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OSAC Subcommittee Terms of Reference

Date of Issue: November 3, 2021 / Version 2.4 / Issuing Authority: Forensic Science Standards Board

Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC)

for Forensic Science

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEES

This document describes the framework for Subcommittees (SCs) and outlines the authority, 

composition, terms of office, tasks, and practical rules regarding all subcommittees. In addition 

to these Terms of Reference (ToR), the subcommittees shall adhere to the OSAC Charter and 

Bylaws and the OSAC Code of Responsibility.

1. Purpose

Subcommittees adopt, coordinate, and develop draft standards that have sound technical merit 

and conform to a reasonable standards development process. Subcommittees shall bring

together subject matter experts for specific disciplines to review, catalyze, and propose 

discipline-specific standards. Subcommittees may recommend documents for the OSAC 

Registry.

2. Roles and Responsibilities 

SC responsibilities include:

● drafting proposed discipline-specific standards that have sound technical merit and meet 

a reasonable standards development process,

● reviewing and revising existing standards,

● identifying gaps in existing standards and best practices in the subcommittee’s 

discipline,

● communicating activities, accomplishments, issues, and progress to its SAC,

● managing subcommittee task groups to accomplish objectives of the subcommittee,

● supporting the work of other subcommittees by providing advice and assistance in the 

development of their standards,

● providing advice on the creation, merger or abolishment of subcommittees to the FSSB; 

and,

● other tasks such as writing standardization roadmaps, definitions of terms, statements of 

research needs, and process maps.

2.1 Task Groups

The chair of a subcommittee may establish task groups for the subcommittee. Such task 

groups may be chaired by a subcommittee member, an OSAC member or an OSAC affiliate 

appointed by the subcommittee chair. If not chaired by a subcommittee member, the task 

group shall include a subcommittee liaison.
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OSAC Subcommittee Terms of Reference

Date of Issue: November 3, 2021 / Version 2.4 / Issuing Authority: Forensic Science Standards Board

3. Membership 

When one or more positions become open on the subcommittee:

● The SAC shall be provided with the number of open positions to be filled in the impacted 

OSAC Subcommittee and shall be provided guidance from the OSAC Subcommittee 

Chair on specific applicants’ attributes that may be needed to fulfill OSAC requirements 

for skills, experience, and balanced representation.

● The impacted OSAC Subcommittee 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 Subcommittee Chair determines that a solicitation for interested 

applicants is needed, a public announcement can be made.

Members shall be appointed with the approval of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the SAC. 

Each subcommittee shall have members with expertise in:

● human factors,

● law,

● quality assurance; and,

● statistics.

Each subcommittee shall have a member(s), affiliate(s), or designee(s) identified as a standards 

developing organization (SDO) liaison between the subcommittee and the SDO’s consensus 

body or subcommittee. Responsibilities are:

1. Monitoring the status of documents in development in the SDO,

2. Serving as the point of contact, coordinating activities and communication between the 

subcommittee and the SDO.

The target distribution of membership is as follows:

● Maximum 70 percent practitioners

o 20 percent federal practitioners

o 30 percent state and local practitioners

o 20 percent civil and other practitioners

● Minimum 30 percent researchers, research and development technology partners, 

educators, accreditation and certification specialists, quality specialists, human factors 

professionals, members of the legal community, and non-practitioner scientists 

(including statisticians and measurement scientists).

4. Organizational Authority

A subcommittee shall oversee and coordinate its task groups.

5. Operation

5.1 Executive Officers

The Executive Officers of a subcommittee are the chair, vice chair, and executive 

secretary.

● The chair shall manage the activities of the subcommittee. This duty includes 

approving meeting agendas, presiding over meetings, inviting guests to meetings, 

acting as a spokesperson for the subcommittee, preparing and presenting 
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OSAC Subcommittee Terms of Reference

Date of Issue: November 3, 2021 / Version 2.4 / Issuing Authority: Forensic Science Standards Board

subcommittee activities at OSAC meetings, and disseminating draft documents and 

other work products within the OSAC.

● The vice chair shall assume the chair’s role in the absence of the chair and manage 

all of its task group activities.

● The executive secretary shall be responsible for recording meeting participation, 

assisting with the development and distribution of meeting agendas, preparing 

minutes, and distributing documents.

5.2 Terms of Office

5.2.1 Subcommittee Members

● Members serve terms that last no more than three years commencing at 

the beginning of the federal fiscal year.

● SC members who resign or are unable to complete their terms may be 

replaced in accordance with the OSAC Charter and Bylaws and OSAC 

Nominations Procedure. 

● The term of a member appointed to fill a vacancy created by the 

departure of a member shall commence when the replacement is made 

and conclude at the end of two more fiscal years.

● A member may be removed for insufficient participation or for other good 

cause as specified in the OSAC Charter and Bylaws. Such removal 

requires a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the FSSB.

5.2.2 Officers

● The FSSB shall appoint the subcommittee chair.

● The members of the subcommittee shall elect the vice chair and 

executive secretary by majority vote of the subcommittee’s total 

membership prior to the end of the existing term.

● The terms of subcommittee officers shall be a fixed term of three (3) 

years.

● A member may hold only one officer position at a time.

● If the chair resigns, becomes incapacitated, or is removed from office, the 

vice chair shall assume the title and duties of the chair until the FSSB 

appoints a new chair.

5.3 Subcommittee Meetings

5.3.1 Frequency

● The subcommittee meets at least quarterly.

● Meetings may be called by the chair with at least 48 hours’ notice.

5.3.2 Venue

● Each subcommittee may meet in-person or virtually.

● NIST shall approve the venue for any in-person meetings.

● Meetings shall be closed to the public.
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OSAC Subcommittee Terms of Reference

Date of Issue: November 3, 2021 / Version 2.4 / Issuing Authority: Forensic Science Standards Board

5.3.3 Participation

● Members shall participate in accordance with the OSAC Unit Participation 

Requirements.

● Members shall attend as many meetings as possible.

● The chair may invite guests to attend meetings. Guest invitations for inperson meetings require approval from the OSAC Program Office.

● Active, healthy debate is encouraged. OSAC processes and voting 

requirements support a consensus decision where different perspectives 

are provided an opportunity to be heard and dissenting opinions are 

recorded but the process moves forward after the required level of 

support is achieved.

5.3.4 Manner of Acting

● Meetings may be conducted without following formal rules of procedure; 

however, if a member objects to a procedure or the chair deems it 

appropriate, the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall be 

followed.

5.3.5 Agendas 

● Agenda items may be suggested by the FSSB chair, SAC chairs, 

subcommittee chair and members, and FSSB resource task group chairs.

● The executive secretary shall ensure the meeting agenda is distributed at 

least 24 hours prior to the start of each meeting.

5.3.6 Minutes

● The executive secretary (or designee) shall take the minutes of each 

meeting and distribute them for approval by the subcommittee prior to the 

next meeting.

● The approved minutes shall be made available to the SAC within ten days 

of approval.

6. Voting

● Two-thirds (2/3) of a subcommittee’s membership constitutes a quorum. A quorum is 

required to conduct business in which a vote is required.

● Each member shall have one vote.

● Subcommittee members who will not be present at a meeting may notify a subcommittee

officer of their votes in advance of the meeting or may designate proxies.

● Proxy voting contributes to the voting quorum.

● Unless otherwise specified in the OSAC Charter and Bylaws or these Terms of 

Reference, a simple majority vote of the membership is required to pass a motion.

● A two-thirds (2/3) majority of the membership is required to forward a standard for 

consideration.

● Votes may take place during subcommittee meetings or via an electronic poll.

7. Representation and Communication
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OSAC Subcommittee Terms of Reference

Date of Issue: November 3, 2021 / Version 2.4 / Issuing Authority: Forensic Science Standards Board

● The subcommittee chair, or designee, may be invited to represent OSAC at the request 

of NIST.

● A subcommittee member has no authority to make official representations about OSAC 

positions without the specific prior, written approval of NIST.

8. Amendments

These Terms of Reference may be amended in writing upon a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the 

FSSB.