MEMORANDUM

Date: October 10, 2002

To: Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP)

From: Mary Saunders, ICSP Chair

Subject: Annual Agency Report on Standards Policy Activities

Under OMB Circular A-119, "Federal Participation in the Development and
Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment
Activities," all Federal agencies are required to report annually to the
Office of Management and Budget on the status of agency interaction with
voluntary standards bodies. I have tasked Kevin McIntyre and Michael
Moore from my office with drafting the report for FY 2002. Please feel
free to get in touch with Kevin (301-975-4907, kmcintyre@nist.gov) or
Mike (301-975-2007, mmoore@nist.gov) about the report at any time.

Inputs from all Executive Branch agencies are essential for the required
annual report. You **must** report any new agency-unique standards that
your agency used as well as your agency's rationale for developing them
rather than relying on any existing voluntary consensus standards. You
must also list the voluntary consensus standards that you did not use.

As the Standards Executive for your agency, you should also supply
pertinent information about the status of your agency's implementation
of the Circular. As described in the attachment to this memorandum, a
brief summary is preferable.

The information requested in the attachments includes requirements for
compliance with P.L. 104-113, the National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act (NTTAA), and OMB Circular A-119. In addition, I
encourage you to include supplementary information about new agency
directives, guidelines, or policy statements relating to A-119
principles and objectives for both standards and conformity assessment.
Further information about voluntary conformity assessment reporting can
be obtained from Maureen Breitenberg at NIST. You can reach Maureen at
301-975-4031or at <maureen.breitenberg@nist.gov>.

Please note that we are requesting this year that agencies provide
specific information on how they currently report "use" of voluntary
standards. This information will assist NIST in interpreting the data
that agencies are providing, and in making reasonable conclusions based
on that data for the OMB report.

Once again, NIST asks that you provide your input to us via the annual
reporting entry system available on the web. Be advised that **you
should create your report first, clear it through your agency, and then
follow the directions for web input.** When you are ready to input your
information, go to the following website:
<http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/nttaa/nttaa.htm>. There you will find
the link for the *Annual Report Data Entry for Federal Agencies.* After
selecting this link, follow the instructions under the help button for
cutting and pasting your report into the provided space. If you
experience problems inputting data via the web, please contact Kevin or
Mike for assistance.

In previous years, OMB has increasingly expressed very serious concerns
about delays in federal agency submissions to NIST as well as NIST's
delayed submissions of final drafts to OMB. As stated in Circular A-119,
NIST is obligated to provide its final draft of the 2002 Annual Report
to OMB no later than January 31, 2003. Therefore, in order to compile
the report and obtain the necessary clearances prior to our January 2003
deadline, NIST must have your report **no later than November 30,
2002**. Obviously, earlier submissions are preferable.

Thank you.

Attachment

OMB Circular A-119, "Federal Participation in the Development and Use of
Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities"

Required Information for Agency Annual Report on Standards Policy
Activities as outlined in Section 9, "Management and Reporting of
Standards Use"

[Reporting requirements:]{.underline}

1.  As required by P.L. 104-113, you **must** highlight all instances
    where the agency used government-unique standards in lieu of
    voluntary consensus standards during FY 2002. For each instance, you
    must identify the specific government-unique standard used and the
    voluntary consensus standard that was not selected. Equally as
    important, you must clearly state your agency's rationale for such
    use.

In addition, your report for FY 2002 should also include:

2.  [A list by name and acronym]{.underline} of the voluntary consensus
    standards bodies in which your agency participated during the
    reporting period.

3.  The number of agency employees participating in voluntary consensus
    standards activities during this period.

4.  The number of voluntary consensus standards that your agency used
    during FY 2002 based upon procedures set forth in Sections 11 and 12
    of the Circular.

5.  A description of how your agency currently reports its use of
    voluntary consensus standards. Specifically, you should be prepared
    to answer the following questions: (Note: Questions will be
    structured on the web entry database to accept either "Yes/No" or
    multiple choice responses.)

-   Does your federal agency report (1) only the first-time use of
    standards, (2) continued uses of standards, or (3) both first-time
    and continued uses of standards?

-   Does your agency report (1) the total number of standards it uses
    or (b) each instance where the agency uses (i.e., references) a
    standard?

-   Does your agency report multiple editions of a single standard as
    one standard used or as multiple standards used?

-   Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes
    (as opposed to, or in addition to, standards used for compliance
    purposes)?

-   Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI-accredited
    standards developers including industry consortia?

6.  Identification of voluntary consensus standards that have been
    substituted by your agency for government-unique standards during
    the reporting period as a result of an agency review under section
    15b(7) of the Circular.

7.  An evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and any
    recommendations for changes to the Circular.

You may also wish to report:

8.  Any conformity assessment activities in which your agency has been
    involved in the reporting period as described in the Federal
    Register, Vol. 65, No. 155, Thursday, August 10, 2000, Guidance on
    Federal Conformity Assessment Activities;

9.  Examples or case studies of your agency's standards successes, if
    you so choose.

Please submit your report via the web no later than November 30, 2002.
To submit your report input, go to the following website:
<http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/nttaa/nttaa.htm>. There you will find
a link for the *Annual Report Data Entry for Federal Agencies*. Please
read the instructions at this site for cutting and pasting your report
into the template provided.

If you have questions or problems, please contact:

Kevin McIntyre or Mike Moore

Tel: 301-975-4907 Tel: 301-975-2007

Fax: 301-975-5414 Fax: 301-975-5414

E-mail: <kmcintyre@nist.gov> E-mail: <mmoore@nist.gov>