Results of the Survey on Standardization Activities in 2021 (an overview of standardization activities and the administration system)

This study presents the results of a survey on the standardization-related activities of institutions conducted in 2021. This survey was conducted over four years (2017–2020), and this investigation is the fifth in the series. This survey did not investigate the standardization needs in order to select technological items for future standardization. Instead, the survey aims to quantitatively analyze the standardization activities of institutions by examining the ratio of standardization activities implemented in different industries, the progress of organizational development, and the establishment of operating rules. Additionally, the survey focuses on the management of research information in standardization activities. Information was obtained from Japanese institutions, including both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. The extent to which standardization activities are implemented is also investigated in terms of R&D expenditure. Additionally, an investigation into the relationship between standardization and the diffusion of advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, is conducted. The percentage of respondents who consider knowledge gained from SDO activities to be important is rising, indicating that an over-reliance on natural language processing (e.g., large language models applied to generative AI) should be avoided when creating knowledge for standardization activities. Overall, the survey results highlight the importance of human resources engaged in standardization, both in terms of managerial and policy issues. The percentage of standardization activities practiced has been suggested to have increased over the five-year observation period.