Submitting a Project Request

Submitting a Project Request

The first step in beginning a standards development project, whether an individual or entity/corporate activity, in the IEEE SA is the submittal of the Project Authorization Request (PAR). A PAR is a legal document and the means by which a working group assigns copyright to and indemnification from IEEE. Every PAR that is submitted must have a Standards Committee to oversee the project. A PAR is a document that states the reason for the project and what it intends to do.

Upon submission, each PAR is placed on an upcoming New Standards Committee (NesCom) agenda pending Standards Committee approval. Approximately one month prior to the NesCom meeting, NesCom members will begin their review of the PARs and submit any comments or concerns they may have into myProject. The PAR submitter and Working Group chair will receive notification of such comments and directions on how to respond to these comments in the myProject system.

NesCom meets regularly throughout the year to review and consider all PARs submitted. They then provide their recommendations to the IEEE SA Standards Board. NesCom has PAR submittal deadlines.

Officially, a standards project does not exist until a PAR is approved. However, often the members of a potential working group will have gathered to work on the PAR and to gain the support of their potential Standards Committee. This type of gathering, known as a study group, can exist for up to six months before a PAR needs to be submitted. (Of course, new PARs can be developed by existing working groups as additional projects as well.)

The PAR’s date of approval also starts the clock running on the standards project. Officially, a standard cannot take longer than four years to complete. After this, the Standards Committee has to request an extension of time to finalize the project; NesCom decides whether or not to approve that extension.