Procedures for SAA Endorsement of an External Standard

Proposals must be submitted by official groups within the SAA. Individuals who are interested in submitting a proposal for the endorsement of an external standard may consult with the Standards Committee on appropriate groups to which they may wish to submit a proposal.

I. Submission of a Proposal to Endorse an External Standard

I.A. The proposing group shall:

Complete and submit the PROPOSAL FOR ENDORSEMENT OF AN EXTERNAL STANDARD form. The form shall include:

• Name of the standard;
• Brief summary of the standard;
• Sponsoring organization;
• Location of the standard (website link, publication details, etc.);
• Effect/impact of the standard on archival practice;
• A discussion of how the standard is being used in the archives profession (Who is using it? How is it being used? Is it widely used?);
• Review and revision procedures of the standard (Who reviews the standard? How often is the standard reviewed? Is the review process open?); and
• Known existing standards that are closely related to or affected by the standard being proposed for endorsement.

I.B. The Standards Committee co-chairs shall:

I.B.1. Acknowledge receipt of the ENDORSEMENT PROPOSAL FORM to the proposing body and notify the Standards Committee of the proposal submission.

I.B.2. Distribute copies of the ENDORSEMENT PROPOSAL FORM to the other members of the Standards Committee, including the subgroup chairs and the SAA Council liaison. Subgroup chairs may distribute the proposal to their technical subcommittee or development and review team for comment.

I.B.3. Collect comments and suggestions from members of the Standards Committee and other subgroups to which the proposal was distributed.

I.B.4. If comments warrant further discussion, arrange for a discussion to determine whether there is a consensus to endorse the standard.

II. Standards Committee Action in Response to Proposal

The Standards Committee will take a formal vote in response to the proposal, and will take one of the following actions in response to a proposal, as appropriate:

II.A. Return for revision.

The Standards Committee will return to the submitting group a proposal form that is incomplete or that requires revision and request that it be revised and resubmitted.

II.B. Decline.

The Standards Committee may decline the endorsement of an external standard because: 1) the external standard is in direct conflict with an SAA-adopted standard or policy; 2) there is insufficient demand or potential benefit to SAA members; 3) the standard is not widely adopted or used in the archives field; or 4) the review process does not allow for SAA contribution or comment.

II.C. Endorse.

If the Standards Committee agrees that the external standard has benefit to the SAA community, it will recommend the standard to the SAA Council for endorsement. If the SAA Council endorses the standard, the Standards Committee will then take the following actions:

1. Publish the full standard or link to the standard on the Standards Portal webpage along with the endorsement proposal.
2. Notify the SAA community about the endorsement through appropriate SAA media.

Adopted by the SAA Council: February 2010, January 2012