Bermuda National Standards Committee

Did You Know?

The Bermuda National standards Committee (BNSC) is a local body that has published a set of internationally recognized standards for the accreditation of human service organizations and another set for the certification of Bermuda charities.

Both BNSC accreditation and certification are completely voluntary and were created because Bermuda charities and human service groups were being asked to demonstrate accreditation by their funders and other stakeholders but no locally recognized model was available for use.

Accreditation

• Bermuda was the first country to formally replicate the US Council on Accreditation (COA) model of accreditation standards and review process in 2005. Many other countries began pursuing this replication following the precedent set by the BNSC.
• The BNSC Board make up is part of the replication of COA and was intentionally constructed to include private funders, Government funders, policy makers, Government charity oversight, and public charity representatives. 
• The BNSC uses international peer reviewers trained by the US Council on Accreditation to validate the compliance of Bermuda organizations applying for BNSC accreditation to demonstrate that the process is removed from any perception of local bias.
• The standards adopted by BNSC provide for accreditation of a wide range of service groups and are comprehensive in detail.
• BNSC accreditation is far less expensive than pursuing accreditation through an international entity.
• Five Bermuda human service organizations achieved internationally recognized accreditation through the BNSC in 2006 and 2007. Two more human service organizations are fully engaged in the process for 2008.

Visit the Knowledge Centre for more information on Accreditation

Certification

• International accreditation standards exist for human service organizations providing specific Intervention and Prevention services but cannot be generalized to all charitable organizations.
• The BNSC created a set of best practice standards for Bermuda charities that are not eligible for accreditation but would like a process that allows them to demonstrate a high standard of practice which exceeds the basic requirements for charities.
• Two charities achieved organizational certification through the BNSC pilot certification process in 2007. Three additional charities are fully engaged in the pilot BNSC certification process for 2008.

Visit the Knowledge Centre for more information on Certification