After the close of a call for candidate consensus standards, the relevant project steering committee conducts a detailed review of all submitted standards, sometimes with the help of a technical advisory panel. The duration of a steering committee’s review of the candidate consensus standards for a given project can vary depending on the scope of the project, the number of standards under review, and the relative complexity of the standards.
Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Panel Meetings
During this review process, the steering committee may meet several times to discuss and evaluate the submitted consensus standards. If there is a technical advisory panel for the project, the panel also may meet during this review process and provide specific technical advice to the steering committee. Both bodies may meet in-person or via conference call. There is no predetermined number of meetings required.
All meetings and conference calls of a steering committee and any associated technical advisory panel(s) are open to NQF members and the public. Information about each of these meetings, including the agenda and the location or the dial-in information, is posted on this site, and is available through both the events calendar and the specific webpage for the project. Each meeting of a steering committee and of a technical advisory panel features a specific period during which NQF members and interested members of the public may make comments regarding the committee’s deliberations.
Handling of Proprietary Information
If a Steering Committee advances a measure for public comment, detailed specifications are usually provided.
Achieving Consensus
During its evaluation of the candidate consensus standards submitted for NQF endorsement, a project steering committee is expected to achieve consensus, as defined in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119, regarding the committee's draft recommendations. The OMB defines consensus as:
general agreement, but not necessarily unanimity, and includes a process for attempting to resolve objections by interested parties, as long as all comments have been fairly considered, each objector is advised
of the disposition of his or her objection(s) and the reasons why, and the consensus body members are given an opportunity to change their votes after reviewing the comments.
Based on their detailed evaluation, a steering committee can recommend either:
- A candidate consensus standard continue through the consensus development process toward possible endorsement by NQF; or
- A candidate standard be returned to the standard steward and/or developer for further development and/or refinement.
