Governmental Membership
The Consumer Interest Forum works to facilitate the representation of consumer interests in voluntary standards and conformity assessment activities. It thereby enhances the effectiveness and credibility of the IEI as representative of all materially affected interests.
Consumers are defined as those individuals who use goods or services to satisfy their individual needs and desires, rather than to resell them or to produce other goods or services with them ("Consumers").
Overview
Some of the broad issues that the Consumer Interest Forum works to advance include:
· Outreach and networking: build stronger relationships between IEI and national and international organizations to:
. Increase standards awareness among consumer representatives;
. Build dialogue on key issues by providing a primary forum and information source on consumer interest issues related to voluntary standards and conformity assessment;
. Develop effective information exchanges among consumer professionals;
. Provide consumer feedback to IEI;
· Policy development: facilitate enhanced consumer interest participation throughout the IEI process and organization.
· Consumer participation: encourage consumer participation in the development of standards for consumer products and services to identify and meet consumer concerns and needs.
Members and Officers
Participation in the Consumer Interest Forum is open to consumer representatives who are willing to actively participate in its work and who express an interest in membership. Membership in IEI is not required.
Consumer Interest Forum members shall be knowledgeable representatives from Consumer organizations, producers, retailers, distributors, industry councils and government. The Consumer Interest Forum will strive to maintain a reasonable balance among such groups. No more than one Consumer Interest Forum member may be employed by the same company, organization, department or agency.
