Set a default owner for a standard
Workspace admins and Managers with Standards access can set a Default Owner when adopting a standard or editing its adoption settings later. The default owner pre-fills the owner on each requirement, so you do not have to assign owners manually for every requirement.
Who can set the default owner
You need the Manager or Admin role for the Standards module at the site. If you cannot see the Default Owner section, verify your role in the site's user management settings.
Where the setting lives
The Default Owner section appears in two places:
Adoption wizard — when you first adopt a standard, in Step 2: Adoption Parameters.
Adoption settings — when you edit an existing adopted standard’s parameters.
For the full adoption wizard walkthrough, see Adopt a Standard at This Site. To edit adoption settings for an existing standard, open the standard detail page and edit the adoption parameters.
Choose an assignment method
The Default Owner control offers two ways to assign ownership. Pick the one that fits how your site manages accountability.
Assign a site role
Use this when the same named role handles the standard across your organisation, such as a Data Protection Officer or Quality Manager. If the role holder changes later, every requirement that references the role updates automatically.
In the Default Owner section, choose Site Role.
From the Select a site role (optional) list, pick the role you want.
Save your changes.
The list only shows roles whose current holder has Standards access at the site. If no eligible roles exist, the message No roles with Standards access appears.
Assign a direct user
Use this when a specific person or team owns the standard and you do not want ownership to shift automatically if a site role changes.
In the Default Owner section, choose Direct User.
Select the user from the list. The picker only shows users who have Standards access at this site.
Save your changes.
If you try to assign a user who does not have Standards access, the error reads: The default Owner must be assigned to a user with Standards access at this site.
What happens if no owner is set
If you leave the default owner blank, the label shows None — assign per requirement. In this case, each requirement must be assigned an owner individually after adoption.
How the default owner applies to requirements
When you adopt or update a standard with a default owner:
The default owner is pre-filled on every requirement that has an owner slot.
If a requirement already has an explicit owner assignment, it is not overwritten by the default.
If you clear an explicit requirement-level owner later, the requirement reverts to the default owner if one exists.
For more details on owner states, cascading rules, and how site roles work, see Roles and Owners in Standards.