On 3–4 December, the NATO Security Force Assistance Centre of Excellence (NSFA COE) in Rome, Italy, will host a major milestone in its development: its first NATO Institutional Accreditation (NIA) On-Site Visit (OSV), conducted under NATO’s Education and Training Quality Assurance System.
The evaluation will be carried out by two experienced members of HQ SACT’s Team of Experts (TOE):
LTC Oliver Wild (DEU-A), Head of the NATO HQ SACT Quality Assurance Section, and
LTC Amer Riković (BIH-A), NATO Quality Assurance Specialist and Manager of the NATO QA Specialist Programme (NQASP).
Over the two-day visit, the TOE will conduct a rigorous assessment to determine whether the NSFA COE meets NATO’s standards for Education and Individual Training (E&IT) as defined in Bi-SCD 075-007. The OSV aims to verify that the Centre is fully aligned with NATO policies, criteria, and quality expectations.
This first accreditation attempt marks an important step in the Centre’s evolution and reflects its growing maturity and ambition to become a leading training hub for Security Force Assistance across the Alliance.
During the OSV, the Team will conduct open discussions and interviews based on the documentation previously submitted by the COE, demonstrating how the institution meets each of NATO’s 31 Quality Standards. These engagements will examine the Quality Management System, internal Continuous Improvement Process, and associated activities.
Following the visit, the TOE will provide Deputy Chief of Staff Multi-Domain Force Development with a recommendation on whether the institution is ready to receive official NATO Institutional Accreditation. Achieving accreditation would significantly strengthen the Centre’s credibility and reinforce its role in supporting NATO’s wider training and operational requirements.
If successful, meeting NATO’s rigorous QA requirements will position the NSFA COE as a trusted and recognised institution within the NATO Centres of Excellence network. The December OSV will therefore be more than an evaluation—it will represent a defining moment for the Centre’s future contribution to Security Force Assistance expertise within the Alliance.