A Possible Approach for Evaluating AI Standards Development

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important across government, industry and society, organizations need better ways to assess whether AI standards achieve their intended goals. This NIST report presents a proposed framework for evaluating AI standards development using established impact evaluation methodologies. The report introduces a theory-of-change approach that examines inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and goals to measure how AI standards contribute to innovation, trustworthiness, interoperability and public confidence in AI systems. The framework is designed to support future discussions among standards organizations, policymakers, industry leaders and researchers seeking to understand the value and effectiveness of AI standards.