Merih Malmqvist Nilsson
INetQI chair 2018-2020
Merih Quality Consulting AB

My term as the International Network on Quality Infrastructure (INetQI) Chair has ended – a role that I thoroughly enjoyed. While I shall no longer be leading the efforts of this group, I shall continue to be involved in other ways, and will continue to champion INetQI’s efforts. It is along this vein that I outline my vision for future INetQI efforts.

How we perform and how freely we think can be limited, influenced or formed through the environment in which we find ourselves. The values and do-don’t rules of an organization can be inhibiting for creative thinking. Conversely, the tendency to allow new ideas and test them with tolerance, and allowing mistakes to be made and learned from, can be defined in the dynamics of an organization. It is not about the members of an organization but about the values developed or prescribed and the rules governing an organization that can encourage or discourage how freely individuals perform or think.

The current global quality infrastructure (QI) system has evolved over many years, and is conservative by design and nature. In this well-established environment, new constellations, groups and networks can be scary, especially if we believe that the new group needs to conform to old values and old truths.

However, we have seen examples of decision-makers, both in the corporate and public sectors, who have visions beyond the present systems, visions that have made the lives of people and enterprises easier and better. I have confidence that the organizations of the global QI will be able to do the same thing from time to time and take some big steps which have the potential to leave a substantial positive footprint for sustainable trade and the well-being of all living creatures and the environment.

The transformation of the Developing Countries in Metrology, Accreditation and Standardization (DCMAS) Network into INetQI, with an enlargement of the participating organizations, has allowed for a change in the dynamics of the global dialogue. It has also created a clean slate for new topics and critical thinking. However, the change will only happen if we allow it to, and it must be nurtured and supported.

My vision for the future of INetQI is for an organization that:

• Has as its ultimate cause: “contributing to the further development of a system that supports and facilitates sustainable trade in products and services of quality, safety and sustainability, without unnecessary barriers whether they are national, regional or international”.

• Promotes self-criticism, thinking “outside the box”, discussion of unconventional solutions and addressing problems before they become “the elephant in the room”.

• Supports discussion of new ideas without having to check them against past and present solutions and practices.

• Supports exploration of new, unconventional solutions.

• Does not discriminate between developed and developing economies.

• Promotes mutual learning: where answers can very well be given by those who have voiced the questions.

Through these characteristics, the institutions of the global QI can leap into the new technological world as custodians for sustainability, safety and quality.