Governing through standards

Governing through standards – rather than through law and regulation – is one of the central trends that emerged in industrialized countries since the 1980s. In this research area, we seek to explain how and why standards are used as governance tools, how they are internally governed, and what effects they have in the real world. We examine standards in banking and accounting, quality management and organizational social responsibility, and social and evnironmental sustainability standards.

We are particularly interested in:

1) the role that standards (on goods, practices, corporate organization, policy) are playing in current debates on re-regulation of finance and the global economy;

2) what roles ‘soft’ tools (such as benchmarking, codes of conduct, shame lists, voluntary standards and market-based instruments such as labeling) are expected to play vis a vis ‘hard’ regulation (mandatory standards, national legislation, international agreements) in such re-regulatory efforts;

3) tracking the evolution and implementation of new public and private standards concerning food safety, quality, and social and environmental sustainability and attempts to address their possible exclusionary effects in developing countries;

4) examining the conditions under which conformity with these standards is attained or not in developing countries, and the costs and benefits of attainment.

As part of this effort, we have edited two collections: Governing through Standards: Origins, Drivers and Limitations (Palgrave, forthcoming in 2011); and Global Agro-food Trade and Standards: Challenges for Africa (Palgrave, 2010)

Ongoing Projects and Programmes:

Sustaining Ethical Aquaculture Trade (SEAT)

This is a project that was funded in 2009 under the EU’s FP7 as part of a large consortium of universities and research centres under the leadership of the University of Stirling. Trade in aquatic products is the largest global food sector, by value, with Asia representing the main external source of aquatic products into the EU. Current EU policy supporting international trade between Asia and Europe concentrates on issues of food safety, while market-forces have been driving the development of standards and labels that identify social and environmental parameters. This project proposes to establish an evidence-based framework to support current and future stakeholder dialogues organised by a third party certifier. Part of this effort is focused on developing an ‘Ethical Aquatic Food Index’ (EAFI), a qualitative holistic measure of overall sustainability to support consumers’ purchasing decisions. The value chains covered in the project represent the main aquaculture products reaching EU markets: tilapia, pangasius, shrimp and prawns. Case studies will be carried out in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Vietnam -- where sustainability is essential in the face of rapid growth. Contact person: Stefano Ponte

Attempts at minimizing the exclusionary effects of agricultural standards: What works?

This project focuses on the effect of recent standard initiatives seeking to address the exclusionary effects of agricultural sustainability standards on Southern producers and on women and smallholders in particular. The aim is to determine what works and what does not in this field. The outcomes of such initiatives are analyzed in respect of interventions at the levels of: 1) standard setting; 2) certification; and 3) auditing. The project investigates the practical effects of these initiatives in Kenya. Contact person: Lone Riisgaard

Recently Concluded Projects and Programmes:

Standards and Agro-Food Exports (SAFE)

SAFE is a research and capacity building programme in collaboration with Sokoine UNiversity of Agriculture. It examines the role of food safety, social, labour and environmental standards in trade of agro-food products, with particular focus the impacts of these standards on developing country producers and exporters. Contact person: Peter Gibbon

Top