A European Virtual Institute for Thermal Metrology (EVITherM) is being developed by a consortium of 34 European institutes, led by NPL and supported by the EC, to ensure that thermal knowledge and services are made available to industry, for the benefit of industrial processes and the environment, offering low-cost easy access, particularly to SMEs. EVITherM will be a co-ordinated Internet-based infrastructure designed to link together the geographically scattered centres of excellence and other groups and organisations concerned with thermal measurements and technology to provide a focal point for information exchange and knowledge transfer between all these organisations and industry. It will form a website for users, having three levels of access. The first level is free and contains directories of information; the second and third levels are for members only and will allow access to qualified information and member interactions. The first public release of the website is due by early 2004.

The operation of the economy on a global scale and the quality of life for the individual citizen depends on reliable measurements and tests, which are trusted and accepted internationally. The European Commission is supporting two projects linking measurement, regulation, trade and commerce under the Competitive and Sustainable Growth thematic Programme in the Fifth Framework Programme. This paper describes the aims and some findings of the RegMet and MetroTrade projects, including the concept of the development of a measurement template for regulators.

A method for electrostatic field meters calibration is presented in the article. A workplace for this measurement is also described and calibration results for two different electrostatic field meters are given.

Developing countries are regarded as recipients of technology and advanced scientific equipment, however most of equipment is unavailable due to breakdowns and lack of maintenance. Maintenance of scientific and technical equipment appears to enjoy very low priority in the main activities of Universities, Research and Technological Institutions in Africa. These institutions are expected to train manpower in the fields of science and engineering and to conduct research at a level comparable to other similar institutions worldwide, but this cannot be achieved if essential instruments/equipment and facilities needed for this purpose are unavailable or are not maintained. This paper highlights the problem equipment maintenance, the possible causes and the initiatives taken by the International Foundation for Science of Sweden and the Network of Users of Scientific equipment in Eastern and Southern Africa (NUSESA) in addressing the problem. The paper also suggests priority areas, which need to be addressed, and makes recommendations for the way forward. In looking at the priority areas, the paper attempts to tackle the problem of technology transfer and ways in which the equipment suppliers and the users can work together to address the problems.

Setting up a quality system at the level of national metrology laboratories became especially important after the signing of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). Each laboratory, signatory of MRA, must demonstrate its technical competence and confidence, where an established and smooth running quality system is a critical milestone. This paper presents details of a rather sophisticated quality system established at the Turkish National Metrology Institute. General recommendations to other institutes and possible ways for further improvements are also discussed in the paper.