TY - JOUR
T1 - Dynamics of the room
T2 - expert wrangling in the process of standard formation
AU - Hayes, Jan
AU - Maslen, Sarah
N1 - Funding Information:
Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. This work was funded by the Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre, supported through the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. The cash and in-kind support from the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association Research and Standards Committee is gratefully acknowledged.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
Funding Information:
Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. This work was funded by the Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre, supported through the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. The cash and in-kind support from the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association Research and Standards Committee is gratefully acknowledged.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2024/6
Y1 - 2024/6
N2 - This paper examines the dynamics of expert collaboration in industry standard development. The use of expert committees in the development of standards is common practice, and yet the operation of such groups tends to be a “black box.” Based on participant observation and interviews with committee participants, we examine the group dynamics within the subcommittee involved in a major update to one part of the Australian Standard for pipeline engineering, and the skills required of the Chair to obtain the best outcome. We address how the expert group is built, how the Chair leads them to a negotiated outcome, and how the Standard becomes socialized into the public domain. Agreement comes slowly, with some picking their battles, but many others repeatedly putting forward their views. The Chair exhibits three types of expertise (contributory, interactional, decision-making) which together are critical to resolving debates and, in effect, agreeing on the collective wisdom of the group.
AB - This paper examines the dynamics of expert collaboration in industry standard development. The use of expert committees in the development of standards is common practice, and yet the operation of such groups tends to be a “black box.” Based on participant observation and interviews with committee participants, we examine the group dynamics within the subcommittee involved in a major update to one part of the Australian Standard for pipeline engineering, and the skills required of the Chair to obtain the best outcome. We address how the expert group is built, how the Chair leads them to a negotiated outcome, and how the Standard becomes socialized into the public domain. Agreement comes slowly, with some picking their battles, but many others repeatedly putting forward their views. The Chair exhibits three types of expertise (contributory, interactional, decision-making) which together are critical to resolving debates and, in effect, agreeing on the collective wisdom of the group.
KW - Engineering standards
KW - Expert groups
KW - Expertise
KW - Group leadership
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174929837&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10669-023-09945-8
DO - 10.1007/s10669-023-09945-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85174929837
SN - 2194-5403
VL - 44
SP - 456
EP - 469
JO - Environment Systems and Decisions
JF - Environment Systems and Decisions
IS - 2
ER -