May 8, 2025
DALI Alliance and IES Align on Standards
New partnership aims to streamline lighting controls education and alignment
In a move aimed at advancing education and interoperability in lighting controls, the DALI Alliance and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) have announced a new Memorandum of Understanding.
Above: Colleen Harper, IES; Paul Drosihn; DALI Alliance
The agreement, unveiled ahead of this week’s LightFair 2025, formalizes a partnership between the two standards organizations to collaborate on educational content, technical documents, and outreach initiatives.
The effort brings together the IES’s longstanding role in lighting science and standards with the DALI Alliance’s focus on digital interface protocols and global interoperability. Initial steps will include coordinated training sessions and increased alignment on terminology and standards language — especially as both groups engage with ANSI, IEC, and other governing bodies.
“The IES and DALI Alliance have distinct but complementary strengths. This partnership allows us to speak with a more unified voice,” said Colleen Harper, Executive Director of the IES. “Education and shared understanding are critical as lighting technology becomes more complex.”
Paul Drosihn, General Manager of the DALI Alliance, echoed the sentiment. “We’re excited to collaborate with IES to simplify complexity for designers, engineers, and end users. Interoperability begins with education.”
The two groups appeared together at LightFair, participating in panel discussions and hosting joint sessions focused on lighting controls and smart building integration. For lighting professionals navigating a crowded landscape of protocols, acronyms, and evolving standards, this partnership may offer a welcome dose of clarity.
Standards bodies syncing standards? That sounds like a bright idea.
