Last Updated: 11/30/2023

NIST Small Business Community of Interest Charter: SMB Owners and Operators

1. Purpose 

This Community of Interest is a forum designed for owners and operators of small to medium-sized 

business (SMB) entities. By forming a COI sub-group dedicated specifically to small businesses

owners and operators, NIST hopes to help create an engaging way for smaller companies to 

communicate their cybersecurity needs, share challenges, and discuss pressing issues directly with 

NIST. This group will also be an opportunity for owners and operators to contribute directly to NIST’s 

work by participating in consensus-driven efforts the sub-group deems worthy of exploration. 

2. Goals and Objectives 

This Community of Interest serves as a forum in which public and private sector participants can:

• exchange ideas and resources among interested stakeholders to promote cybersecurity 

guidance and practices that advance cybersecurity knowledge, skills, and competencies 

to grow and sustain a thriving business. 

• generate discussion around common cybersecurity and privacy challenges/needs the 

SMB community faces. 

• provide a venue for SMB owners and operators to share direct input to NIST SMB

resources and efforts as they are being developed.

• work collaboratively with other owners/operators and NIST to develop new SMB 

cybersecurity resources as deemed necessary and relevant by this group. 

3. Organization and Operation 

The following sections describe the Community of Interest structure, membership functions, 

meeting times and locations, and new member acceptance. 

3.1 Structure 

Communities of Interest are constituent or topical groups that are designated, reviewed, and 

renewed annually by NIST. Communities of Interest are intended to be open forums to discuss 

topics and share resources. Communities of Interest may choose to meet regularly or simply 

collaborate via collaboration tools provided by NIST. Communities of Interest do not have a 

defined lifecycle but will operate as long as there is a need and interest for the group. 

3.2 Membership Functions 

3.2.1 Community of Interest Co-Chairs. 

Communities of Interest may operate with or without Co-Chairs. If the Community of 

Interest has Co-Chair leadership, Co-Chairs will serve 1-year terms with a possibility of 

renewal for an additional 1 year. There is a maximum of two non-NIST co-chairs per 

year. Terms will be staggered with other co-chairs. A NIST staff member will co-lead the 

Community of Interest. Community of Interest Co-Chairs have the following 

responsibilities: 

a. Complete requested tasks towards the development of the COI deliverables.
Last Updated: 11/30/2023

b. Attend and actively participate in quarterly meetings. 

c. Provide input on meeting agendas and minutes (see appendix A).

d. Co-lead Community of Interest meetings.

e. Engage in discussion with members in the Community of Interest listserv.

h. Abide by the mailing list etiquette (see appendix B).

3.2.2 Community of Interest Members 

Community of Interest members have the following responsibilities: 

a. Complete requested tasks towards the goals of the Communities of Interest.

b. Attend and actively participate in group meetings as necessary.

c. Contribute input to group project(s).

d. Serve as Subject Matter Experts to the group co-chairs.

e. Abide by the mailing list etiquette (see appendix B).

3.3 Meeting Times and Locations 

This group meets quarterly. 

Meeting details will be provided in advance of the meeting date. WebEx will be used for 

virtual meetings. 

3.4 New Member Acceptance Process

To join this Community of Interest, email NIST-SMB-Owners+subscribe@list.nist.gov
Last Updated: 11/30/2023

Appendix A

NIST SMB Community of Interest Subgroup: SMB Owners/Operators

Meeting Agenda 

Date: 

Time:

WebEx Meeting Information:

Group Email: NIST-SMB-Owners@list.nist.gov

I. Introductions & Opening Statements

II. Roll Call & Ground Rules 

III. Review of Recently Completed Projects/Status Update

IV. New Business

V. Upcoming Events & General Announcements

VI. Action Item Review

VII. Next Meeting Reminders

VIII. Closing

Upcoming Dates
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Appendix B

NIST SMB Community of Interest Group List Etiquette

• NIST moderates the mailing lists. NIST reserves the right to review, approve, 

or delete any messages.

• Mailing lists are not to be used for promotional announcements, advertising, 

product-related press releases, or other commercial use. 

• Do not send messages that contain abusive or vulgar content, spam, hate 

speech, personal attacks, or similar content.

• The mailing lists are for discussion related to small business-related activities. 

Files should not be distributed on the mailing lists; rather, they should be posted on 

available collaboration site(s) and a link shared via the mailing list. 

• NIST reserves the right to remove participants from the mailing lists for failure to 

adhere to these rules. 

Google Group Expectations for Use:

• The NIST SMB Community of Interest sub-group listservs are unmoderated. 

Messages will post automatically when sent. Please be considerate when using 

listserv, remember to only send messaging that contains information the group can 

benefit from. Individual member moderation settings may be subject to change.

• Please only include substantive content that relates to the goals of the group, 

such as discussions related to developing situations. 

• The NIST SMB Community of Interest sub-group mailing lists are not intended for 

promotional announcements, advertising, product-related press releases, or other 

commercial use.

• Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location, 

and email address.

• State concisely and clearly the topic of the comments in the subject line. This 

allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier 

for members to search the archives by subject.

• Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that 

everyone can benefit from. Do not send or forward subscribe/unsubscribe 

information. 

• Send messages such as “thanks for the information” or “me too” to individuals –

not to the entire list.  Do this by using your email application’s forwarding option 

and typing in or cutting and pasting in the email address of the individual to whom 

you want to respond.

• Do not send administrative messages such as “remove me from the list” through 

the listserv. Instead, use the web interface to change your setting or remove 

yourself from a list. If you are changing email addresses, you do not need to remove 

yourself from the list and rejoin under your new email address. Simply change your 

settings. Should you have any questions, please smallbizsecurity@nist.gov.

• To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 

to smallbizsecurity@nist.gov.
Last Updated: 11/30/2023

• To change subscription settings: Visit groups.google.com and select the group 

you are in and then click on “my membership settings”.

• The listservs are principally for discussion related to NIST SMB Community of 

Interest sub-group related activities. Files should not be distributed on the listserv, 

rather they should be posted on the available collaboration site(s) and a link shared 

via listserv.