Impartiality & integrity
Honest about who we are.
ARIC is MindSpring's research centre. It is not an external body, and we do not present it as one.
Because ARIC sits inside MindSpring, we think it matters to say so plainly — and to design our process so that decisions are documented, reviewable and open to challenge.
Impartial panel
Decisions are made by an impartial panel of at least two auditors who never coach or train the organization they audit.
Conflicts of interest
Every review panel member declares any conflict of interest before a decision is made, and steps back where one exists.
Appeals
Applicants can appeal within 30 days. Appeals are heard by a different ARIC lead who was not on the panel.
Public verification
Every certificate can be checked publicly, including whether it has been suspended or revoked.
How criteria are maintained
The Focus-First criteria are written down in one published standard. Changes are documented and applied to all applicants in the same way.