Steps To Certification

Gather Information

  • Visit the CASRO ISO Page for implementation tools and educational content.
  • Visit the CIRQ website for the step-by-step certification process.

Purchase the Standard(s) from ANSI

  • ISO 20252 International Standard for Market, Opinion and Social Research: $149
  • ISO 26362:2009 Access Panels in Market, Opinion and Social Research: $93

Understand the Standard(s)

  • Read the standard(s) and using four colored highlighters, look for the following words and highlight them in different colors:
    • "shall" means you must do this - this is a requirement of the standard
    • "procedure" tells  you what documented procedures you need to have in place
    • "record" means you need to be able to show a record (i.e. evidence) of performing this task or function
    • "document" means the event, occurrence or process must be written down (i.e. documented).
Completing this task will help provide an understanding of the standard's requirements

Establish Staff Support

  • Appoint a Quality Manager or Team (Note: Quality Manager is usually NOT a full time position)
  • Garner top-level support (CEO)

Determine Scope of Certification

  • A description of the total services you provide to a client
  • The geographic area of those services
  • Any exclusions that may apply

Request Quote

  • Submit a "Request For Quote".
  • A cost estimate will be generated from this information and provided to you.
  • If you are ready to proceed, you then complete a brief "Authorization to Proceed" form.

Self-Assessment

  • Client receives self-assessment from CIRQ
  • Client completes CIRQ self-assessment form indicating compliance with each applicable section of the ISO 20252 and/or 26362

Pre-Assessment

  • CIRQ evaluates client self-assessment against the components of the standard(s) and prepares a pre-assessment report that indicates the client's readiness to be audited

Audit Plan

  • CIRQ and client communicate regarding the schedule of the initial onsite audit, sites to visit, fees, etc.

Onsite Audit

  • CIRQ auditor(s) conduct the onsite audit, beginning with the client headquarters and following with the agreed upon additional locations, if any

Audit Report

  • Results of the audit are documented by the Lead Auditor and a report is submitted to CIRQ and subsequently to the client

Certification

  • Audit report and final invoice are submitted to the client
  • Upon successful completion of the audit and final payment, the certificate of compliance is issued

Client Feedback

  • Formalized client interview is requested after each audit or client assessment event

1st Surveillance Audit

  • Planning of the 1st surveillance audit begins 6 months prior to the 1st surveillance and will be completed 12 months from the last audit

2nd Surveillance Audit

  • Planning of the 2nd surveillance audit begins 6 months following the 1st surveillance audit and will be completed 12 months from the last audit

Re-certification

  • Scheduling of the re-certification audit begins 6 months following the 2nd surveillance audit and will be completed 3 years from the first initial audit