FAQ

About SSIS and its contents

   What is the purpose of this database?
   Who can access this database?
   Can I share this database with federal government colleagues?
   Who can I reach out to with questions?
   Can I contribute to this database?
   How far back does the database content go?
   How is this database updated?
   Which SDOs are tracked in this database?
   How current are the work item records?
   Why are some work items tagged with a CET and designated as a U.S. area of interest and others not? 
   How current are the Technical Committee records?
   How current are the news records?
   Where do we get our news stories?
   Where do news summaries and “why does this matter” points come from?
   Why do some records not have a Why does it matter section?
   Some news items are marked “Op-ed” – what does this mean?

Tips for navigating the SSIS database

   How do I navigate back to the page I was on? There’s no Home button.
   I have trouble viewing most recent work items from newsletter links.
   Can I trust the security of URLs to foreign websites
   Why aren’t the country and sector tags hyperlinked?
   Can I bookmark or save specific articles to refer back to?

About SSIS and its contents

What is the purpose of this database?

• The Strategic Standards Information Service (SSIS) is housed in the Standards Coordination Office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
• SSIS manages and updates this database as part of its mission to deliver insight on global critical and emerging technology (CET) standards and to increase government activity in standardization where it is in the United States’ interest.
• The SSIS database provides a dynamic, searchable archive of work item proposals and news stories on standardization as well as tracks critical standards developing organizations (SDOs) and their committees. Data from this program is exportable.  
• SSIS routinely publishes newsletters and insights from this database. Subscribe to the newsletters via GovDelivery buttons on each newsletter page or send a request to [email protected].

Who can access this database?

• The SSIS database is restricted to U.S. government personnel only.  

Can I share this database with federal government colleagues?

• Yes! Please share this database with anyone in the federal government who may be interested. The URL to share is: https://ssis.nist.gov/
• Note that the SSIS database is only for use by U.S. government employees, using a Login.gov account with a PIV card for authentication.
• Before accessing the database, they must set up a Login.gov account using their government employee ID. If they already have a Login.gov account, they should follow these instructions to set up their PIV card on their existing account.
• For help with login.gov contact: https://www.login.gov/help/ 

Who can I reach out to with questions?

• The SSIS program at the NIST Standards Coordination Office is eager to collaborate with U.S. government agency partners. If you have content to share, questions or feedback about this database, please contact us at [email protected]. 

Can I contribute to this database?

• If you have content to share, for example hot news, or suggestions for SDOs, newsletters, or websites to include in our monitoring, please email [email protected].
• This database is on an online, read-only site. You can extract but not upload data yourself. 

How far back does the database content go?

• This database contains news and work item content that has been distributed via the China Standardization News and Activities, U.S. and International Standardization News and Activities, and the International Standards Alert since 2024. For older editions of these newsletters, please contact [email protected]. 

How is this database updated?

• This database is updated by the SSIS program staff in the Standards Coordination Office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) routinely. This database is not comprehensive and there may be missing data. 

Which SDOs are tracked in this database?

• Currently, this database tracks work items from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)/International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Joint Technical Committees (JTCs), and select entries from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T.) The SSIS program plans to expand content to improve collection of ITU data, and potentially other SDOs. 

How current are the work item records?

• Work items are pulled from ISO and IEC weekly, based on the Newsletter focus that week (China or U.S. and International.)
• ITU records are pulled and included in the newsletter and database after the Study Group has concluded its meeting and posted its work items.
• Work items records contain additional critical data such as country secretariat and chair, country project leader/initiator, and associated Technical Committee.
• Work item records are currently scanning for newly proposed work items only. At this time, the database does not track the full life cycle of the work item, e.g. if it gets published or withdrawn.

Why are some work items tagged with a CET and designated as a U.S. area of interest and others not? 

• All work items identified each week are loaded into the database. Select work items are tagged with US area of interest and assigned CET sectors tags.
• All work items, regardless of tagging, are available in the database and can be discovered using keyword searching. 

How current are the Technical Committee records?

• Technical Committees were loaded initially and select committees and subcommittees are tagged as “Critical Committees”.
• Quarterly, the Committees will be updated with new Committees/Subcommittees and any disbanded will be marked inactive. 

How current are the news records?

• News records are identified as they are published and uploaded weekly to create each week’s newsletter or Alert. 

Where do we get our news stories?

• The SSIS program staff stays updated on standardization news by monitoring key sources. These include newsletters from SDOs, keyword searches via Google and LexisNexis, and automated tools that track updates on relevant websites. The following is a list of some of the sources we monitor; the list is representative and not all inclusive.
  
  • 3GPP Alerts
  • ANSI China Newsletter
  • ANSI Standards Action
  • ANSI What’s New
  • Asia Society Policy Institute
  • Association française de normalisation
  • ASTM Smart Brief
  • Atlantic Council
  • British Standards Institute
  • Carnegie Endowment
  • China Academy of Information and Communications Technology
  • China Briefing
  • China Central Television
  • China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
  • China Ministry of Science and Technology
  • China People's Daily News
  • China State Administration for Market Regulation
  • Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione Newsletter
  • Euractiv news
  • Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (GOST R)
  • Hinrich Foundation
  • IEEE SA Newsletter
  • IETF Tracker
  • INEMI Newsletter
  • International Trading Center for Electronic Components and Integrated Circuits
  • ISO Newsletter and Magazine
  • Japanese Industrial Standards Committee
  • Korean Agency for Technology and Standards
  • Mayer Brown Newsletter
  • National Technical Committee 260 on Cybersecurity Standardization Administration of China
  • NEMA Newsletter
  • Pacific Area Standards Congress
  • Science and Technology Daily
  • Seconded European Standardization Expert in India (SESEI)
  • Seconded European Standardization Expert in China
  • Standardization Administration of China
  • Standards Australia
  • Standards Council of Canada
• This information is not exhaustive and focuses on activities where U.S. government agencies may want to influence standards in support of their mission. If you have content to be included, please email newsletter submissions to [email protected].

Where do news summaries and “why does this matter” points come from?

• News items (both article summaries and “why does this matter” analyses) in this database are produced by the SSIS program staff in the Standards Coordination Office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The process of selecting news to include and summarize specific news stories is subjective.
• This information is not exhaustive and focuses on activities where U.S. government agencies may want to influence standards in support of their mission. If you have content to be included, please email newsletter submissions to [email protected].
• Some news items were produced with the assistance of Gemini, Google's AI assistant. Gemini was used to summarize information relevant to standards contained in the articles. All content has been reviewed and verified by the newsletter editor to ensure accuracy.

Why do some records not have a Why does it matter section?

• Records for Recently Published, New Standards of Notes, and Upcoming Events do not have a Why does it matter. These records are for informational purposes only and no further insights are provided. 

Some news items are marked “Op-ed” – what does this mean?

• News items with “Op-ed” preceding the title contain opinions. Content may not reflect U.S. government priorities and is provided for awareness.

Tips for navigating the SSIS database

How do I navigate back to the page I was on? There’s no Home button.

• Use the back and forward arrows on your web browser to navigate back and forth between pages you’ve visited.
• Click on the blue Strategic Standards Information Service (SSIS) Database banner at the top of each page to return to the database home page.
• Click on the black NIST banner at the top of each page to navigate to the National Institute of Standards and Technology home page (leave the SSIS database).

I have trouble viewing most recent work items from newsletter links.

• Click the link from the email, log into the database using your PIV card, and scroll down to view the most recent ISO or IEC work items. The links filter automatically for U.S. presence and SDO.
• Note that you can also apply the same (or any) filters to search work items on your own.

Can I trust the security of URLs to foreign websites

• URLs are provided to the original source of news items in the database. The SSIS database is housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NIST’s security protocols are followed.
• In addition, all URLs in the database have been accessed by SSIS program staff from devices on the NIST network and the sites are not blocked at NIST. If suspicious links or page errors are encountered, the news will not be included. 

Why aren’t the country and sector tags hyperlinked?

• You can search on country, sector tags, and other facets using the search function for both news and work items.

Can I bookmark or save specific articles to refer back to?

• You cannot bookmark items within the SSIS database, however you can bookmark database pages in your web browser to access later (tested with Chrome).