Templates/CG Charter

This is a proposed template for a Community Group Charter. We recommend that Community Groups have charters as a way to build shared understanding within a group about activities, and to attract new participants who appreciate a clear description of the group's scope and deliverables.

Goals

• What is the mission of the group?

Scope of Work

• Mention topics that are in scope
• Mention topics known in advance to be out of scope
• Note: For specifications that the CLA patent section applies to, it is helpful to describe the scope in a way that it is clear what types of technologies will be defined in specifications, as opposed to adoption by reference or underlying technology not defined in the proposed spec. It is also helpful to state if there are no specifications that the CLA patent section applies to.

Deliverables

• In addition to listing deliverables, it can be useful to provide an initial schedule
• Specification deliverables for which the CLA patent section applies should be carefully noted as such.

Community and Business Group Process

• "Anything in this charter that conflicts with requirements of the Community and Business Group Process is void."

Decision process

Recommended text:

• "This group will seek to make decisions when there is consensus. When the Chair puts a question and observes dissent, after due consideration of different opinions, the Chair should record a decision and any objections. Participants may request a vote in this case if they feel the Chair has not accurately determined the consensus of the group. If there is additional support for the call for a vote, the Chair will call for a vote and the decision will be based on the majority vote. It is the Chair’s responsibility to ensure that the decision process is fair, respects the consensus of the CG, and does not unreasonably favor or discriminate against any group participant or their employer."

Note:

• If your decision process is not consensus-based, it is important to indicate that clearly, and to describe the decision process you will use.

Dependencies or Liaisons

• Are there any significant dependencies on other groups (inside or outside W3C) or materials?