The latest in CCC’s series of in-depth conversations focused on standards, Workflow of the Future: Focus on the User, was held on 9 November. Moderator Jonathan Clark, Independent Consultant and Managing Agent, DOI Foundation, spoke with Phil Ham, Director of Customer Success at Standards Digital and Alton Sanders, Senior Project Engineer at Boeing. While prior events in this series have dealt with issues such as sustainability, copyright and licensing, business models, and future workflows, often through the lens of Standards Development Organizations (SDO’s), this session focused on the needs of the end user relying on standards as part of their workflow.

Ham highlighted how well structured and formatted standards assist in reducing unnecessary delays in development projects which run on timelines and on budgets where confusion leads to costly inefficiencies. Working efficiently and effectively to the same standards is a powerful strategy towards mitigating delays and delivering results on time and as expected.

The principal needs Ham identified for Standards users were: 

• Finding relevant Standards content more quickly and easily 
• Understanding and using content appropriately, by applying specifications and requirements in a compliant way  
• Knowing when/what content has changed, and 
• Identifying references to regulations and laws 

Sanders cited real-world examples from materials engineering, referring to core materials like metals, composites, plastics, and fluids, as well as applied process materials, such as coatings, lubricants, solvents, and paints. Both core and process materials must be encoded accurately in the standard, and then applied appropriately in the manufacturing process to ensure that results are maximally reliable (and available on-time). Sanders emphasized that current processes for acquiring, transforming, and using standards is complex and time consuming and better market solutions are needed. 

Sanders discussed a nascent “digital standards alliance” within the aerospace industry, which would come together to solve the significant challenges of working with content from many sources in multiple different formats with differing enrichment tags, tackling a set of challenges that no SDO can solve alone. Velocity of Content readers should expect to hear more about this alliance in the months to come. 

For the full conversation, you can watch the standards session on the CCC website.
This event was supported by the US International Trade Administration

The post Workflow of the Future: Focus on the User appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

Through the Workflow of the Future series, CCC has been facilitating in-depth conversations about the critical role of standards in the workflow. You can revisit these webcasts and other content related to standards at the Standards Community Resource Center.    

This event is supported by the US International Trade Administration.

The post Workflow of the Future: Focus on the User appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

This post is the first in a series of opinion pieces picking up on the themes and topics discussed in the webinar, with a particular focus on the current and potential impacts of technology trends – in this case genAI – on the standards ecosystem. Today, I will focus on the perspective of the standards publisher.

In the webinar – a mere four months ago (although it feels much longer) – I described the rate of announcements around genAI as like observing a ‘tsunami’ coming towards the shore. Since then, the pace of change has remained relentless, although it takes more exceptional items to break through the news cycle. I’d argue that the AI wave is still coming in, and various parts of the content landscape are underwater. It remains to be seen whether this AI wave is solely destructive, or if it also stimulates new growth in the standards ecosystem.

Examples of the pace of change are so numerous that I have had to rewrite this section several times. There have been increasing calls for regulation, including various preliminary legislative hearings across the globe; countless product and API releases; several AI-focused standards industry events; and inevitably a number of class action lawsuit filings over how the LLMs gather information. Regardless, the innovation curve is still accelerating as more and more organizations look to adopt genAI to either reduce costs or in the quest for new forms of value.

During the webinar, Silona Bonewald claimed ‘the biggest competitor’ she fears is ‘time’. I’d reframe this slightly, as inertia. To many observers, this author included, the industry is almost pathologically averse to change. And the main change that is required is a change of mindset.

Industry initiatives like shared schemas, ontologies, or identifiers – even SMART – all of which are looking to grow the world of standards usage, tend to have a frustratingly small number of active participants. We should be working together to meet users’ needs through digital means – and by ‘work’ I mean code, infrastructure, interfaces, schemas, talent. And we should embrace the FAIR principle for ‘As open as possible, as closed as necessary’. The world is increasingly connected, and our customers depend on us working together – and we need to be in that world. Not a closed world based on how the world was 20+ years ago. 

With notable exceptions, one of the specific challenges for standards publishers is that their customers may not use, let alone derive value from, their product for months, if not years after purchase. There is very limited feedback available from which to make decisions. And in the absence of data, we have inertia.  

I’m not saying we all need to deploy chatbots or abandon the core principles of value through wisdom that most standards publishers uphold. But I am saying that if we don’t do more to acknowledge the world around us, then as Silona also said, ‘we’re already dying’. Just as a generation of publishers were taught to mimic Amazon if we wanted to be successful in ecommerce, we would need to at least approximate ChatGPT levels of empathy and simplicity if we expect to survive in the future. 

The post How Generative AI Challenges Standards Publishers appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

Moderated by Jonathan Clark, the panel featured highly experienced leaders in the standards development organization (SDO) community, including Joan O’Neil, Chief Knowledge Officer of ICC; Hans Arne Rykkelid, CEO of Standards Digital AS; Leslie McKay, Senior Manager of Digital and Information Products at SAE International; Silona Bonewald, Executive Director at IEEE SA OPEN; Simon Powell, Director of Product at BSI; and Ivan Salcedo, Director at Quix Innovation Services.

With a wide set of perspectives on what constitutes business models and standards, these experts shared their individual views on how to best support new user demands for more efficient and effective ways of working with standards while providing insight into innovative, sustainable solutions that work for everyone. The conversation was timely, especially as the standards sector undergoes massive digital transformation and new business models continue to emerge.

To kick off the conversation, our panelists touched on the challenges each has experienced within their organizations around delivering standards to customers in XML format and the opportunities they see as a result.

Hans Arne shared that while Standards Digital AS is not currently distributing XML to customers directly, the organization is planning to launch an updated platform to enable software integrators to ingest data sets and other types of codified information more easily through an improved subscription model and API approach. The organization is supporting an interactive HTML reading experience pulled directly from the XML format to improve searchability and filtering. No matter the vehicle, Hans Arne stressed the importance of ensuring granular content is understood in the context in which it is written and as part of the whole. He discussed an innovative triangular subscription model to help avoid legal implications of misuse.

Joan explained ICC is investing heavily in an internal initiative to structure all commercial content in a uniform manner. The program will enable ICC to create content in XML without the need to go through a conversion process. This brings advantages to both the SDO and the customer – for the SDO, this provides the capability to publish content more quickly and cost effectively, while the customer benefits from a more precise, granular-level search function. In addition to internal infrastructure updates, Joan continued to express that better tagging improves search capabilities: 

“For standards content, one of the most valuable features we can deliver is that granular tagging for ease of search. [Customers] want to get to the answer very quickly. They want to reference that piece of content, whatever workflow they’re in.” – Joan O’Neil

Simon provided perspective from BSI, in which most of the content they publish is shared IP from others in the standards ecosystem. Given this environment, a majority of BSI’s distribution is conducted through  PDFs, which is considered to be the version of record. Simon noted that BSI is currently looking into partnership opportunities to provide fragments of content or metadata to support pilots in an effort to deliver better value to the end user.

Leslie discussed how the output of digital standards needs to be highly interoperable to communicate with different types of systems. This includes requirements tracking systems, model-based systems, engineering systems, manufacturing systems, and more. When taken out of context, embedded XML may not be very readable; striking a balance between output that is human- and machine-readable is necessary to achieve a full digital standard. In addition to the output format, Leslie noted that establishing definitions for different groups of standards is an important step to ensure they are interpreted in the same way as they become digitized.

As a self-described disruptor, Silona shared her views on SDOs’ continued dependence on publishing as the primary business model needs to change and why, as a result, her organization is experimenting with other revenue streams. 

“I like to think of it as I’ve got a big bowl of business revenue streams spaghetti that I periodically throw to the wall to see which is going to stick and how it’s going to stick.” – Silona Bonewald

To close out the conversation, Ivan provided an insightful summary of key trends driving sustainable business models.

For the full conversation, you can watch the session here. Discover how CCC can complement and extend revenue opportunities for SDOs and organizations that use standards here. 

The post Workflow of the Future: Sustainable Business Models appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

The demand for data scientists is indeed strong and is even accelerating, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics expecting employment of data scientists to grow 36% from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.

Data scientists are found working in fields where data-driven decision making dominates, from financial services and information technology to healthcare and biotech. They often work closely with librarians and others trained in information science. The two roles are complementary, and organizations can benefit from aligning the positions strategically.

Click below to listen to the latest episode of the Velocity of Content podcast.

Mary Ellen Bates advises clients in research-intensive industries on their information needs. This week, she will report on findings from her recent study of best practices for info pros when working with data pros at the Medical Library Association/Special Libraries Association joint conference in Detroit. In a preview, Bates tells me about examples of how and when info pros should participate in a data-driven research project.

“The info pros ensure that the organization isn’t spending a whole lot of money on data that can’t be used or that can’t be used the way they thought it could, that can’t be reused, and it causes more work downstream that isn’t worth the cost to the organization,” she explains.

“Often, it’s making a strategic decision about not acquiring one kind of data, because while it appears good, the info pros see the bigger picture and see that the ramifications of acquiring this data does not actually serve the organization as well as the data scientists may have thought of it.

Mary Ellen Bates presents, “Successful Info Pros in a Data-Driven Enterprise,” Thursday, May 18, 10:30 a.m., at the Huntington Place Convention Center.

On Friday, May 19, 9:00 a.m., Christine McCarty represents CCC in a panel discussion, “Standards Update: What’s New With Standards?”

Both programs are part of the Medical Library Association/Special Libraries Association joint conference in Detroit May 16-19, 2023.

The post Info Pros in a Data-Driven Enterprise appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

Digital transformation of the standards sector has massive potential for change, yet this effort can introduce new challenges, including how to address evolving intellectual property needs. The ISO/IEC SMART standards initiative, for example, has ramifications across the industry as it seeks to model the way forward.

On 4 May, at 11:00 AM EDT, CCC is hosting a free webcast as part of our “Workflow of the Future” series, focusing on Sustainable Business Models for Standards Development Organizations. This program gives standards development organizations (SDOs) an opportunity to share their views on supporting new user demands while delivering innovative, sustainable solutions that work for everyone. In discussion with moderator Jonathan Clark, panelists include:

• Silona Bonewald, Executive Director, IEEE SA OPEN
• Leslie McKay, Senior Manager, Digital and Information Products, SAE International
• Joan O’Neil, Chief Knowledge Officer, ICC
• Simon Powell, Director of Product, BSI
• Hans Arne Rykkelid, CEO, Standards Digital AS
• Ivan Salcedo, Director, Quix Innovation Services

This multi-part Workflow of the Future webcast series, with support from the US International Trade Administration, was designed to facilitate important conversations on critical topics related to standards, particularly related to intellectual property protection, copyright, and sustainability.

The post Workflow of the Future: Sustainable Business Models Webcast appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

In December 2022, CCC hosted “Workflow of the Future: Standards & Sustainability” a webcast where a panel of industry experts discussed sustainability challenges in trying to reduce our impact on the environment and in managing the effects of the changing environment itself.

The first post in this series summarized comments by Holly Elwood, Senior Advisor for the EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, which helps federal agencies factor the environment into more sustainable purchasing decisions. The second post covered remarks by Maike Luiken, chair of IEEE’s Planet Positive 2030 Initiative.

Holly Neber, CEO of AEI Consultants was our third featured speaker. AEI is an employee-owned property consulting firm that provides property due diligence, sustainability assessment, and consulting services for issues like climate risk and other natural hazards. Holly also contributes her time to shepherding the ongoing work of the ASTM Property Resilience Assessment workgroup.

Holly described the working group’s efforts, and focused on a guide they are developing which will provide a much-needed standardized framework for describing and assessing physical risk associate with building development: 

“The commercial real estate investment, ownership and finance community along with the property assessment and engineering community are currently requesting and performing climate change and natural hazard vulnerability, risk and resilience measure reporting in response to growing concerns about natural hazards and requirements of some ESG reporting frameworks…” 

— Guide for Property Resilience Assessment (ASTM) 

As Holly told us,  

“…there is no globally recognized consensus-based standard on how to assess that risk at the property level. There are many standards that have been developed for portfolios to identify the physical risk within a portfolio or to identify the risk at the community level. But there are not so many for the property level.”  

Taken together, the presentations in this event were successful in bringing home the message that the worldwide sustainability agenda is making huge progress across our business, professional and personal lives. And yet, there is much more work to be done to achieve such goals as Net Zero.

This webcast was supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration’s Market Development Cooperator Program. 

The post Workflow of the Future: Standards & Sustainability Part III appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

CCC is proud to be participating as both a Bit Sponsor and as a panelist in the day 1 session Designing a Metadata Fitness Program. Taking place at 11:00 AM ET on Tuesday, 14 February, the session will take a look at how metadata quality, data accuracy, and the ability to link data must all be dramatically improved if we are to meet the challenges ahead in the transformative drive toward open access and, ultimately, open science.  

The session will feature Ginny Hendricks, Director, Member & Community Outreach, Crossref; Waylon Butler, Director, Data and Analytics, AIP Publishing; Arjan Schalken, Program Manager, UKB consortium; Laura Cox, Senior Director, Publishing Industry Data, CCC; and Christopher Kenneally, Senior Director, Marketing, CCC. Based on research conducted by CCC that identified six exercises to raise metadata quality levels, panelists will share how they overcame specific data challenges for completeness; consistency; accuracy; currency; redundancy; and reliability. 

Register for NISO Plus 2023 here and add Designing a Metadata Fitness Program to your schedule here. 

The post Designing a Metadata Fitness Program: CCC at NISO Plus 2023 appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

The first post in this series featured Holly Elwood, Senior Advisor for the EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, which helps federal agencies factor the environment into purchasing decisions.

Another featured speaker was Maike Luiken, chair of IEEE’s Planet Positive 2030 Initiative, a dynamic program supported by the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA). Planet Positive’s goal is bringing together a global, open community of experts to chart a path for all people to achieve a flourishing future. Luiken also helps run a start-up called Carbovate Development Corporation as managing director and is an Adjunct Research Professor at Western University, Canada. She lives and works in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada — a community that has successfully transformed the culture of the local feedstock industry in the direction of safety and sustainability.

Ms. Luiken shared some of the recent activities of the IEEE’s Planet Positive Initiative, noting:

“IEEE’s core mission is to foster technological innovation excellence for the benefit of humanity. And that, of course, means engagement around climate change and sustainability.”

The global reach of IEEE, including 46 societies, based in 160 countries, and hundreds of publications, uniquely positions its standards organization to provide leadership in this work. One of Planet Positive’s key program goals is to identify practical solutions in reducing worldwide greenhouse gas emissions below 50% of the 2005 emission levels by 2030, and how to use industrial-scale protocols and techniques of regeneration to come to a “planet positive” equilibrium – or better. In other words, to promote the net positive effect of giving back more than is being taken out by the power production and other extractive industries.

There are already more than 400 contributors to the Planet Positive initiative, and its work continues. One major deliverable underway is the “Impact Assessment Framework.” This tool, open for any organization to use, enables large- and medium-size companies to measure progress toward a culture of sustainability in comparison with others in their sector to deliver “accountable sustainability by design.” The Framework may soon be proposed as a standard so that it becomes feasible for use by smaller companies, especially to help them on the reporting side of the work.

As the UN recently laid out in its policy brief, Transforming Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development (2021), “Technology and digital solutions bring enormous benefits across the extractive value chain. As digital technologies become more available to the global population, there could be a massive increase in information and communications technologies (ICTs) and related infrastructure reliant on minerals and metals.” Standardized and international frameworks like IEEE’s Planet Positive initiative are certain to play a critical role in bringing about the necessary transition to greater “engagement around climate change and sustainability.”

The final post in this series will highlight the remarks of our third speaker, Holly Neber, CEO of AEI Consultants.

This webcast was supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration’s Market Development Cooperator Program.

The post Workflow of the Future: Standards & Sustainability Part II appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.

This webcast series was created by CCC to help facilitate important conversations on critical topics related to standards. And based on the number of people joining us, it is clear there is much to say, whether you are in the standards development organization (SDO) community, in corporate research and development and use standards in your daily work, or in government and helping to guide public policy. Judging by the participation in the Sustainability webcast in particular, and in this series overall, that our community is deeply invested in the topic and looking to achieve very high goals and meaningful outcomes. The sustainability agenda is now worldwide and mainstream, albeit wrapped up in politics and differing points of view.

Our first speaker, Holly Elwood, is a Senior Advisor for the EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, which helps federal agencies factor the environment into purchasing decisions. The US federal government is using its massive purchasing power to bring about change throughout the supply chain in a number of ways:

• Since 1993, the EPA has been directed to help use the power of the federal pocketbook to catalyse a more sustainable marketplace;
• The Biden Harris Administration and several statutes are directing federal purchasers to procure more sustainable products and services; and
• Executive order 14057 sets a goal of Net Zero Emissions Procurement by 2050 and directs purchasers to buy products meeting certain Recommendations of Standards and Ecolabels.

Ms. Elwood coordinates EPA and interagency technical input into product sustainability standard development efforts and helps shape and maintain EPA’s Recommendations of Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Procurement. She and her team have found that the federal procurement community and all purchasers need assistance in determining which products and services are more sustainable than others.

“[With over] 460 sustainability standards and ecolabels…in the marketplace today…sifting through these to determine which ones apply…and which ones are clearly effective and credible…can be very daunting to purchasers…our recommendations are intended to address that issue and give purchasers one place to go to see a set of recommended standards and ecolabels that have already been vetted by EPA and our sister agencies.”
– Holly Elwood

The EPA has established a framework for making assessments of sustainability, and publishes Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels based on this framework. On the webcast, Ms. Elwood noted that the sheer volume of standards and ecolabels – well over 460 at this writing – making vendor selection a daunting prospect. Her organization is creating recommendations that give preference to multi-attribute, life cycle-based standards and ecolabels that address key impact areas. They are looking carefully for opportunities where product conformance is determined by a competent third-party certification body.

Ms. Elwood was careful to note that this is a process, and that input is welcome. The audience – and readers of this blog – are welcome to communicate with her team. She invited those who are aware of a sustainability standard or an ecolabel but aren’t sure about its credibility to contact them.

The US Federal government is clearly driving extensive and far-reaching change and using standards, where they exist, to support sustainability. Other governments and larger organizations around the world are either implementing or have implemented similar mandates. The importance and relevance of standards as a force for change in sustainability is only going to grow.

Future posts in this series will summarize the remarks of speakers Maike Luiken, Planet Positive 2030 Initiative and Holly Neber, CEO of AEI Consultants.

This webcast was supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration’s Market Development Cooperator Program.

The post Workflow of the Future: Standards & Sustainability Part 1 appeared first on Copyright Clearance Center.