The process of developing a new standard or guideline is triggered whenever a Consortium member submits a request to develop a standard or guideline to the International Scientific Advisory Committee for review (via amy@variome.org). The International Scientific Advisory Committee receives the request through the International Coordinating Office and refers it to the appropriate Sponsoring Council for review.
Once the Sponsoring Council determines that the request should be granted, it instructs the International Coordinating Office to work with the requesting Consortium Member to recruit a volunteer Working Group to develop the draft standard. Working Group members can be any individual who has the necessary expertise or experience to make a substantial contribution to the draft standard. They do not need to be a member of the Human Variome Project Consortium, although this is encouraged. Terms of reference for each Working Group are established by the Sponsoring Council.
Working Groups are free to set their own organisation and meeting structure, but must regularly report their progress to the Sponsoring Council. The role of the Working Group is to achieve consensus on the content of the required standard or guideline and to develop the exposure draft that can be released for comment to the Consortium membership. This process may involve the authoring of multiple versions of the draft standard.
The exposure draft undergoes a period of public comment during which members of the Human Variome Project Consortium can voice their opinions on the content of the draft standard. All comments are referred back to the Working Group who must incorporate them in the final draft standard.
Once consensus amongst the Working Group has been achieved on the final draft standard, the Working Group Chair forwards it to the Sponsoring Council for consideration. The Sponsoring Council votes on thefinal draft standard and, when approved, recommends publication of the standard or guideline to the International Scientific Advisory Committee. The International Scientific Advisory Committee then decides to publish the standard or guideline, or refer it back to the Sponsoring Council for further refinement.
