Third-Party Inspections and Certification

The Committee on Collaborative Governance will consider ways that agencies have used third parties to conduct inspections, verify compliance with regulatory requirements, or meet other standards.  The research will identify and survey existing federal programs that use third-party inspections and certification (sometimes known as “third-party verification”) funded by non-federal sources and identify possible recommendations for best practices.

Project Background

Agencies in diverse areas of regulation are using or contemplating the use of private third parties to carry out inspections and verify that regulated entities are in conformity with standards and other requirements.  Moreover, Congress appears enthusiastic about third-party verification, having mandated or authorized its use in recent legislation. For example, see Title III of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (Pub. L 111-353).  Some agencies have used private inspectors to control quality, verify procurement preferences, and – to a very limited degree – enforce safety or economic regulations.

Committee Meetings

The first meeting of the Committee on Collaborative Governance to discuss the Third Party Inspections and Certification project will occur on Thursday, September 20 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at ACUS’s Washington, DC office (1120 20th Street, NW; Suite 706 South).  The second meeting will occur on Monday, October 15 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at ACUS’s DC office.  If you would like copies of documents to be considered at the upcoming meetings, please contact Research Director Gretchen Jacobs at gjacobs@acus.gov.

How to RSVP for Committee Meetings

If you would like to attend a committee meeting in person, please RSVP to Comments@acus.gov.  The meetings will also be webcast live, and the videos will be archived for later viewing.  Please consult our Public Meeting Policies and Procedures, available for download above, for more information.

How to Submit Comments

You can send comments on this project by emailing Comments@acus.gov with “Committee on Collaborative Governance” in the subject line, or by postal mail to Committee on Collaborative Governance, Administrative Conference of the United States, 1120 20th Street, NW, Suite 706 South, Washington, DC 20036.  Comments must be received prior to the committee meeting to be guaranteed consideration by the committee at the meeting. Download or view Conference’s public comment policy.

Contact

Consultant
Lesley K. McAllister
Professor of Law
University of San Diego School of Law

David Pritzker
Staff Counsel
dpritzker@acus.gov