must provide a report/document to be used in a PR campaign (Engineers Journal, NSAI PR campaign, etc)
  • The expert is not eligible to get funding from another NSAI related source for the same meeting.
  •  The expert can apply for this fund once.

The scheme will cover:

  • Vouched expenses 
  • The expert should book the most economic options for 
  • Flights 
  • Accommodation
  • Public Transport (most economical method should be selected, taxi is allowed, Car hire excluded)
  • Mileage to and from the Irish Airport @ the rate (contact Engineers Ireland)
  • Car Parking charge at the airport
  • Tolls
  • Meals, Alcohol excluded.