Research and Development Standing Orders


  1. The Research & Development Department (R&D) will have the primary responsibility for researching and developing new technologies, historical and cultural documents, and Fleet Canon for use by the Fleet. The R&D Department will consist of two sub-departments: Starfleet Engineering and Galactic Anthropology Committee (GAC). Both subgroups will be chaired by deputies and a loosely organized team whose membership (excluding the Director) shall be determined at the discretion of the Director of R&D and the appropriate deputy, subject to the laws of Pegasus Fleet. In the case of the Director and Deputies, the procedures of the Selection Policy must be followed. This membership will consist of:
    1. Director of Research & Development
    2. Chief of Starfleet Engineering
      • Tech Team Members
    3. Galactic Anthropology Committee Chairman
      • GAC Members

  2. Documents managed by the Research and Development Department are as follows:
    1. Technical Documents
      • Standard Class Specifications for all starship, starbase, and support craft utilized by the Fleet
      • Standard and non-standard technology for use by installation and ship use (i.e. transporters, warp drive, ship-based weaponry)
      • Standard and non-standard equipment for personal use (i.e. tricorder, hand weaponry)
    2. GAC Documents
      • People (historical or current)
      • Species or Culture
      • Planets and Systems
      • Governments and Militaries
      • Organizations
      • Events and Conflicts
      • Treaties
    3. Documents are classified by canon status in the following order, from most canon to least canon:
      • Star Trek Canon (established by the television and film series)
      • Information introduced by licensed works, including novels, comics, RPG sourcebooks, and video games are not considered canon unless introduced to the Fleet through one of the options below.
      • Standard Class Specifications
      • Fleet Canon
      • Other technical documents
      • GAC Articles

  3. The Technology Development Process is as follows:
    1. The new technology (Including temporary tech on a one mission bases) is sent to the Chief of Starfleet Engineering or the Director of R&D for review, editing and framing into a proposal for review.
    2. Reasonable proposals will not be refused except on the following grounds:
      • Goes against canon Laws or treaties
      • Is too powerful for consideration
      • Reproduces existing technology without significant advantage or reason
    3. Where the idea is a temporary one, the Director will respond to the request to the CO within 7 days of when the request was made with a Yes, No or modified answer. Unless the idea is something that would benefit the entire Fleet, temporary requests will stop at this step.
    4. The Director will post the new technology for public review on the Research & Development Forum.
    5. The discussion shall remain open for the greater of 1 week or 3 days after discussion has stopped, but no longer than 2 weeks’ time.
    6. If the discussion does not reach the 2 week time limit, then the new technology will be considered to have passed by "Unanimous Consent". If the discussion would extend past the 2 week time limit, then the new technology will be presented to the PFA for vote as if it were a "Standing Order"
    7. If a technology is rejected by the PFA, then it will either be completely dropped or revised and reintroduced into the process, at the discretion of the Chief of Starfleet Engineering and the Director of R&D.
    8. Technology that has passed will be entered into the appropriate Fleet IFS Database or Wiki, as well as the discussion topic moved into the Approved Technology Forum.

  4. Special requests for long term deviations (permanent changes or changes lasting longer than one mission) to approved specifications must be approved by the Director of R&D according to the following procedure:
    1. The deviation request is sent to the Director for review.  This request must include reason for deviation and IC explanation for why the specification should be changed for that simm. 
    2. Reasonable requests will not be refused except on the following grounds: 
      • Goes against canon laws or treaties.
      • Is too powerful for consideration.
      • Reproduces existing technology without significant advantage or reason.
      • Deviates too dramatically from Fleet conventions, subject to opinion of the Director.
    3. Deviations that change the standard load-out of a ship that would affect crew complement, hangar complement, cargo space, or any other interior space concerns may be granted, but only with an appropriate change to other ship load-out details as determined by the Director.
    4. Deviations that will require new technology not currently approved by Starfleet Engineering must be submitted through the Development Process, as outlined in Section III.
    5. The Director will respond to the deviation request to the CO within 7 days of when the request was made with a Yes, No, or modified answer.
    6. Deviations granted to the CO will be applicable for that simm only, and will not affect Fleet specifications.  If the Director believes that the deviation would benefit the entire Fleet, the change will proposed according to the Development Process outlined in Section III.

  5. The GAC Article Development Process is as follows:
    1. The new article is sent to the GAC Chairman or the Director of R&D for review, editing and framing into a proposal for review. The proposed article should be submitted in Wiki format, including any links.
    2. The Director of R&D will post the new article for public review on the Galactic Anthropology Committee Forum.
    3. The discussion shall remain open for the greater of 1 week or 3 days after discussion has stopped, but no longer than 2 weeks’ time.
    4. If the discussion does not reach the 2 week time limit, then the article will be considered to have passed by "Unanimous Consent" and given GAC Article status. If the discussion would extend past the 2 week time limit, then the new article will be presented to the GAC for a vote
    5. If an article is rejected by the GAC team, then it will either be completely dropped or revised and reintroduced into the process, at the discretion of the GAC Chairman and the Director of R&D.
    6. Articles that have passed will be entered into the Fleet Wiki, as well as the discussion topic moved into the Approved GAC Article Forum.

  6. The Fleet Canon Approval Process is as follows:
    1. GAC Articles must be nominated to be canonized. Nominations may originate from the Director of R&D, the GAC Chairman, or any other member of the Fleet. Nominations should be submitted to the Director of R&D
    2. Nominations approved by the Director and Chairman will be submitted to the PFA for a vote, where they must pass by a simple majority.
    3. Articles approved as Fleet Canon will be marked appropriately on the Fleet Wiki.
    4. Articles rejected as Fleet Canon will remain a GAC Article, but must be revised and reintroduced into the process if it is to be resubmitted for Fleet Canon approval, at the discretion of the GAC Chairman and the Director of R&D.

  7. Responsibilities of the Research and Development Department Staff
    1. Director of R&D
      • Member of the Pegasus Fleet Admiralty
      • Approves technology requests
      • Coordinates with Chief of Starfleet Engineering and GAC Chair on article priorities
      • Accepts article submissions into an active state per the procedures outlined in Section III and Section V.
      • Submits candidate articles for Fleet Canon to the PFA for vote
      • Submits articles for approval as outlined in Section III and Section V
      • Participates in article discussion on the forums as necessary
      • Evaluates rejected technology and GAC articles
      • Manages PF Wiki articles for documents outlined in Section II.
    2. Chief of Starfleet Engineering
      • Coordinates with Director of R&D on technology article priorities
      • Coordinates with Tech Team on article submission
      • Submits articles for approval as outlined in Section III
      • Participates in article discussion on the forums as necessary
      • Evaluates rejected technology articles
      • Manages PF Wiki articles for documents outlined in Section II-1
      • Attends monthly meeting and is prepared to give report on Starfleet Engineering in absence of the Director of R&D
    3. Galactic Anthropology Committee Chairman
      • Coordinates with Director of R&D on GAC article priorities
      • Coordinates with GAC on article submission
      • Submits articles for approval as outlined in Section V
      • Participates in article discussion on the forums as necessary
      • Evaluates rejected GAC articles
      • Manages PF Wiki articles for documents outlined in Section II-2
      • Attends monthly meeting and is prepared to give report on GAC in absence of the Director of R&D
    4. Tech Team Members
      • Submits articles for approval as outlined in Section III
      • Participates in article discussion on the forums as necessary
    5. GAC Members
      • Submits articles for approval as outlined in Section V
      • Participates in article discussion on the forums as necessary