MEDITERRANEAN LABORATORIES NETWORK
INTRODUCTION
The association agreements concluded between Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC) and
the EU foresee the introduction of a free-trade area in the region. Cooperation between the two
parties should look forward to implementing international rules and techniques related to the
quality of industrial products and to upgrade MPC laboratories to eventually conclude mutual
recognition agreements in the field of conformity assessment.
The quality infrastructure is at the very basis of any mutual recognition agreement in the field of
conformity assessment. It is composed of several elements (technical regulations, standards,
accreditation, certification, analyses and tests, metrology, market surveillance and consumer
protection) which are intimately linked components.
Out of the stakeholders in the national quality systems (authorities in charge of the legislation
and technical regulations, market and customs surveillance authorities, Institutes of
Standardization, Accreditation Councils, Analyses, tests and metrology laboratories, consumer
rights organizations) the current proposal is addressing the MPC laboratories infrastructure in
order to build a Mediterranean Network able of supporting the strengthening of its members
through cooperation for mutual benefit in line with international standards and requirements.
Not only firms but also researchers find often difficulties to access the tests and metrology
services requested. This is due both to poor suitability to the requirements of the services
supplied by the laboratories and to the high specialisation of the labs, what makes difficult the
provision of integrated services. The quality infrastructures, assurance and assessment
systems, tools and techniques supply solutions and services not only to firms but also to
researchers in research institutions and universities coping with the increases in the number
and technical requirements of research projects, new kinds of research activities and outputs as
well as the pressure on research cost.
The initiative of creation of the Mediterranean Laboratories Network will build on some existing
national and international initiatives oriented towards networking MPC platforms and
laboratories providing services to industry and research in the fields of analyses, tests and
metrology.
This is the case of the initiative promoted by CNRST (Morocco) and TUBITAK (Turkey). Also
the Region of Madrid - Spain has developed since 2000 a Network of Laboratories and
Research Infrastructures with more than 200 member laboratories to date belonging to different
technical and scientific areas as well as to different organisational cultures.
OBJECTIVES
The project is aimed to the creation of a network of infrastructures (platforms, laboratories) that
provide services to external users such as firms or research groups.
The network will have the following features:
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The network will focus the area of metrology, analysis and tests.
The members will be laboratories belonging to different public institutions and
organisations, being they already accredited or not in their specific domains.
In every MPC one laboratory will play the role of node of the network, providing linkage
support for the rest of labs in the country, being they or not members of the network.
The network will have international scope, with member coming from all the MPC. Labs
from EU countries will be allowed the statute of collaborating members when they are
considered to add value to the network development.
The objectives of this network building initiative are:
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Support the laboratories’ staff qualification as well as the upgrading of the labs
capabilities
Improve the laboratories management systems with adoption of international quality
standards
Support the development of new services to comply with the demand from both internal
(Administration, University, etc.) and external customers.
Disseminate the scientific and technical potential of the network members
Final impact expected from the network creation is the increase in its members capacities to
provide services to firms and researchers in the technical areas concerned. The network will
also provide access to information related to all the fields of metrology, analysis and tests to
would-be customers from all the countries
ACTIVITIES
The creation of the Labs Network will be done in two stages: first, the creation of the Network
and then development of the Network. Current action plans and resources available in MIRA2
(WP8) are aimed to the promotion of the Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Space (EMIS), being
the creation of this Network (Stage 1) one of its building blocks. As for the development stage of
the Labs Network (Stage 2) promoters will present proposals to the launching conference (Step
5).
Stage 1 - The creation of the Network will go through the following steps:
1. Design of the operational model for the network and shared specifications
The project will start out of the expertise and practice of the promoting partners (CNRST, fmi+d,
TUBITAK) related to management models for techno-scientific infrastructures, in order to define
the focus to link labs in a way applicable to the concerned countries as well as the approach for
integration of the international network.
2. Institutional awareness and identification of potential members of the network
The Network creation will begin addressing a collaboration proposal to the MPC laboratories in
charge of legal and applied metrology, those providing traceability support for calibration or
being National Reference Laboratories in their working disciplines.
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They will be invited to take part in the creation of the Network and asked for support in the
identification of the metrology, calibration and essays labs in their respective countries.
Preparation of a map of laboratories and contact points in the Mediterranean area will follow.
This task will be coordinated with the preparation of a Map of Knowledge that will be done under
the umbrella MIRA / EMIS:
3. Integration of the core group of laboratories from the different MPC
A workshop will be organised in order to start with the debates on the creation of the Network
and coordination of future actions. Attendees to the workshop will be technical managers
coming out of the MPC laboratories previously identified by the initial partners, including when
possible one representative of every laboratory to become node for its country.
This workshop (planned for late May/early June 2011 in Rabat) will have a double type of
contents: the first part related to horizontal issues of application to labs in all the technoscientific fields: international quality accreditation and certification, laboratories management,
etc. The second part will address the network concept and its organisational issues.
4. Design and implementation of communication procedures and dissemination of the
initiative.
After the workshop dissemination activities will be started addressed to all the organisations
mapped in the MPC in order to provide information about the initiative and to look for
expressions of interest in regional cooperation.
5. Launching of the Laboratories Network
As a part of the MIRA Forum to be organised in Morocco (Casablanca, October 2011 as a first
choice) a specific workshop can be organised in order to launch the Network. Terms of
Reference for this workshop are presented in a separated document.
Stage 2 - Development of the Network will be carried on as follows:
The network building process goes through the improvement of services supplied by the
laboratories and research infrastructures. This improvement will be based and focused on
quality standards accepted internationally as well as on the promotion of joint collaboration in
the frame of the network looking forward finding solutions to shared problems.
The activities required will be performed by working groups in charge of network coordination,
follow up, training and management. A coordination unit for every MPC network will be
established in the node of each country network, and will be in charge of defining working
criteria, activities, and services provided by the country network to its stakeholders. Both the
detailed design of actions and the organisational issues for the Stage 2 will be agreed in step 5
(Stage 1)
A general view of the activities to develop the Stage 2 follows:
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Prepare a catalogue of members, as well as an international catalogue of technological
services which will be disseminated through reliable (e.g. MIRA/EMIS website) channels.
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Set up the services provided by the Mediterranean Network for its members:
- Internal Information
o Updating of the information on available skills, infrastructures and equipment.
o News and Information for the members
- Training:
o Definition of a catalogue of training workshops in line with the objectives of the
Network and the members’ needs.
o Improve of the network by interchange of good practices, collaboration
actions…
- Creation of a common web page hosting information from both the Network and its
members
- Dissemination actions for potential users: firms, research institutions, etc.
Establish a coordination unit for the Mediterranean Network. This is the main node in
charge of defining the working criteria, the activities, and the services provided to the
members and other stakeholders.
Improvement of the network by interchange of good practices, collaboration actions
PARTNERS
The initial organisations in charge of launching the Network are (all of them partners in the
MIRA project) are:
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
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Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CNRST).
Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)
Fundacion madrimasd para el Conocimiento (fmi+d) (Comunidad de Madrid)
TIMETABLE
2010
3Q
1Q
2Q
2011
3Q
2012
4Q
Stage 1 - Creation of the Network
1. Design of the operational model for
the network and shared specifications
2. Institutional awareness and
identification of potential members of the
network
3. Integration of the core group of
laboratories from the different MPC
4. Design and implementation of
communication procedures and
dissemination of the initiative.
5. Launching of the Laboratories
Network
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▲
Stage 2 - Development of the Network
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OUTCOMES
The final outcome will be the existence of a network of reference labs in metrology, analysis and
testing providing services to customers in industry and research along the Mediterranean area.
Through joint collaboration the network will provide support to the labs in the MPC to upgrade
their skills and services and to keep them competitive at international level.
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