What Is the New Standards Committee?

The New Standards Committee, commonly known as NesCom, is a standing committee of the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) Standards Board responsible for reviewing and recommending action on Project Authorization Requests (PARs) submitted by standards developers seeking to initiate new or revised standards projects. NesCom serves as a critical gating function within the IEEE standards development lifecycle, ensuring that proposed work aligns with IEEE's organizational scope, involves appropriate stakeholder representation, and is assigned to the correct standards-developing entity before development resources are committed.

IEEE SA maintains one of the world's largest portfolios of active standards, spanning electrical engineering, electronics, power, telecommunications, computing, and related disciplines. The pathway to developing an IEEE standard begins with a PAR, a structured document that defines the scope, purpose, and technical domain of a proposed standard. NesCom's review is the first institutional checkpoint that proposed standards must pass.

Composition and Structure

NesCom comprises between 12 and 18 IEEE SA members appointed to the committee in accordance with the IEEE SA Standards Board Bylaws. The committee includes a Chair, two Vice Chairs, voting members drawn from the broader IEEE SA membership, and a staff administrator. Members bring diverse technical backgrounds to the committee, enabling cross-disciplinary evaluation of proposed standards projects that may span society boundaries or address emerging fields not yet well-represented within existing IEEE organizational units.

The committee meets at least six times per year, with a combination of in-person and virtual teleconference sessions. Between meetings, members review submitted PARs during a defined review period and conduct comment dialogue before formal deliberation.

The PAR Review Process

When an individual, working group, or standards committee submits a PAR through the IEEE SA standards development system, NesCom evaluates the proposal against several criteria. These include whether the proposed project falls within IEEE's scope and purpose, whether it duplicates existing IEEE or other standards body work, whether the designated society or standards committee is the appropriate organizational home, and whether the proposer can demonstrate that the relevant technical community will be represented in the development process.

NesCom members review submitted PARs, may request clarifications or modifications from proposers, and formulate recommendations for the IEEE SA Standards Board. The Standards Board retains final approval authority; NesCom's role is advisory and evaluative rather than dispositive. PARs that receive a favorable NesCom recommendation proceed to Standards Board consideration, after which approved projects are authorized for formal standards development.

Scope and Limitations of Review

NesCom evaluates process and scoping questions rather than technical merit. The committee does not assess whether the technical content of a proposed standard is correct or complete; that judgment belongs to the working group and its participants. Instead, NesCom focuses on whether the project is properly constituted, appropriately scoped, and positioned within the right part of the IEEE organizational structure. This separation of governance review from technical review reflects the IEEE SA's principle that standards quality depends on open, balanced participation in the technical working group itself.

Detailed guidance for PAR submitters, including formatting requirements and common reasons for NesCom comments, is available through the IEEE SA PAR submittal guidance resources.

Applications

The New Standards Committee's review process supports standards development across a wide range of contexts, including:

• New standards for emerging technology domains such as artificial intelligence and quantum systems
• Revision and reaffirmation of existing IEEE standards reaching scheduled review cycles
• Formation of new IEEE working groups in cross-disciplinary technology areas
• Coordination between IEEE SA and affiliated standards-developing organizations
• International standards harmonization initiatives originating within IEEE societies