18.1. How to participate in Technical Committees (TCs) and Working Groups (WGs)?

ISO aims to bring together members from 167 different countries to develop voluntary, consensus-based, international standards while also contributing significantly to sustainable development (ISO, 2022a). NSBs can become ISO members and there can be only one member per country (ISO, 2022b). There are three member categories: full members, correspondent members, and subscriber members, and each category enjoys different benefits (ISO, 2022b). The Committee Manager deals with the administrative tasks of the committee and must remain neutral when dealing with members of the committee (ISO, 2020a). The Committee Chair deals with the managerial tasks and works with the Committee Manager (ISO, 2020b). The Liaison may be established between ISO committees, between ISO committees and IEC committees, and between ISO committees and external organizations (ISO, 2020c). The Liaison is responsible for maintaining the relationship between stakeholders, enabling their voices to be heard throughout standards development (ISO, 2020c). There are many resources created by the ISO Central Secretariat aimed at assisting Committee Managers, Committee Chairs, and Committee Liaisons. The WGs established by TCs, SCs, or PCs are managed by the Convenors who lead the WG towards achieving the goals for which the WG was originally established (ISO, 2019d). Convenors are appointed for three years and can be reappointed an unlimited number of times (ISO, 2019d). Only experts elected by the members who have become P-members (and category A liaisons) can become members of the WGs (ISO, 2019d). Members may choose to become O-members or P-members (ISO, 2022c).