Fundamentals of Standards and Conformity Assessment for Government Agencies

Date: March 1, 2017, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Location: The American Institute of Architects (AIA), 1735 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20006

Government Audience Only 

On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Standards Coordination Office (SCO), will sponsor a full-day workshop on the Fundamentals of Standards and Conformity Assessment for Federal Agencies. The primary goals of this 8th annual event are to deepen and expand participant understanding and knowledge in these areas and to provide an interactive forum for discussion.

As standards have become an increasingly vital component of many federal agency programs, the need for discussion on important topics in federal standards setting and use continues to grow.  This workshop is designed for staff from all agencies engaged in standards policy, participation, and use to:

• learn from experts in the standards community on the basics of standards and conformity assessment and the scope and implementation of the various policies and guidance documents that frame federal engagement in standards setting; and
• understand some of the many dimensions of standards development, including how knowledge of the attributes of a standards development process can enable agency decision making and use of standards and how diverse standards development organizations create standards for different purposes.

Topics will include: 

• a brief history of standardization, the basics of documentary standards and how standards are developed, the U.S. and international standards systems, and key players in the standards development community;
• the laws, regulations, and guidance directing Federal agency standards participation and use, including the Federal Government's roles and responsibilities under the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) and OMB Circular No. A-119, Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities;
• how a standard becomes an ANSI American National Standard;
• a comparison of standardization systems in the United States, Europe and China;
• conformity assessment and why standards and the assessment of conformity to standards is so important; and
• how standards and conformity assessment are used in voluntary and regulatory environments.

Please click on the agenda below for more details.

Come to learn and contribute to an engaging discussion on the role of federal agencies in standards and conformity assessment. There is no cost to attend, but advance registration is required by Tuesday, February 21. This workshop is open to government agency personnel only.   Please note space is limited and early registration is encouraged.

For more information, please contact Patrice Boulanger (patrice.boulanger [at] nist.gov (patrice[dot]boulanger[at]nist[dot]gov); 301.975.3882) or Mary Jo DiBernardo (maryjo.dibernardo [at] nist.gov (maryjo[dot]dibernardo[at]nist[dot]gov); 301.975.5503).