Over many years, ICOM Documentation (formerly known as CIDOC) and its Working Group on Documentation Standards (DSWG) developed a general data model for museums, with a particular emphasis on information interchange. This work led to the CIDOC Relational Data Model, completed in 1994.
At its 1996 meeting in Crete, the DSWG decided to adopt an object-oriented approach, seeking the expressive power and extensibility required to address the diversity and complexity of museum documentation data structures. The result was the first complete edition of the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM), published in 1999 through the voluntary efforts of numerous contributors.
Later that year (London 1999), CIDOC resolved to submit the CRM to ISO for standardization. The aim was clear: broader recognition and wider information interchange and integration within the museum community and beyond.
This decision initiated the collaboration with ISO and its relevant committees. CIDOC took the lead in bringing together stakeholders from different domains and institutions, forming a working group around the model. This group advanced the objectives of the CRM: fostering application, encouraging dissemination, and ensuring that its final form reflects diverse community needs.
ISO provides the formal procedures and authority required to establish international standards. Since December 2006, the CRM has been recognized as ISO 21127. A revised edition followed in December 2014 (ISO 21127:2014), aligned with version 5.0.4 of the CIDOC CRM. The most recent revision, ISO 21127:2023, aligned with version 7.1.3, supersedes the 2014 edition and confirms its continued status as an international standard.
The work did not end with standardization. The CRM is extensible, and its development continues as new areas emerge and conceptual approaches evolve. This ongoing effort also addresses practical matters—tools, best-practice guidance, implementation support—requiring a central forum for coordination and harmonization.
With this perspective, CIDOC initiated the CRM Special Interest Group in August 2000, appointing Martin Doerr as its first chair. The group operates under the patronage of ICOM Documentation, remains open beyond its membership, and actively seeks funding to pursue its objectives. Between 2001 and 2003, the Special Interest Group received support from the European Commission’s Fifth Framework Programme (IST) within the CHIOS project. This period marked the initial consolidation of the SIG’s activities.
Since then, an active and steadily growing community has formed around the CIDOC CRM, prompting the development of a broader administrative structure. Additional deputy chair positions were created, held by George Bruseker, Dominic Oldman, and Christian-Emil Ore. After nearly 25 years of leadership, former Chair Martin Doerr and long-standing Deputy Chair Christian-Emil Ore stepped down from their management roles.
Following this transition, the community appointed an interim steering committee in October 2025 during the 61st joint meeting of the CIDOC CRM SIG and ISO/TC46/SC4/WG9, and the 54th meeting of the FRBR/LRMoo SIG. Its mandate will conclude at the 63rd CIDOC CRM and ISO/TC46/SC4/WG9, and 56th FRBR/LRMoo SIG Meeting (Nuremberg, 6–11 October 2026). The members of the interim steering committee are listed below.
The scope and mode of operation of the CRM SIG are outlined in the CIDOC CRM Special Interest Group’s Bylaws.
Interim Steering Committee
Pavlos Fafalios, chair, Greece
E-mail: fafalios[at]ics.forth.gr
Tel: +302810391619
Address: Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Institute of Computer Science, N. Plastira 100, Vassilika Vouton, GR-700 13 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
George Bruseker, deputy chair, Bulgaria
E-mail: george[at]takin.solutions
Tel: +359888183228
Address:Takin.solutions Ltd. 36 Koprivshtisa Str.,Plovdiv, 4002, Bulgaria
Dominic Oldman, deputy chair, UK
E-mail: dominic[at]kartography.org
Tel:
Address:
Eleni Tsouloucha, secretary, Greece
E-mail: tsoulouha[at]ics.forth.gr
Tel: +302810391488
Address: Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Institute of Computer Science, N. Plastira 100, Vassilika Vouton, GR-700 13 Heraklion, Crete, Greece