The FIA Institute has recently published and distributed guidelines to help national sporting associations (ASNs) understand the requirements to become accredited for the Officials Safety Training Programme.

This programme is one of three being funded by the Motor Sport Safety Development Fund (the Fund) and managed by the FIA Institute. The primary goal of the enhanced Officials Safety Training Programme is to actively facilitate the increase in competency levels of officials from around the world.

The accreditation process is one element of a multi-tiered strategy for this programme, which will be underpinned by significant financial support from the Fund. The annual allocation planned for the Officials Programme is approximately €2.4 million, which will be spread equally between five geographical zones – this will be used to support initiatives both within and between ASNs.

Those ASNs who align to the Programme’s Best Practice Framework will have the opportunity to become accredited at one of three benchmark levels: gold, silver or bronze. Quentin Crombie, the FIA Institute’s head of educational and excellence programmes, said: “The various benchmark criteria represent a range of standards, with the bronze level indicating a minimum standard, the silver representing good practice, and the gold indicating what the FIA Institute currently considers to be best practice. Each level of accreditation will be valid for two years, and of course, as best practice principles evolve over time, so will the benchmark criteria.”

The FIA Institute will also be encouraging the development of several regional training providers within each of five broad geographical zones. In order for an ASN to be recognised by the FIA Institute as a regional training provider, an ASN will need to be accredited at the gold level. These providers will take on a leading role to train those ASNs who require external assistance with the development of their officials, ultimately helping to raise the standards of officiating across any given region.

ASNs who are acting as regional training providers will be listed on the FIA Institute’s website and in FIA Institute publications. ASNs that apply to the Fund, and are seeking external expertise to improve or develop their programmes, will be required to engage one of the recognised regional training providers. As part of this process the ASN seeking external expertise will need to collaborate with the regional training provider of its choice in preparing an annual grant request to the Fund.

To achieve a bronze, silver or gold accreditation, the ASN will begin by completing an application enabling the FIA Institute to determine whether the ASN meets the criteria for a given level. In some cases, direct liaison or a visit to the club’s facilities may follow.

Crombie said: “Consistent with the best practice framework, the accreditation benchmark criteria are split between the two key areas: competency development and programme structure. Under both areas, a total of 36 best practice principles will be assessed with varying requirements for each, under the gold, silver and bronze standards.”

The first of these best practice principles requires that all training be competency based. In this instance, the benchmark criteria for all three levels, gold, silver and bronze are the same and require that training activities be focused on building core competencies which are directly linked to the role of the official. This is to ensure that training focuses on building both skills and knowledge, rather than one or the other, and that it covers all areas relevant to an official’s role. The rationale is that this will help to ensure the official is then able to perform all activities relevant to their position at a motor sport event.

However, the majority of best practice principles will have varied benchmark criteria according to each of the three levels. For example, the best practice principles relating to which officials receive training requires that at all three levels, all new officials receive training prior to officiating, but in order to achieve a gold or silver rating, experienced officials must also receive training prior to upgrading to a more senior level. Furthermore, a gold-level accredited ASN would need to train their trainers and assessors.

There are also instances where there are no benchmark criteria requirements for certain best practice principles at the lower accreditation levels. For example, one of the best practice principles states that an ASN’s training courses be accredited by an independent and appropriately qualified third party – for bronze and silver-level ASNs, this is not required. Similarly, in relation to the best practice principle which states that a succession planning programme be available, gold-level ASNs must have a structured programme, silver-level need only have an informal programme, and for bronze-level it is not required.

Crombie said: “In some cases, not all of these criteria relating to the 36 best practice principles will apply, as an ASN’s unique sporting environment may require a degree of variation – in cases where this is legitimately the case, a benchmark exemption may be granted.”

Any ASN seeking accreditation will need to be an existing member of the FIA Institute and pay an accreditation fee. All ASNs that achieve a level of accreditation will be recognised as having done so on the FIA Institute’s website and in FIA Institute publications and will have access to a range of branding benefits including the use of exclusive accreditation logos.

In the long term, it will be recommended that ASNs who wish to conduct FIA sanctioned events will be required to be accredited against the best practice framework. Furthermore, the annual funding application process for ASNs who are already accredited will be significantly streamlined.

Applications for accreditation will open at the end of June. For full details on the accreditation requirements, including the benchmark criteria and application form, contact Quentin Crombie at qcrombie@fiainstitute.com.