History
On June 22, 1960, at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in Boulder, Colorado, Harvey Lance presented a paper titled “The Nation’s Electronic Standards Program: Where Do We Stand?” suggesting the need for an organization of standards laboratories to promote cooperative efforts for solving the common problems faced by measurement and testing laboratories. The next morning a committee was formed to “investigate the possible organization, scope, and objectives appropriate for an organization of standards laboratories”. September 15, 1961, the National Conference of Standards Laboratories (NCSL) was formally established with NBS as its sponsor. Primarily due to the growth and acquired ability of NCSL to run its own affairs, NBS (currently known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST) ended its sponsorship role in July 1986. The two agencies maintain a close and collaborative relationship.
During the 1960s and early 1970s the Cold War climate caused a dilemma for NCSL which included many US aerospace and military facilities amongst its membership. There was concern over complying with US State Department regulations relating to technology transfer and discussion while allowing non-US entities to participate. NCSL considered national security a serious enough issue to warrant US-only membership. In 1974, however, the board of directors decided the substantial advantages of an open international membership outweighed the security considerations and NCSL enrollment was opened to non-US organizations. In 1975, Graham Cameron from the Canadian Department of National Defence became the first non-US delegate to serve on the board. In 1976 the first International Region was established. By 1996 non-US organizations comprised roughly 15% of the total membership. In the year 2000, NCSL began the process of formally changing its name to NCSL International to better represent its membership.
Read more about this topic: NCSL International
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