Approved by: Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB); Version 3, June 23, 2021 1

Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) 

Membership Nominations Procedure

As specified in the OSAC Charter and Bylaws, section 4.2.1:

The OSAC shall nominate and appoint Members and Affiliates in accordance with the 

nomination and appointments procedure, as defined by the FSSB. 

OSAC Members must be U.S. citizens or non-U.S. citizens who reside in the United States. 

Recommendations of individuals to fill the positions on the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) 

representing professional forensic organizations shall come from the professional organization. 

Appointments of individuals to fill the positions, other than the Unit Chair, on any subcommittee shall 

be approved by the respective SAC. 

Nominations Task Group

Review of recommendations to fill vacancies on either the FSSB, a SAC or an Interdisciplinary 

Committee shall be the responsibility of the FSSB Nominations Task Group. The Nominations Task 

Group shall consist of the following individuals: 

o FSSB members representing the professional forensic organizations, 

o NIST Ex-Officio Member, who may delegate this role to another NIST staff member, 

o The chair of the task group shall be selected by the FSSB Chair.

When one or more positions become open on the FSSB, a SAC, or an Interdisciplinary Committee:

The Nominations Task Group shall be provided with the number of open positions to be filled in the 

impacted OSAC Unit and shall be provided guidance from the OSAC Unit Chair on specific 

applicants’ attributes that may be needed to fulfill OSAC requirements for skills, experience, and 

balanced representation,

● The impacted OSAC Unit Chairs shall review the current OSAC applicant pool and provide 

one or more recommendations for each open position. If more than one recommendation 

is made, the recommendations shall be ranked,

● If the impacted OSAC Unit Chair or the FSSB Nominations Task Group determines that a 

solicitation for interested applicants is needed, a public announcement can be made.

Selection Criteria

The Nominations Task Group shall ensure the individuals recommended meet the following eligibility 

criteria for membership:

● skill and experience – individuals who are knowledgeable in the applicable area of forensic 

science or a subject matter expert that can contribute to the development of standards,

● interest – individuals must be willing to devote the energy and attention required,

● character – individuals who have earned the confidence of others in the community, those 

whose reputation shall enhance the OSAC reputation within the community.
Approved by: Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB); Version 3, June 23, 2021 2

● availability – individuals who can commit to attending meetings, working on projects and 

representing the OSAC in the community,

● employer classification – individuals who are employed by different types of organizations,

● primary job classification – individuals who hold different roles in their organizations, 

● OSAC Unit preference indicated by the applicant.

As applicable, the Nominations Task Group can go back to the professional organization or the 

OSAC Unit Chair for information or additional recommendations if the individual(s) does not meet the 

above criteria.

Preparation of a Slate of Selected Applicants

The Nominations Task Group shall provide a slate corresponding to the open positions to the FSSB. 

The slate will be provided to the FSSB no later than;

● July 1 for FSSB members, including SAC Chairs and Organizational Representatives, SAC 

Vice Chairs and Subcommittee Chairs with appointments terminating September 30th, and

● as needed for other vacancies on the FSSB, a SAC or an Interdisciplinary Committee.

Confirmation of a Slate of Selected Applicants

The FSSB shall vote to accept or reject the individual nominees within the slate. A 2⁄3 majority of the 

FSSB vote is required. The FSSB may reject nominees only if they do not meet the eligibility criteria 

to fill the open position for which they are nominated.

Cause for rejection shall be clearly stated so that the Nominations Task Group may propose a new 

slate or a partial slate.

Appointment of Applicants

The corresponding OSAC Unit Chair will notify candidates selected for appointment using the OSAC 

appointment letter stating the term and expiration date of the appointment. Selected candidates shall 

acknowledge receipt of the letter and accept or reject the appointment. Appointments will be sent and 

confirmed no later than

● August 1 for FSSB and SAC appointments made to fill appointments terminating September 

30th and

within 30 days of all other appointments made by the FSSB. The corresponding OSAC Unit Chair will 

copy in or provide this correspondence to the OSAC Program Office (OPO). OPO will take all internal 

administrative actions to activate the appointment.