NARAST Impartiality Policy – 2020-13-03

NARAST top management ensures that NARAST is operated in a manner to safeguard objectivity and impartiality in delivering accreditation services in a non-discriminatory manner.

NARAST policies and procedures shall be non-discriminatory and administered in a nondiscriminatory manner. Subject to limitations in this document, NARAST shall make its services available to all applicants whose application for accreditation meets NARAST publicly available criteria for accreditation offered by NARAST. Accreditation shall not be conditional upon membership of any association or group. Accreditation services may be restricted without discrimination where there is an unacceptable risk to NARAST. Such risks include but are not limited to evidence of fraudulent behavior, concealment of information, or providing false information in an application or in an assessment process.

All NARAST personnel, contractors, and volunteers involved in the delivery of accreditation services: A. Shall act objectively and be free from any undue commercial, financial or other pressures that could compromise impartiality, and B. Are under a continual obligation to disclose potential conflicts of interest.

NARAST shall not offer or provide any service that impacts its impartiality. NARAST does not provide consultancy, conformity assessment services provided by NARAST -accredited entities, or any other services that pose a risk to impartiality. NARAST shall not suggest that accreditation would be simpler, easier, faster, or less expensive if any specified person or consultancy was used.

Accreditation decisions shall be made by persons other than those who conducted the assessment.

NARAST monitors conformance to this Impartiality Policy through administration of its management system, including its process for managing risks.