Dear Sir / Madam,

BSI are currently working with the Cabinet Office to create a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) to provide guidance on the principles and framework of crisis management which will assist an organization in the development and implementation of a crisis management capability. I am writing to invite you to join the review panel for the project, PAS 200 Crisis Management – Guidance and good practice.

As you may not be aware of the PAS format and process, I shall explain more about what is involved. The PAS was created as a fast-track process of standardization suitable for creating best practice and recommendations documents for industry, especially in fast-moving technologies where developing a British Standard might take too long. The process we follow when creating a PAS is based on that used to create a full British Standard; the main difference is that we do not require full consensus on technical content from all stakeholders, as we are guided by the technical expertise of the sponsor.

The draft document goes through two peer reviews during its creation; the first was by the Steering Group, a core group of experts who have a strong say in its content and structure. This second review is by the Review Panel where stakeholders from a much wider area, representing every group who might be impacted by the PAS or its implementation are invited to comment on the draft, and this is where we would like your input.

To comment on the draft please go to http://drafts.bsigroup.com/ and register online.  Once you have registered please go to http://drafts.bsigroup.com/Document and click on PAS 200.  The closing date for consultation is the 16th April 2010. 

The comments from all Review Panel members are collated and presented to the Steering Group, who meet to resolve them and decide which are to be incorporated.

Your input is seen as particularly important for the development of this PAS. I hope you will be interested in taking up this opportunity to join our review panel.

If you would like any further information on the PAS process or this project in particular, please don't hesitate to contact me by email or on the phone number below.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Tara West

Consultancy Team Manager

Standards Solutions