The National Institution of Italy for Standardization Research and Promotion (ENR)

16 Dec 2022

What are ENR's mission, operating sectors and main projects?

ENR is a non-profit organization with legal personality under private law, with registered office in Palermo, stemmed from a joint official act between the Registro Navale Italiano and the University of Palermo in 2004.

The purpose of ENR is to contribute, in the interest of the community, to the research and promotion of guidelines and technical standards in the field of sustainability, quality, safety and environment through all the phases of the standardization process.

This is achieved mainly through expert groups and continuous dialogue with public and private institutions. As specified in the ENR Charter, Members by right, with their own representatives, are:

• The Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Tourism (MIPAAF) 
• The Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) 
• The Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR)
• The Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM).

The ENR's mission

ENR plays a significant role in the production and promotion of the use of voluntary technical standards. In the current phase of market globalization this approach to the standardization is one of the main tools to protect and support the community.

ENR contributes significantly to the development of new legislative standards and, by acting as a hub for the standardization system as a whole, works to facilitate the creation of the necessary framework for accredited subjects to effectively carry out their certification activities.

ENR aims to bridge the gap between competence and capacity in the field of standardization by promoting the use of technical standards in real contexts. Even if, in general, it is not compulsory to comply with a technical standard, supply contracts and collaboration relationships between operators frequently refer to technical standards for the purposes of mutual understanding and standardization.

The contribution of ENR, in collaboration with other national or international subjects operating in this sector consists of studies and research on the drafting, qualification and updating of the technical standards themselves, including what is called, in the EU, pre-normative research and of their dissemination and use in collaboration with other national or international actors. Consistently with the true meaning of the term “standardization”, the co-presence in the ENR’s mission of both research and promotion tasks, aims at bridging the gap between competence and capacity, summarized in the English expression of capacity building. ENR also takes up the challenge of globalization posed by today’s reality, focusing its research and standardization activities on the theme of sustainability through a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing the value of goods, products or services in full respect of the environment and any further future needs.

Which are the ENR's operating sectors?

ENR operates in the following sectors:

• Marine and Maritime
• Agri-food 
• Healthcare 
• ICT Cloud services in e-government
• Innovative companies 
• Technologies for Cultural Heritage. 

 ENR main projects

• TecBIA - Low Environmental Impact Technologies for the production of energy on ships Development of zero-emission power generation systems for marine applications Large R&D projects PON MISE - in collaboration with FINCANTIERI S.p.A.
• ARES - Autonomous Robotics for the Extended Ship Creation of an RD&I ecosystem in the shipbuilding and marine robotics sector PON MIUR - in collaboration with CNR.
• Knowledge hub on food and nutrition security - Joint international initiative JPI (A healthy diet for a healthy life), JPI Oceans and FACCE-JPI (JPI Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change) to create a hub of knowledge and networking in the field of food safety with a view to sharing and collaborating with international partners.
• PRE.MED. - PREcision MEDICINE Production of voluntary technical standards in the field of PREcision MEDICINE National Project MISE H2020 – in collaboration with Cooperativa La Traccia.