What are “Recommended” surveys?

To accurately reflect real-world practices, procedures, and outcomes of a standards system, improvement program, or branded fiber, organizations must complete the self-assessment using only the mandatory practices from official program documentation.

After the mandatory-based assessment is completed, programs may choose to expand their evaluation by incorporating recommended or continuous improvement criteria. While these additional criteria may not always be fully implemented in practice, they represent aspirational goals outlined in program documentation.

This two-step approach allows for both:

• A baseline assessment based strictly on mandatory compliance, and
• An understanding of the potential impact of more ambitious, non-mandatory program elements.