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In 2000, the NAACCR Board of Directors established a Standards Implementation Task Force to review the timeline for changes to data standards and to recommend guidelines for a new timeline that would meet the needs of the standard-setting organizations, central cancer registries, vendors, and reporting facilities. The Standards Implementation Task Force developed guidelines for major changes to be implemented on a 3-year cycle, with minor changes published in an update of the current version of the NAACCR Data Standards and Data Dictionary. The Cancer Registration Steering Committee (CRSC) was established in 2005 to provide regular communication among leaders of NAACCR and its sponsoring member organizations to facilitate coordination and promote consensus in the development and implementation of major data items, standards, and procedures related to cancer registration.
In 2011, the CRSC charged the Change Management Work Group with updating the 2003 Implementation Guidelines to meet the needs of the cancer surveillance community. The Change Management Work Group suggested a flexible process where changes are implemented on a two-year cycle, year one for implementation and year two for evaluation. However, external factors such as legislation or policy-setting at the executive level of standard setting organizations may necessitate more frequent change that would not exceed a frequency of one time per year. The Work Group also recommended the creation of the Change Management Board to manage all aspects of changes impacting hospital and central cancer registries. This process was implemented in 2013.
In 2013, the Uniform Data Standards Work Group decided that the NAACCR Data Standards and Data Dictionary version would concur with the year of implementation starting in 2014. For example, the NAACCR Data Standards and Data Dictionary, Version 14 was implemented January 2014.
In 2018, the Change Management Board was restructured to the Mid-Level Tactical Group (MLTG) to coordinate and communicate among the cancer surveillance community the development and implementation of changes to standards and procedures.
All NAACCR members are encouraged to present suggestions or comments on proposed changes to the standards to the Mid-Level Tactical Group. The NAACCR website provides the forms for proposing additions and/or revisions.