membership

On October 22nd 1993, the independent investigation boards of the United States, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands combined to form the International Transportation Safety Association (ITSA) at Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

Criteria and procedures for membership application

1. The overriding criterion for membership of ITSA is the independence from national regulatory bodies. A candidate agency that does not enjoy the independence from such agencies is not allowed membership under any circumstances.

2. In addition, criteria for membership are:

• a multimodal focus and a mandate to investigate one or more modalities. Being a single mode agency is not a criterion for rejection purely on that criterion alone. Single mode organizations however, should not exceed 30% of total membership
• adherence to one level of membership. Since the value of membership predominantly depends on the issue of independence, the items for discussion in ITSA should be open to all members attending the meetings.
• In order to ensure an open and inclusive nature of the organisation, while maintaining a focus on exchanging information and sharing of experiences, members should be willing to build upon the independent, multimodal experience.

Agencies with organizational independence should have the following characteristics:

• a safety investigation mandate that takes precedence over the investigative mandate of other agencies or departments within the transportation regulatory structure;
• well defined business processes that support the independent investigation mandate and that are enabled by legislation;
• an organizational structure that is separate and permanent, operating at a distance from potential forms of suasion such as political influence in activities and operational priorities;
• staffed by trained, professional investigators whose universally recognized task is the conduct of independent safety investigations;
• the authority to publish safety information, including reports and recommendations, that does not require approval from authorities external to the agency and that is made available directly to the public;
• a permanent resource base adequate to enable credible, systemic, no-blame investigation;
• a mechanism by which the business of the agency is reported directly to the legislative authority;
• no accountability for approving or warranting components of the transportation system as safe for use; and
• a legislated distance from the business of the courts and other civil administrative processes.

A Membership Committee is established in order to ensure rigour and transparency in the consideration of new members.