"Digital Society" Public Foundation
"Digital Society" Public Foundation (DSF) is Kazakhstan non-governmental organization, has been registered as Civil Society organization by Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan since September 14, 2020. The main activity of the organization is monitoring, research, policy analysis, promotion of reforms in the field of public procurement and open contracts in the Republic of Kazakhstan in order to increase transparency and sustainability, accountability and efficiency in the use of public funds. In addtion to enhancing transparency, accountability and efficiency in the use of public funds, DSF assists to the improvement of public procurement strategies and practices in the relation to Kazakhstan's achievement of Target 12.7.1 of the UN SDGs.
DSF views its Target 12.7.1 activity as preparation of recommendations, green and white policy papers to governmental organizations and national companies on how to improve the preparation and formation of technical specifications for purchased materials and technologies, which would reduce the negative impacts of their use on society and the environment. For example, currently in Kazakhstan public procurement system and processes, no critical attention is paid to the energy efficiency of equipment, which would reduce the carbon footprint of Kazakhstan, some technolgies for installing a power cable pose a threat to the life and health of power engineers-installers, in Data Centers under construction end-customers buy a fire extinguishing agent called Freon, the release of which destroys the ozone layer of the Earth, and besides is deadly for people when extinguishing a fire.
This year DSF experts made an analysis of infrastructure public projects implemented in Kazakhstan in the field of lightning protection of their engineering networks. DSF developed, substantiated and sent recommendations to the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In this recommendation, a proposal to replace the state building code 2.04-103-2013 * with the International Electrotechnical Commission standard 62305-3.
The use of this standard 62305-3 in the preparation of technical specifications for public tenders held in Kazakhstan will significantly increase the service life of the components of lightning protection and grounding of engineering networks of buildings, reduces the risks of dangerous sparking with the transition of high voltage from down conductors to the internal wiring of the facility, its engineering systems and conductive structural elements. The use of a generally recognized international standard for lightning protection will lead to economically justified protection against lightning of the life and health, material and cultural values of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan.
