The Department of Defense delineates responsibilities for testing amongst the service Operational Test Agencies using the Memorandum of Agreement on Multi-Service Operational Test and Evaluation (MOT&E) and Operational Suitability Terminology and Definitions dtd Feb 2017.  It provides the guiding processes for delineating testing responsibilities.  This document can be found here:  https://www.public.navy.mil/COTF/OTD/MOA%20Multi-Service%20OTE%209May17.pdf

'Terms of Reference' are not typically discussed in the Acquisition certification classes at DAU and as such there isn't a template in our tools site.  Instead the DAU curriculum focuses on Charters, MOUs, and MOAs.  The 7 part template below that should provide a good starting point in your pros/cons debate culminating in a documentation choice decision.  A link to the source site is included at the bottom of the page.

Project Terms of Reference Template

1.  Background

• Provide an overview of the history behind the proposed project
• Clearly state why perform the project, and also refer to a programming context
• State the general role of stakeholders in doing project activities
• Write a brief explanation of the need behind the project

2.  Objectives

• State the major objectives of the proposed project
• Describe the intended achievements to be gained at different stages of the project lifecycle
• Provide an overview of the resources required
• Clearly identify and define what is expected from the project and who the target audience is

3.  Issues

• Highlight the key issues to be studied and disputed at every stage of the project lifecycle
• List the criteria (including Efficiency, Relevance, Effectiveness, Impact, Sustainability) against which the issues will be analyzed and evaluated

4.  Methodology

• Define the key phases of the project implementation process
• Specify the required level of stakeholder involvement
• Describe the content and duration of project activities
• List the information collection tools necessary for monitoring purposes
• Provide data analysis rules

5.  Expertise

• Specify the type of work involved in the proposed project
• Describe the type of skills and abilities required
• Define the exact number of individuals involved
• Point at the period of engagement of each team member
• Describe the duties and responsibility per teammate
• Identify the relationships between the team members

6.  Reporting

• Provide the Table of Contents for project reports
• Define rules for composing annexes
• Add report templates
• Set submission dates
• List the computer software programmes to be used for report writing
• Refer to people responsible for reporting and approving
• Provide other sufficient information such as number of copies to be created, responsibilities for report production and presentation, etc.

7.  Work plan

• Provide a summary of the anticipated work
• Describe the activities and necessary resources required for achieving the project’s results and purpose
• Provide the activity schedule template
• Describe The finance resources allocated to the project

Read a more detailed description of the template here:

http://www.mymanagementguide.com/terms-of-reference-tor-template