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Chapter 14: Key to Organisations and Agencies and Other Subordinate Bodies Standardisation   The NATO Standardisation Organisation (NSO) The NATO Standardisation Organisation (NSO) comprises the NATO Committee for Standardisation, the NATO Standardisation Staff Group, and the NATO Standardisation Agency. Its role is to enhance interoperability and in order to contribute to the ability of Alliance forces to train, exercise and operate effectively together, and when appropriate, with forces of Partner and other nations, in the execution of their assigned tasks. It undertakes this by initiating, harmonising and coordinating standardisation efforts throughout the Alliance and providing support for standardisation activities. In accordance with Alliance policy, national and NATO authorities are encouraged to develop, agree and implement concepts, doctrines, procedures and designs which will enable them to achieve and maintain interoperability. This requires the establishment of the necessary levels of compatibility, interchangeability or commonality in operational, procedural, materiel, technical and administrative fields. The NSO was established by the North Atlantic Council in January 1995 and was restructured in 2000 as a result of a Standardisation Review carried out to meet the requirements of the 1999 Washington Summit and the challenges posed by the Defence Capabilities Initiative launched at the Summit.