SD-9 Dod Guidance On Participating In The Development And Use Of Non-Government StandardsThe purpose of this document is to promote more effective DoD use of nongovernment standards NGSs and participation in their development.To achieve this purpose, this document describes the different types of NGSs and the organizations that develop them, provides general guidance and practices relative to DoD┬┐s involvement in developing or using NGSs, identifies criteria that should be considered regarding requirements and verification before developing an NGS or replacing an existing military or federal document with an NGS, clarifies the roles and responsibilities of DoD personnel when participating in NGS activities, and explains the meaning of DoD adoption of an NGS and its importance.

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tives of their organizations. As a practical matter, individuals who participate at the expense of their organization may be expected to reflect the interests of their organiza- tion, irrespective of the society's official position.When a Government agency is fund- ing participation, the Government employee or support contractor must participate as

a representative of their agency, and not as an individual. Generally, professional soci-

eties promote the interests of their professionals.A society of a specific kind of engi- neer may help advance a field of engineering, continue the education and professional development of those engineers, and support development of new engineers entering that field. Many professional society standards writing organizations are accredited by ANSI as operating in full compliance to openness, due process, balance, and trans- parency.

Standards Developing Organizations

A few NGSBs, such as ASTM International, were specifically founded to develop stan- dards and are categorized as standards developing organizations (SDOs). Membership

in an SDO is not limited to a particular industry or profession. Membership fees are

generally low, facilitating participation by individuals not sponsored by an employer. SDOs typically operate with little bias in the standards development process as a whole.There may be specific committees with some degree of bias, but rules govern- ing balance do a good job of policing and limiting such bias. One benefit of an SDO is the opportunity to embark on standards development in virtually any field of endeavor when sufficient interest is expressed by users, producers, and other interested parties. Another benefit is the very strict balance and due process requirements for standards development, voting, and appeal. However, these same benefits can become

stumbling blocks to rapid development of standards. Because SDOs allow for participa- tion by virtually anyone willing to pay the membership fee, participants with no real stake in the outcome may become involved in the development process.This open participation practice sometimes greatly benefits the resulting standard and sometimes

is detrimental to the process. Government participation in standards development is exactly the same as for any other participant. Government members pay their appro- priate fees and participate in the standards development as full partners in the process, including preparing drafts, commenting on drafts, and voting on final standards.

Testing and Laboratory Organizations

Some organizations, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), may provide services such as testing products to their standards or to other standards.The standards these

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