This page describes the elements and actions required to develop and produce a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA). It applies to all parties interested in developing a CWA (proposers), the CEN National Members and the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre (CCMC).
1.1 A party interested in developing a CWA reaches out to a CEN Member or to CCMC. If CCMC is the first point of contact, it assists the Workshop Proposer in finding a CEN Member to take on the CEN Workshop Secretariat, following the process described in CEN-CENELEC Guide 29, clause 4.1.
1.2 With the assistance of the CEN Member, the Workshop Proposer of a CWA shall prepare the CEN Workshop Proposal Form. The form is then sent by the CEN Member to the CEN-CENELEC Director Standardization for allocation to a CCMC Project Manager (see CEN-CENELEC Guide 29, clause 4.2 and Annex A).
1.3 The Workshop Secretariat submits the CEN Workshop Proposal Form to relevant CEN and/or CENELEC Technical Committees (TCs), if any are identified in part A.2 of the form, for a 30-day consultation and to related CEN and/or CENELEC advisory and coordination groups, TC(s) use the same form to indicate if there is an active work item covering the scope of the proposed CWA and if there are any other arguments against the proposed CWA.
1.4 The CEN Workshop Proposal Form is submitted to the CEN Technical Board by the CCMC Project Manager for:
See also the summary of the consultation process of the launch of CWA.
1.5 The Workshop Secretariat and Workshop Proposer prepare the Workshop Draft Project Plan. If the consultation phase on the CEN Workshop Proposal Form is expected to take time (in particular if a CEN Technical Committee and/or CEN Technical Board consultation is needed), it is recommended to use this time to work on the Draft Project Plan. It is strongly recommended to define a dissemination strategy in the Draft Project Plan, to ensure the optimum impact for the future CWA.
1.6 CCMC announces the proposal for a new CEN Workshop (CEN/WS) on the CEN-CENELEC Website at least 30 days before the Kick-off Meeting. (See also guidance on WS announcement.)
The information posted on the website will include:
Any comments submitted during this period shall be considered with the Workshop Secretariat and Workshop Proposer and in any case during the Kick-off Meeting at the latest.
1.7 During the Kick-off Meeting, the Workshop Secretary gives the participants information about the CEN/WS and the development process of the envisaged CWA, to help them understand how the CEN/WS will operate (see presentation template for generic information).
The comments received on the Workshop Draft Project Plan are reviewed and the Final Workshop Project Plan is approved by those participants wishing to proceed.
The formal launch of the CEN/WS happens at the Kick-off Meeting, provided there is sufficient support for the Workshop Project Plan.
Participation to the Kick-off Meeting does not automatically ensure registration to the CEN/WS. After the Kick-off Meeting the participants wishing to continue contributing to the development of the draft CWAs will be requested to officially register to the CEN/WS by means of signing the registration form, therefore becoming CEN/WS participants.
1.8 The CEN/WS participants draft the CWA(s) according to the specifications laid down in the Final Workshop Project Plan. The draft CWA is made available for comments to the CEN/WS participants.
To ensure transparency the documents of the CEN/WS should be uploaded on an electronic platform.
If the CWA is in the same domain as an existing CEN/CENELEC Technical Committee, the Workshop Secretary is encouraged to follow the guidance on WS-TC communication, to ensure proper exchange of information. In particular, whenever the draft CWA is sent to the CEN/WS participants for internal consultation, it shall be sent to that CEN/CENELEC Technical Committee for comments at the same time. In such cases, a commenting period of 30 days is recommended. Comments shall be sent to the Workshop Secretariat. These comments shall be considered by the CEN/WS participants.
If foreseen in the Final Workshop Project Plan, and in any case if the draft CWA covers safety aspects, an open commenting phase (minimum 30 days and 60 days if it covers safety aspects) is launched.
CCMC will make the draft CWA available for external comments on the CEN Website and the CEN-CENELEC Website.
CCMC will also notify the CEN Members.
In case of an open commenting phase, the Workshop Secretariat ensures the creation of a comments resolution report that compiles all the received comments. The comments are considered by the CEN/WS participants.
1.9 The WS Chairperson decides when agreement is reached amongst the WS participants on the final text of the CWA.
1.10 The Workshop secretariat submits the approved CWA to CCMC, with the cover page text and the European Forward (see Annex B of CEN-CENELEC Guide 29).
CCMC ensures that:
1.11 The Workshop secretariat shall inform any relevant TC of the publication of the CWA. At this stage, or at any later point in the CWA lifecycle, a TC can decide to take on the responsibility for the maintenance of the CWA. In this case, the TC Secretariat will conduct the consultation for the review of the CWA after 3 years.
1.12 A CWA is valid for 3 years, after which the former Workshop secretariat shall at least consult the former Workshop Chairperson and the relevant CEN/CENELEC Technical Committees, if any, and related CEN/CENELEC advisory and coordination groups, to determine whether the CWA shall be:
The former Workshop Secretariat shall inform CCMC of the result of the query.
CWAs have a maximum lifetime of 6 years. After 6 years from initial publication, the CWA shall be submitted to the CEN (and CENELEC) BT(s) for decision regarding its transformation into another deliverable or its withdrawal, taking into consideration the recommendations from relevant CEN (and CENELEC) Technical Body, if any, and related CEN/CENELEC Sector Fora, Focus Groups and Coordination Groups.
1.13 At any point in its lifecycle, a CWA can be transformed into another standardization deliverable (e.g. a TS or an EN), at the initiative of CEN Members or of a CEN and/or CENELEC Technical Body. This transformation shall be conducted according to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations - Part 2.
1.14 Once the work described in its Project Plan is completed, the CEN/WS is disbanded (see also CEN-CENELEC Guide 29 Annex C: Overview of actions, responsibilities, and timeframes throughout the CEN/CENELEC Workshop Agreement process).