Links Of Interest

Short description and links to organizations involved in consultancy,auditing and training of quality, environmental, food safety and related management systems and standards, conformity assessment and associated subjects are listed below in alphabetical order.

AACC - Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce
A2LA - The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation
ASQ -American Society for Quality
CAC - Codex Alimentarius Commission
DV - Data Vision International
EMI - Ethiopian Management Institute
ESTA - Ethiopian Science and Technology Agency
IAF - International Accreditation Forum, Inc.
ILAC - International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
IMC: Institute of Management Consultants
IRCA -International Register of Certificated Auditors
ISO - International Organization for Standardization
ITC - International Trade Centre
NAPT - National Association for Proficiency Testing
QSAE - Quality and Standards Authority of Ethiopia
UKAS - UKAS: The United Kingdom Accreditation Service
WSSN - World Standards Services Network

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AACC - Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce  

The Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Associations, established in 1947, provides technical and advocacy services to help business people start, run, and grow their businesses. Today the AACCSA is the only organization that provides a wide range of non-financial assistance to business in the country. The AACCSA also plays a major role in voicing the business concerns to the government. With over 7,000 registered members, the AACCSA is the largest and oldest chamber of commerce in Ethiopia. It is the only representative body that speaks with authority on behalf of the business community. The AACCSA is an autonomous non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization that acts on behalf of its members. Since, its establishment it has served its members in promoting socio-economic development and commercial relations with the rest of the world. Its major objective is to promote the establishment of conditions in which business in general and in Addis Ababa in particular can prosper. The AACCSA is today one of the most dynamic civil society organizations representing business in Ethiopia and is active in matters of importance extending beyond its
regional geographic base.

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A2LA - The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation

A2LA is a nonprofit, non-governmental, public service, membership society. The mission of A2LA is to provide comprehensive services in laboratory accreditation and laboratory-related training. Services are available to any type of organization, be it private or government. Laboratory accreditation is based on internationally accepted criteria for competence (ISO/IEC 17025:2005). A2LA also offers programs for accreditation of inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers, and reference material producers.

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ASQ - American Society for Quality

ASTM International is one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world-a trusted source for technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services. Known for their high technical quality and market relevancy, ASTM International standards have an important role in the information infrastructure that guides design, manufacturing and trade in the global economy.

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CAC - Codex Alimentarius Commission

The CAC, Codex Alimentarius Commission, is the international (FAO and WHO) body responsible for compiling standards, codes of practice, guidelines and recommendations that constitute the Codex Alimentarius, or the food code.

They relate to:

• Food standards for commodities
  
• Codes of hygienic or technological practice
  
• Pesticides evaluation
  
• Limits for pesticide residues
  
• Guidelines for contaminants
  
• Food additives evaluation
  
• Veterinary drugs evaluation
  

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DV - Data Vision International

DataVision International LTD is a consulting firm with its headquarters in Dar es Salaam -  Tanzania. The company which was founded in 1998, offers consultancy services in the  professional disciplines of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Statistical  Operations, Research and Project Management. DataVision took its name from its dedication to enhance knowledge, skills and  communications in applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and  statistical methods to research in development and continuous organization improvement.

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EMI - Ethiopian Management Institute

The Ethiopian Management Institute (EMI) was created in 1984 as a management institution initially to enhance the management development capabilities of government Institutions. It was transformed later in 1994 into a full-fledged National and specialized human resources and management development organization extending its scope of operation to serve the private sector and NGOs as well. EMI has since then established itself as a premier governmental management development Institution dedicated to improve managerial performance and organizational effectiveness through Research, Training, and Consultancy interventions.

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ESTA - Ethiopian Science and Technology Agency

The Ethiopian Science and Technology Agency (ESTA) is a governmental institution established in December 1975 by proclamation No.62/1975. The Agency is accountable to the Ministry of Capacity Building of Ethiopia.

Objectives
The objectives of the Agency is to enhance science and technology and Initiate, organize and encourage research and development activities that enable the realization of the country’s socio-economic development objectives.

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IAF - International Accreditation Forum, Inc.

IAF is the world association of Conformity Assessment Accreditation Bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment. Its primary function is to develop a world wide program of conformity assessment which will promote the elimination of non tariff barriers to trade. IAF's objectives include facilitating trade and commerce, in accordance with World Trade Organization policies, by establishing a Multilateral Mutual Recognition Agreement (MLA) based on the equivalence of accreditation programs operated by accreditation body members, verified through peer review among those accreditation body members.

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ILAC - International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation

ILAC is an international cooperation of laboratory and inspection accreditation bodies.
It provides a focus for:

• Developing and harmonising laboratory and inspection accreditation practices
• Promoting laboratory and inspection accreditation to industry, governments, regulators and consumers
• Assisting and supporting developing accreditation systems
• Global recognition of laboratories and inspection facilities via the ILAC Arrangement, thus facilitating acceptance of test, inspection and calibration data accompanying goods across national borders

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IMC: Institute of Management Consultants

IMC USA is the premier professional association and sole certifying body dedicated to individuals consulting to management. The IMC USA mission is to promote excellence and ethics in management consulting through certification, education, and professional resources.

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IRCA -International Register of Certificated Auditors

The International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA) is the world's original and largest international certification body for auditors of management systems. Located in the UK in the centre of London, IRCA certifies more than 13,750 auditors in over 120 countries worldwide.

IRCA provides auditors, business and industry with two main services:

1) certification of auditors of management systems. These include:

• consultants assisting organizations to develop and implement quality management systems
• certification body/registrar auditors, auditing organizations against ISO 9001 and other management system standards
• internal auditors, performing audits on suppliers or auditing their own organizations
• quality managers

IRCA offers certification programmes that recognize the competence of auditors who audit quality, environmental, occupational health and safety, software development, information security and food safety management systems.

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ISO - International Organization for Standardization

ISO was founded in 1947, ISO is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies, currently comprising over 157 members, one per country working in 3093 technical bodies and published 17041 International Standards and standards-type documents (ISO in Figures, 31 Dec 2007). The mission of ISO is to encourage the development of standardization and related activities in the world in order to facilitate international exchanges of goods and services and to achieve a mutual entente in the intellectual, scientific, technical and economic fields. Its work concerns all the fields of standardization, except electrical and electronic engineering standards, which fall within the scope of the IEC.

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ITC - International Trade Centre

ITC is a technical cooperation organization whose mission is to support developing and transition economies, and particularly their business sectors, in their efforts to realize their full potential for developing exports and improving import operations with the ultimate goal of achieving sustainable development. ITC deals specifically with the operational aspects of trade promotion and export development.

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NAPT - National Association for Proficiency Testing

NAPT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to excellence in Metrology & Test Measurement. At NAPT's Metrology  Links Portal you will find a very comprehensive set of links to metrology and test measurement and related sites.

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QSAE - Quality and Standards Authority of Ethiopia

QSAE is the national standards body of Ethiopia responsible for Ethiopian Standards development; Regulation Enforcement (Compulsory product certification and legal metrology); Calibration; Laboratory Testing; Batch Product Inspection; Training; Standards Information; and Public Education.

The basic organization-wide objectives of QSAE are:

• to promote and assist the establishment of appropriate quality management practices as an integral yet distinct management function in the social and economic sector;
• to assist in the improvement of the quality of products and processes through the promotion and application of Ethiopian Standards;
• to promote and coordinate standardization at all levels in the country;
• to establish a sound national metrological system as a basic structure for economic development; and
• to strengthen, promote and enhance the reliability of testing laboratories nation wide.

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UKAS: The United Kingdom Accreditation Service

UKAS is the sole national accreditation body recognized by UK government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organizations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence, impartiality and performance capability of these evaluators.

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WSSN: World Standards Services Network

To facilitate access to standards information and services, WSSN maintains direct links to the Web sites of organizations in the following categories:

• ISO, IEC, ITU
• National members of ISO and IEC
• Regional standardizing bodies recognized by ISO, IEC and ITU
• Other International standardizing bodies

The WSSN structured index provides a means of easy access to specific pages of the Web sites of WSSN members, such as contact information, catalogues, etc.

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