THE Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) with support from the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) programme, has embarked on a project to execute a National Standardisation Strategy (NSS) over the next three years.

According to a press release from GNBS, the National Standardisation Strategy (NSS) aims to determine the standards needs of Guyana, encompassing all industries or sectors of the economy.
It is a policy roadmap to ensure that Guyana’s national strategic priorities are supported by relevant national and international standards.

The strategy will align national objectives with applicable standards, addressing key economic, social, and environmental priorities to strengthen the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI).
This strategy which will be available before the end of the first quarter of 2025, requires the input of all stakeholders to make meaningful suggestions and contributions to guarantee a comprehensive document.

To garner stakeholders’ inputs, the GNBS has disseminated a questionnaire designed to gather insights on the need for new standards, and to identify specific standards that should be developed and/or adopted to benefit each sector.
The questionnaire can be accessed via the ‘home page’ of the GNBS’ website – https://gnbsgy.org/ where participants are asked to answer simple questions relating to the sector they represent and their proposals for the development of standard(s). Feedback is critical towards developing a structured and strategic NSS that sets Guyana on a pathway to guaranteeing safety and quality.

In addition, the GNBS will be hosting an in-person awareness session on Thursday, January 23, 2025 to answer questions and facilitate interactions with the facilitators of the project from CROSQ and UNIDO.
The awareness session will be hosted at the GNBS Head Office, National Exhibition Complex, Sophia, Georgetown. For more information, persons could contact the Standardisation Department via email standards@gnbsgy.org | +592-219-0062/64/66/67 – EXT 2012/13/14.
“Standardisation remains a key pillar in national development. Whether national, regional or international, standards play an important role in our daily lives, providing requirements and guidelines to ensure that products are durable, services are reliable, and there is increased confidence in the products and services marketed,” GNBS said.

Over its 40 years of existence, the GNBS facilitated the development, adoption and adoption with modification of more than 600 national standards.
These standards fall within various categories including Agriculture, Tourism, Manufacturing, Energy, Construction and Oil and Gas among others.
“As the Bureau works towards fulfilling its mandate and to create a culture of quality through standards, we appreciate the support of experts, consumers and other stakeholders who help us to meet our goal,” GNBS related.