COOPERATION ON JOINT PROJECTS Conference on U.S. Leadership in ISO and IEC Technical Committees Presented by Joseph Tretler, Jr. Business Director, Standards Facilitation American National Standards Institute

JOINT COOPERATION During the 2004 ANSI Scottsdale Conference, joint cooperation and position development was identified as a topic for further exploration. Many joint projects exist, among ISO committees, but also between ISO and IEC committees. There are two levels of cooperation and coordination, the international level and at the US/TAG level. ISO/IEC Directives and ANSI’s procedures provide little operational guidance for joint projects. ISO/TMB has identified developing such operational guidance as a priority project in 2006. ANSI ISO Forum (AIF) may need to review and update its past guidance based on ISO/TMB’s efforts next year.

JOINT COOPERATION ISO Directives and ANSI procedures may be purposefully silent on these issues in order to allow for flexibility, innovation and best practices to develop. Key issues to be addressed include: How does one become aware of relevant projects in other committees? How to establish formal liaison with contacts on these projects? What mechanisms for coordination of positions are viable?