How can an NPM’s Internal rules be developed and adopted?

Internal rules are usually developed by the NPM itself. For NPMs that are part of broader institutions, the internal rules may be a subsection of the broader institutional rules or a separate document. In the latter case, they should nevertheless be developed in consultation with the relevant departments of the broader institution, and be coherent with any wider institutional rules.

NPMs will usually need to begin developing their internal rules and procedures in the first year of operation, although they may not wish to rush into a formally adopted set of rules before they have had an opportunity to put them into practice and make changes based on what works.

Among different NPMs, there are a range of practices relating to the level of formality of their internal rules. In some cases, the law stipulates that the NPM has to establish its internal rules. In other countries, it is also required that internal rules are adopted in some formal way by the institution. For other NPMs, they are less formal documents that evolve over time in response to different needs and changing practices.

There are also a variety of practices relating to publication. In some places, the internal rules are a public document, published in the official gazette or the NPM website. In others they are kept for internal use only.