History of TSPN 2005 - 2010

In 2005 engaged colleagues from organizations like the World Bank, ISEAL, Chemonics, UNIDO, the European Commission, FAO, GIZ (former GTZ), USAID and others formed the Trade Standards Working Group.

Their common interest was to cut across the technical ‘silos’ that exist between the fields of social accountability, environmental standards, food safety and agricultural health. The participants of the first meeting outlined that the group should serve as a community of practice in order to address the need for consistent dialogue and sharing experiences.

Through regular meetings between 2005 and 2008, the group increased and underwent a process of formalization. 2006 it was decided to change the name into Trade Standards Practitioners Network to better capture its true nature. In the end of the same year this homepage was launched to serve as an information platform within and outside the network. The Steering Committee was formed in 2008 and the Development Grant Facility of the World Bank approved a fund for setting up a formal secretariat housed at the German Development Corporation GIZ (former GTZ). The secretariat team started working in 2009.

Timeline:

• April 2005          Concept paper for a ‘community of practice’.
• June 2005          First TSWG meeting with 18 organizations in Washington, D.C.
• March 2006       Second TSPN meeting in Washington, D.C.
• Dec 2006            Homepage launch (information platform).
• June 2007          Third TSPN meeting in Washington, D.C.
• Nov-Dec 2007    Draft TSPN business plan.
• Spring 2008       Successful application for funding a TSPN secretariat at the Development Grant Facility of the World Bank
• Oct 2008             Joint ISEAL/ TSPN conference on “governmental use of voluntary standards” in Geneva.
• Dec 2008            First Steering Committee meeting.
• Dec 2008            Fourth TSPN meeting and international conference on “Impact Assessment of Voluntary Standards” in Berlin, Germany.
• Jan 2009             Formal establishment of Secretariat, hosted at GIZ (former GTZ) headquarters in Eschborn, Germany.
• March 2009        TSPN planning workshop with the SC.
• May-Sept 2009  Formation of Working Groups 1 and 2.
• Sept 2010           Formation of Working Group 3 (Private Sector Actors)
• Nov 2010           Annual TSPN conference about "Standards for a Sustainable Agriculture and the Mitigation of Climate Change" in Bern, Switzerland, including a Member and SC meeting.

For more information with regard to the mentioned meetings please refer to TSPN's official documents and articles published at this homepage.