Standards

The CIO Strategy Council (CIOSC) is a national not for profit corporation established July 2017 and
provides a forum for public and private sector members to:

• Transform, shape and influence the Canadian information and technology ecosystem;
• Interact, receive mutual support and engage in learning from their peers;
• Conduct research and disseminate reports on strategic topics relating to the Canadian information and technology ecosystem; and
• Provide a strategic approach to information and communication technology procurement in Canada.

 Free to play

• No fees to join CIOSC technical committees helping to shape the next generation of standards.
• Open access to CIOSC standards in the public interest or referenced in Canadian regulations at no cost.

Open by default

• Flexible participation model tailored to your needs.
• No committee size restrictions.
• Every Canadian has a vote.

Fully transparent

• Working drafts, committee drafts, etc. are available 24/7 throughout the entire project lifecycle for public input and feedback.
• Provide feedback on future work before any standards work starts.
• Comment on any standards project at any time, from anywhere.

CIOSC standards are developed using a globally-recognized formal, consistent, reliable standards development process providing legitimacy and credibility to industry and governments choosing to use them.

CIOSC standards are typically “voluntary” in that they are not enforced by government. However, failure to meet relevant voluntary standards could result in lawsuits or in the unwillingness of consumers, governments and retailers to either distribute, buy, or sell a product or service.

A CIOSC standard in some cases may be mandatory because of:

• CIO Strategy Council members committing to adopt and implement the standard in their public and private sector organizations to lead by example;
• the connection to the technical environment (i.e., if the product must be interoperable with
  other products);
• the standard being so widely accepted in the market that a deviation would not be accepted in
  the market (for example QWERTY standard for keyboards);
• the buyer specifying certain standards (i.e., in procurement);
• the customer requiring a certificate based on meeting certain standards; or
• the law encouraging or requiring the use of a standard by having incorporated it by reference in a regulation.

The Standards Policy Committee reports to the CIO Strategy Council’s Executive Director, governs the Council’s standardization policies, sets standardization priorities and is responsible for:

• Coordinating standards development activities by establishing, dissolving, and assigning responsibility to technical committees, approving new technical work, and handling complaints of a procedural nature, by meeting or through correspondence;
• Determining priorities, review cycles and the withdrawal of technical work; and
• Maintaining CIOSC standards policies, procedures and other rules for the technical work.

For non-members of the CIO Strategy Council, there is a fee to participate as a member of the CIOSC Standards Policy Committee.

CIOSC standards development activities involve the formation of technical committees established by the Standards Policy Committee, led by a committee chair, supported by a secretariat, and comprised of
subject matter experts.

Technical committees operate by consensus and provide an open forum offering:

• Equal access and participation by any interested party;
• Technical committees are not restricted in size and there is no fee to participate. See Why CIOSC standards?
• Respect for diverse interests and identification of those who should be provided access to provide the needed balance of interests; and
• A mechanism for dispute resolution.

Technical committees are responsible for:

• Developing and approving a standard or standards assigned to it, including requests to revise or amend existing standards;
• Interpreting the standard; and
• Reviewing standard(s) to ensure they are kept current.

CIOSC launched an online collaboration tool, the Central Collab, a #Slack application, available 24/7 and 365 days a year, providing an online platform for communication and collaboration. Through the Central Collab, each technical committee has a dedicated channel, providing an environment for technical committee participants to collaborate on setting standards through messaging, commenting, polling, document sharing, and more. Technical committees also meet using modern electronic means, e.g., screensharing, videoconferencing, teleconferencing) to carry out work. In-person meetings are convened only when it is necessary to discuss draft standards or other matters of substance which cannot be setttled by other means. To participate on a technical committee, contact the CIO Strategy Council.

The technical committee chair, appointed by the Standards Policy Committee, tests for consensus on draft standards by using any combination of the following:

• CIOSC’s online collaboration tools (e.g., polling);
• Through technical committee meetings by recorded vote; and/or
• By letter ballot.

Draft standards are considered approved when the technical committee achieves consensus. Consensus is achieved under the following conditions:

• More than 50 % of the technical committee participants cast votes in favour;
• A minimum of two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the technical committee are in favour;
• Not more than one-quarter of the total number of votes cast are negative;
• The technical committee has dispositioned a final call for comments, including comments
  received during a review by the public; and
• The technical committee has addressed negative votes and if accepted, the required adjustment(s) are made to the technical aspects of the draft standard. If not accepted, rationale is provided by the technical committee and the voter is informed of the decision.

Any stakeholder may propose new technical work and participate in any CIOSC standards development activity.

A proposal to develop a new standard, revise or withdraw an existing standard is directed to the CIOSC Standards Policy Committee for approval. The CIOSC Standards Policy Committee considers the need and interests prior to approval including considerations for language requirements, other similar standards work by other standard setting organizations. Upon its approval, the CIOSC Standards Policy Committee establishes or directs the technical work to a CIOSC technical committee. 

See CIOSC Standards Setting Directives by clicking here.