Governance Task Force Teleconference

Date: 5/22/2008 
Attendees:

• Elias Bizannes
• J. Trent Adams
• Steve Greenberg
• Brett McDowel
• Dan ?
• Brady Brim-DeForest

Recording: MP3

Meeting Notes:

• Membership could be defined as simply belonging to the DataPortability Project discussion list.
• Voting Membership may be simple list registration, or require some minimal "opt in" (e.g. register at least 48 hours prior to a vote? or participating in some way?)
• Anyone can propose an idea, generate interest, and (if necessary) bring it up for a vote.
• Proposals up for a vote must be announced to the list, and be displayed in a central location on the main wiki page.
• Enough time must be alloted for any vote so that it encourages the widest participation (e.g. at least 48 hours).
• Being on the list means that you will be notified when something comes up for a vote.
• Quorum is defined by the fact that the majority of the recipients on the list receive the vote summons and can participate.
• All votes cast "for" or "against" are counted, the simple majority defines whether or not the proposal passes. Non-response is counted as "abstained".
• Task Forces could be proposed in this manner to tackle something:
  • The proposal would define the "leader" (i.e. the person proposing it), the task "scope" (i.e. the description of the task), and the expected "term" (i.e. the date by which the task should be complete)
  • They would report monthly to the Steering Group their progress to remain "in good standing".
  • Task Forces can be removed from good standing by a vote of the Steering Group for the following reasons:
    • Reaching the end of their term.
    • Not reporting status to the Steering Group.
    • Their activities move beyond their stated scope.
    • Their activities conflict with the DataPortability Project Mission/Vision/Goals (as decided by the voting procedure)
• The Steering Group would be made up of (each person getting a Steering Group vote):
  • The project Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary as elected by the defined process.
  • All of the currently active Task Force Leaders.
  • Anyone who was a Leader of x Task Forces active in the past x months, but may not have a currently active Task Force.
  • All Steering Group meetings must be open to the public (following Robers Rules of Order), only Steering Group Members can vote.
• The process defined here means that no group-impacting decisions can be made in any other way.  Decisions, beyond a specified scope within a Task Force, can not be made at meetups, in chat rooms, or via means other than the above.  This insures the widest, most fair participation possible.
• Only those things that require "official" sanction by the DataPortability Project need to come up for a vote.  All other activities are assumed to be self-organizing.
• Suggested reading: http://www.projectliberty.org/liberty/content/download/3635/23958/file/Mempack.zip (specifically Section 8).

Action Groups & Taskforces:

Proposal:

• Action Groups: Deprecate role of Action Groups (with the exception of the Steering Group) to function as gathering spaces for discussion and communication for like minded people.

• Taskforces: Taskforces will report directly to the Steering Group, and will be authorized by the Steering Group to act on specific mandates, for a specified period of time, with a pre-determined deliverable to produce. Topic specific decision making will take place within Taskforces, which will make recommendations to the Steering Group. The Steering Group will then execute on these recommendations, resulting in a high-level decision, creation of a new Taskforce, or a kick back to the original Taskforce of new deliverables required for execution of the recommendation.