The British Standards Institution (BSI) is developing the world's first standard to help businesses cope with multiple sourcing arrangements.

The organisation hopes to eventually provide a framework for UK businesses to manage their internal and external relationships effectively.

Frank Post, the BSI's marketing director, says sourcing is now a normal way of conducting business. 'This standard will help businesses to map out these relationships,' he said.

'By developing a standard, we are providing solidity for UK businesses - but the framework could also move to Europe and the international arena.'

The BSI is developing the framework in collaboration with Partnership Sourcing, an organisation established by the Confederation of British Industry and the Department of Trade and Industry to promote the building of relationships in business.

The standard was last week put to a consultation involving businesses, regulators and academics. The BSI is aiming for full publication in about 18 months.

Post says the framework will cover all types of sourcing relationships, including outsourcing and insourcing. 'We'll be looking at the optimisation of resources and how they're employed. It's about best practice,' he said.

The standard will eventually consist of a framework covering areas such as the importance of relationships, awareness, knowledge, internal assessment, partner selection, value creation and innovation, and exit strategy.

Computing last week highlighted how increasing numbers of technology leaders are choosing to bring control of problematic IT systems back in-house (Computing, 12 May).

Gartner says the outsourcing market will grow by just five per cent annually in the next few years, a figure far lower than the double-digit expansion of recent years. And the analyst predicts that four in five outsourcing relationships will be renegotiated during a contract.

Some 64 per cent of firms have already brought an outsourced service back in-house, says consultant Deloitte.