Innovative professional practices and the 2030 agenda: standardization as a strategic alignment model

Abstract

Compliance with the 2030 Agenda implies an increase in the capacity of organizations for strategic alignment, playing a connecting role and integrating different perspectives for valuing sectoral contributions. One of the perspectives to be studied is that of the Information Documentation Sector through the analyses of the type of statistics and evaluation studies carried out. In this context, we present the study carried out by CHAM – Centro de Humanidades (NOVA FCSH) as an answer to the research question How can standardization contribute to the strategic alignment of information services performance with Sustainable Development Goals? Based on an interdisciplinary view of In-formation Science, Evaluation Research and Evidence-Based Practice, this exploratory and predominantly qualitative study is focused on the intersection of international standards on performance evaluation of information services with sustainable development, using two analyses: a) Macro: to examine the strategy and initiatives of ISO alignment with the 2030 Agenda, highlighting the standardization activities promoted by ISO/TC 46; and b) Micro: to explore the incorporation into international standards of performance indicators that allow collection of evidence of information services’ contribution to SGDs. Based on the examination of the 12 indicators defined for the nine goals of SDG 4 and ISO 11620’s performance indicators, the competence development area was identified as a strategic alignment point, leading to the development of two indicators - one, focused on the development of ICT skills supported by libraries and the other, focused on functional literacy and numeracy of users.