Governance taskforce final recomendation

The Page is Obsolete The current draft governance model is available here: http://wiki.dataportability.org/x/OIAt

Part one: Authority

Article I: Classes of participation

1. Subscriber. A person involved in the organisation in some way but does not have voting rights.
2. Member. A person who meets the criteria to vote within a defined GROUP.

Article II: Groups that are empowered to make decisions

1. Plenary. The set of all people subscribed to the mailing list "http://groups.google.com/group/dataportability-public".
2. Steering (Executive committee). The group chartered with the authority to execute governance and operation of the DataPortability Project.
3. Action Groups (Standing committees). Groups recognized by the STEERING GROUP to act on its behalf, chartered with a specific responsibilities as defined by the STEERING GROUP or the PLENARY. Their charter and ongoing duties are to be under the review of the STEERING GROUP.
4. Task Forces (Special committees). Entities created to carry out a specific task, as defined by their charter, whose existence is finite and expected to end when that task is complete.
   a) Official TASK FORCES: Created on order of the STEERING GROUP or PLENARY with official status. Official status requires recognition by the STEERING GROUP.
   b) Unofficial TASK FORCES: Created on order of the PLENARY without official status (i.e., voted in by the PLENARY but not recognized by the STEERING GROUP).

Article III: Types of officers

1. The STEERING GROUP is to always have four officers: Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer
2. ACTION GROUPS and TASK FORCES are required, at minimum, to have a Chairperson. The positions of Deputy Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer are optional.
3. Officer positions are to be appointed by nomination of a MEMBER in good standing followed by a vote of the group in which the office is appointed. Should two or more members be nominated for any one officer position, an election is to be held via a process defined by the STEERING GROUP.

Article IV: Scope of powers

1. The STEERING GROUP has sole authority to make decisions for the operation, order, and good governance of the DataPortability Project. It specifically has authority over vision, policy, legal, financial, intellectual property, and representations of the Project made to external parties. The STEERING GROUP can, at its sole discretion, delegate any or all of this authority to ACTION GROUPS.
2. Unless otherwise specified, all decision making power is to reside with the PLENARY.
3. Motions passed by the PLENARY regarding areas of STEERING GROUP authority require approval by the STEERING GROUP in order to become officially policy of the DataPortability Project.
4. The PLENARY has the ability to overturn a decision by the STEERING GROUP (reference: Article X:4).

Part two: Membership

Article V: Membership - General provision

1. One becomes a MEMBER in good standing of any GROUP in the DataPortability Project by contacting the SECRETARY of that GROUP (or the CHAIR, if there is no SECRETARY) and declaring their intent to join.
2. GROUP MEMBERSHIP is the result of this declaration of intent, and is not satisfied by SUBSCRIBING to a mailing list (reference: Article I)

Article VI: Membership - Plenary

1. A MEMBER of the Plenary is someone who has agreed to opt-in.

Article VII: Membership - Steering Group

1. The initial roll of MEMBERS of the STEERING GROUP shall consist of everyone who attended at least two of the regularly scheduled Steering Action Group teleconference calls between April 1 2008 and June 1 2008 and who opts-in to join the STEERING GROUP by contacting the STEERING GROUP mailing list
2. Any STEERING GROUP MEMBER may nominate one person per meeting to become a MEMBER.
3. Approval of a nomination for MEMBERSHIP requires a simple majority of the quorum. If approved by vote, the nominee's membership is considered active immediately, and that person is eligible to vote on any subsequent ballots.
4. A person may be nominated for MEMBERSHIP no more than once in a ninety (90) day period.
5. Attendance at STEERING GROUP meetings is open to all interested parties, and no person shall be excluded based upon lack of membership.

Article VIII: Loss of Membership - Steering Group

1. If a STEERING GROUP MEMBER becomes inactive, they must be nominated and voted on to regain status.
2. A STEERING GROUP MEMBER is to be considered inactive if they have failed to participate in three of the last five consecutive calls for quorum.
3. For the purposes of determining whether a MEMBER is inactive and to prevent abuse, only one count per week of calls for quorum is to be used.
4. If a MEMBER believes they will miss a call for quorum, they may contact the chair and get a leave of absence without consequence to their MEMBERSHIP. This allows them to temporarily be removed from quorum.
5. In the event the STEERING GROUP no longer has any active MEMBERS, the PLENARY is to determine a means of appointing new MEMBERS to fulfill the need of a STEERING GROUP
6. A MEMBER may have their MEMBERSHIP revoked by a two-thirds majority vote of the STEERING GROUP

Part three: Procedure

Article IX: Determining Quorum

1. During a Face-to-Face meeting, a Quorum shall be a simple majority of the MEMBERS who are physically present in the room or otherwise present via teleconference. For a Quorum to be recognised during such a Face-to-Face meeting, the minimum notice period prior to the meeting occurring shall be thirty (30) calendar days and a teleconference facility must be set up for MEMBERS not physically able to attend.
2. During a Teleconference, a Quorum shall be reached if a simple majority of the MEMBERS are present. Their presence will be recorded in response to a roll call, either verbally or via a designated backchannel. For the Quorum to be valid during a Teleconference, the minimum notice period prior to the Teleconference occurring shall be seven (7) calendar days.
3. During an Electronic Ballot via a designated mailing list, a Quorum will be assumed. For the Quorum to be valid where a vote is called via Electronic Ballot, the minimum time from the call for a vote to the close of voting shall be seven (7) calendar days.

Article X: Procedure for passing decisions

1. A GROUP can only pass a motion if they have quorum during a session and the minimum requirements of notice for the means of communicating the vote on the motion
2. In the absence of consensus, a motion is to be passed by simple majority of members.
3. Changes to this Governance Policy require a two-thirds majority vote by the STEERING GROUP
4. The PLENARY can overturn any STEERING GROUP decision with a two-thirds vote

Governance Language Review comments from Triona as per request from Elias.