1. NIST Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC): OSAC and Standards Developing Organizations
Mark D. Stolorow
Director of OSAC Affairs
National Institute of Standards and Technology
How many heard of the OSAC?
ABA 9th Annual Prescriptions for
Criminal Justice Forensics Conference
May 31 – June 1, 2018
New York, New York

2. Agenda Current Status – Process Acceleration
Standards Development Pathways
Vision – Stay Engaged

3. 200 Standards in Development Task Groups at Every Level: 200+
OSAC Snapshot
200 Standards in Development
5/17/2018 Status:
565 Members
266+ Affiliates
2431 Applications
Employer Classification
Academic: 18%
Federal: 24%
FFRDC: 1%
Local: 19%
Private: 16%
State: 21%
Job Classification
Attorney: 2%
Educator: 10%
Judge: 1%
Other: 10%
Practitioner: 56%
QA Manager: 2%
R&D Tech: 2%
Researcher: 19%
Task Groups at Every Level: 200+

4. Current Status
OSAC
OSAC

5. OSAC is not a regulatory entity and does not enforce compliance
Documentary standards and guidelines that have demonstrated: 1. Technical merit 2. Reasonable standards development process
ASTM E Standard Practice for Identification of Seized Drugs – January 27, 2016 [In Revision: ASTM WK53625] Joint OSAC FSSB and NIST Statement on ASTM Standard E (July 5, 2016)
ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories – September 27, 2016 [In Revision: ISO/IEC CD 17025]
NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, 2014 Edition – September 20, 2016
NFPA 1033: Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigator, Edition – December 22, 2016
ASTM E e1: Standard Guide for Sampling Seized Drugs for Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis – April 3, 2017
ISO/IEC 17020: Conformity Assessment—Requirements for the Operation of Various Types of Bodies Performing Inspection – April 18, 2017
ANSI/NIST ITL Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information - July 13, 2017
ASTM E Standard Test Method for Forensic Comparison of Glass Using Micro X-ray Fluorescence (μ-XRF) Spectrometry - July 19, 2017
OSAC is not a regulatory entity and does not enforce compliance

6. OSAC Registry Placement Means…
OSAC Registry serves as a trusted repository of high-quality, science-based standards and guidelines for forensic practice.
Criteria: standards and guidelines must have been developed using a consensus-based process and must pass the OSAC review of technical merit by forensic practitioners, academic researchers, statisticians and measurement scientists.
Elevating a standard to the official OSAC Registry is an endorsement of the high quality of the document and encourages its adoption by all relevant agencies and practitioners.

7. OSAC Registry Implementation
OSAC does not have authority to enforce standards.
OSAC endorses standards and promotes their adoption by forensic science service providers.
While accredited forensic service providers are currently audited to general laboratory standards, there are very few discipline-specific standards that the laboratories can be audited against.
The ultimate goal of OSAC and its 560-plus members is to facilitate the development of science-based standards for each of 25 distinct forensic science disciplines and to promote their widespread adoption.

8. OSAC High Level Process Map
SMILE

9. OSAC High Level Process Map
NEW DOCUMENT
SDO PROCESS HAS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
SMILE
OSAC REGISTRY
OSAC PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

10. Online Comments and Adjudication
SMILE

11. Vision for Standards Implementation
Good standards are important but implementation is more important
Focus on improving quality of FS standards continues to accelerate
OSAC Registry standards list continues to expand in all disciplines
OSAC Standards Implementation Plan reflects stakeholders voices
Standards implementation gains broad traction across our industry
OSAC listens, stays engaged and inspires standards implementation by all critical stakeholders
SMILE

12. Director of OSAC Affairs (Sign up for Newsletter & Standards Bulletin)
Questions?
Mark D. Stolorow
Director of OSAC Affairs
NIST
(301)
(Sign up for Newsletter & Standards Bulletin)

13. Impact – Question #1
What type of impact do you see the potential for OSAC Registry standards to improve the practice of forensic science in your laboratory?
77.7% VP/P

14. Implementation: Self Adoption – Question #2
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory through self-adoption sometime in the future?
75.8% HL/L

15. Implementation: OSAC Member “trainer” – Question #3
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory through having an OSAC member “trainer” coming to your lab (at OSAC’s expense) to teach your personnel how to adopt the standards?
55.8% HL/L

16. Implementation: Professional Associations Policy Recommendations – Question #4
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory if professional forensic science associations like ASCLD issue a policy recommendation for laboratories to adopt OSAC Registry standards in their relevant disciplines sometime in the future?
82.9%HL/L

17. Implementation: Prosecutors & Defense Attys – Question #5
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory sometime in the future if prosecutors and defense attorneys begin asking your expert witnesses about the use of OSAC Registry standards in their analysis of the evidence?
72.4%HL/L

18. Implementation: Accrediting Bodies – Question #6
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory sometime in the future if accrediting bodies begin offering accreditation requiring OSAC Registry standards as part of their supplemental standards?
93.2%HL/L

19. Implementation: Federal Funding (carrot)– Question #7
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory sometime in the future if your laboratory is incentivized by federal funding (e.g. NIJ) for equipment or research to laboratories using OSAC Registry standards? $
83.9%HL/L

20. Implementation: Federal Funding (stick)– Question #8
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory sometime in the future if your laboratory is required by federal funding agencies (e.g. NIJ) to use OSAC Registry standards to qualify for funding opportunities for training, equipment, or research, etc.?
83.9%HL/L

21. Implementation: State law or Commission– Question #9
What is the likelihood of OSAC Registry standards being adopted by your laboratory sometime in the future if required by State law or State Forensic Science Commission?
87.3%HL/L

22. OSAC Listening: How are we Doing – Question #10
How would you grade OSAC’s efforts to listen to the forensic science community’s needs and comments?
50.00%VP/P