The Standard · methodology

The result comes from three tests—not one score.

Safety gates, a minimum in every pillar and an overall maturity threshold must all be satisfied. The draft method is published so it can be examined before it is approved.

Mandatory gates

All applicable universal gates must pass. Diamond adds four higher-assurance gates.

Pillar floors

Every pillar reaches the minimum for the level. No strong pillar can erase a weak one.

Overall maturity

The mean of the five pillar outcomes reaches the provisional overall threshold.

How maturity is built

From an answer to an award decision

Self-report starts the record. Evidence and audit determine how much of that claim can be relied on.

1
Each formal question maps to exactly one indicator and one construct.
2
Each of the 20 indicators is rated on a 0–4 maturity scale: absent, stated, operational, systematic, embedded/verified.
3
The four indicator outcomes in a pillar are averaged into a pillar percentage.
4
The five pillars are equally weighted in draft v1.0; different weights need validation data.
5
Audit evidence may hold or lower a self-reported indicator outcome. It can never inflate it beyond what the evidence supports.
6
Routing controls “not applicable” by organisation type and context. The applicant cannot simply exclude an inconvenient indicator.

Provisional test values

Draft thresholds before standard-setting

These values make the system testable. They are not final cut scores and must not be represented as council-approved.

Level	Every pillar	Overall	Assurance depth
Bronze	≥ 25%	≥ 40%	Desk review + evidence sampling
Silver	≥ 40%	≥ 55%	Deeper review + staff interviews
Gold	≥ 55%	≥ 70%	Remote audit + adult-athlete interviews
Diamond	≥ 65%	≥ 80%	Hybrid/on-site audit + panel decision

Validation plan

Honest about what v1.0 can prove.

A mixed-expertise panel will review content and run a modified Angoff exercise. Friendly organisations will complete cognitive walkthroughs. The founding cohort will generate completion-time, item and consistency evidence for v1.1. Until then, the Standard is described as expert-set and content-validated—not psychometrically settled.

Explore all 20 indicators