Performance Standards
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A regulation that is written as a performance standard sets a desired outcome for the regulated entity but does not specify how to achieve that outcome. The regulatory entity is responsible for meeting the performance standard, but it is free to choose or to invent the mean of compliance. In contrast, specification standards or “command-and-control” regulations set out a specific course of action for the regulated entity to reach the desired results.
Source: The Regulatory Group, Inc., available at reg-group.com/glossary.shtml.
