ICPHSOConsumer and Public Involvement

Alison Drover-SwiftConsumer and Public Involvement ManagerOctober 28, 2009

Commitment to Consumer and the Public

CSA Standards has a very strong commitment to consumer and public involvement in standards development. Our vision is “a better, safer, more sustainable world where standards work for people and business”.

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Consumer & Public Involvement – Main Components• Coordinate support for Consumer Representatives who sit on

Standards Development committees• Recruit and train new Consumer Representatives• Operate a Consumer Network of over 300 individuals who provide

consumer-based feedback on standards development issues through research activities such as surveys

• Conduct research on consumer issues and trends that affect standards

• Coordinate public involvement activities such as advisory panels, stakeholder consultations, and focus groups that feed into standards development

• Build relationships and work with consumer and public interest groups to continue to obtain timely information on consumer issues as they relate to standards

We Commit to Recruiting and Supporting Consumer Representatives

Many of CSA’s standards have a direct effect on the consumer or end user. Some examples are:

• Amusement Rides (Z267)– YOU ride them• Refrigerators/Freezers (C300) – YOU use them in YOUR home• Alpine and Snow Board Helmets (Z263.1) – They protect YOUR head

We ensure that committees such as these have consumers present to ensure YOUR concerns and issues are brought to the table. We provide them with training, financial support to attend meetings and networking opportunities

We Commit to Operating a Consumer Network

There are several ways to be involved as a

consumerThe Consumer Network consists not only of Consumer Representatives who sit on committees, but other individuals who do not have a specific committee to work with at a particular point in time, but still want to be involved in some way.

Research

Partners

Advisory Panels

WCAP

AB CAP

BC CAP

CROWS

Mailing

List

Online

Forum

Users

Committee

Members

Consumer

Network

We Commit to Coordinating Public Involvement

Examples of recent public involvement activities are:

• October 2008 - BC and Alberta panel discussions on Consumer Product Safety as part of the Western Engagement Strategy

• March 2009 - Edmonton and Montreal stakeholder consultations on Nanotechnology as part of the requirement for Industry Canada funding

• October 2009 - Montreal stakeholder consultation on Electric and Hybrid Vehicles to support the Electrotechnical group’s business development initiatives

Attendees?

Format?

Venue?

Discussion

Guide?

Summary

Report?

Speakers?

PublicInvolvement

We Commit to Leveraging Expertise and Creating Long-Term Relationships

Community and Consumer Advisory Panels (CAPs) allow us to engage stakeholders and the general public across

provincial borders and to sustain lasting relationships.

Example…Winnipeg Community Advisory Panel (WCAP, since 1983) is a

group of Occupational Health and Safety stakeholders who represent users, producers, regulators and general interest

groups and provide valuable input to CSA Standards’ Occupational Health and Safety Program.

We Commit to Researching Consumer Issues and Trends

We review news articles, scan the Internet and network with our contacts to keep on top of consumer issues that may affect standards development. Examples are:

• Responded to a request from CSA’s Public Safety Group for a report on incidents of child injuries due to car power windows focusing on who is responsible for standards in this area

• Completed research on ‘New Models of Public Engagement’ to help identify more effective way to run meetings and engage participants

• Conducted a survey of the Consumer Network on consumer issues related to building products and submitted results to the SSC

We Commit to Building Relationships

We let relevant stakeholders know who we are, what we do, and how they can be involved as well as identifying opportunities for us to get involved with relevant projects through consistent relationship management such as:

• Funding Consumer Representatives to represent CSA and Canada on ICPHSO (International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization)

• Participating as a key member with ISO COPOLCO - the Committee on Consumer Policy of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

• Working with Consumers Council of Canada as a research partner to develop a Network of Young Consumers (NYCO) group

• Recruiting and supporting co-op students from Canadian universities

Conclusion

Consumer and Public Involvement is more than just informing the public of our goals and activities. It is the ‘buffer’

between the technical world of standards and standards related products and services, and the general public who

need to provide input