Policies and Procedures
Document Version:
20021002 v24
Date:
October 2, 2002
1
Definitions.
5
2
General Voting.
6
2.1
Quorums.
6
2.1.1
Quorum..
6
2.1.2
Super Quorum..
6
2.2
Majorities.
6
2.2.1
Simple Majority.
6
2.2.2
Super Majority.
6
2.3
Voting procedure.
6
2.3.1.1
Voting secrecy.
6
2.3.1.2
Announcement of vote.
7
2.3.2
Remote vote.
7
2.3.2.1
Voting period.
7
2.3.2.2
Announcement of results.
7
2.3.3
Live vote.
7
2.3.3.1
Proxies.
7
2.4
Types of votes.
7
2.4.1
Alternative voting.
7
2.4.2
Issue voting.
8
2.4.2.1
Material votes.
8
2.4.2.2
Consent vote.
9
2.5
Appealing a vote.
9
3
Officers & Board of Directors.
9
3.1
Meetings.
9
3.2
Board votes.
9
4
Working Groups.
9
4.1
Working Group Representatives.
10
4.1.1
Working group membership.
10
4.1.2
Principal Members.
10
4.1.3
Associate Members.
10
4.1.4
Invited Experts.
10
4.1.5
Right to Attend Working Group Meetings as Observers.
11
4.1.6
Right to Attend Working Group Meetings as Guest
11
4.1.7
Right to Remove.
11
4.1.8
Restrictions on Size of the Working Group.
11
4.1.9
Face-to-Face Meeting Participation.
12
4.1.10
Teleconference Participation.
12
4.2
Working Group Leadership.
12
4.2.1
Chair & Vice-Chair
12
4.2.1.1
Chair selection.
12
4.2.1.2
Vice Chairs.
12
4.2.1.3
Duties of Chair
12
4.2.1.4
Duties of Vice Chair
12
4.2.1.5
Duties of Representatives.
13
4.3
Creation of a Working Group.
13
4.4
Operation of a Working Group.
13
4.4.1
Scope of Activity.
13
4.4.2
Meetings.
14
4.4.2.1
Quorum..
14
4.4.2.2
Meeting Rules and Conduct
14
4.4.2.3
Agendas.
14
4.4.2.4
Minutes.
14
4.4.2.5
Voting.
14
4.4.2.5.1
Quaker Vote.
14
4.4.2.5.2
Recording.
15
4.4.2.6
Participation Criteria.
15
4.4.2.7
Face-to-Face Meeting Participation.
15
4.4.2.8
Teleconference Meeting Participation.
15
4.4.3
Working Group Status Reports.
15
4.4.4
Working Group Subgroups.
16
4.5
Modification of a Working Group.
16
4.5.1
Working Group Charter
16
4.5.2
Substantive Change.
16
4.5.3
Nonsubstantive Change.
16
4.5.4
Leadership.
16
4.5.4.1
Resignation.
16
4.5.4.2
Removal
16
4.5.4.3
Open Positions.
17
4.6
Output of Working Group.
17
4.6.1
Classes of Output Documents.
17
4.6.2
Approving an Official Document
17
4.6.2.1
Submission of a Submitted Document to Board for Review..
18
4.6.2.2
Submission of a Draft Document to Membership by Board with Comments.
18
4.6.2.3
Membership Review..
18
4.6.2.4
Public Review (optional)
18
4.6.2.5
Final Board Review..
19
4.6.2.6
Submission of Proposed Document to Membership with Recommendation for a
Vote. 19
4.7
Closing a Working Group.
19
4.7.1
Charter Expiration.
19
4.7.2
Charter Violation.
19
4.7.3
Lack of Resources.
19
4.7.4
Activity Terminates.
20
5
OeBF Document Library.
20
5.1
Sections.
20
5.1.1
General Public.
20
5.1.2
OeBF Members.
20
5.1.3
Board of Directors.
20
5.1.4
Working Groups.
20
5.1.5
Other Approved OeBF activities.
20
5.1.6
Approving an Informational Document
20
5.1.7
E-Mail Lists.
21
Appendix A: OeBF Working Group Proposal Template.
22
Appendix B: OeBF Submitted Document
22
Appendix C: Working Group Reporting Standard Operating Procedures.
22
Associate Member – A Member of OeBF who can
participate in Working Groups and other OeBF activities. Associate Members
have limited voting privileges and are not eligible to be elected to the Board
of Directors. (See Principal Member)
Board of Directors - Elected group of OeBF members
who provide guidance to the OeBF. (Also referred to as BOD and Board)
Chair – A leader of a Working Group. (See
Vice-Chair)
Charter - The formal definition of a Working
Group.
Forum – the Open eBook Forum
Guest - A non-Member of the OeBF, invited by the
Working Group Chair to attend a Working Group meeting.
In writing – A written form of correspondence
including letter, FAX, e-mail or in some cases HTML forms served by the
official OeBF website
Informational Document - A document that a Working
Group has produced and the Board has recommended that the Membership review.
Informational documents have no official status.
Invited Expert – A non-OeBF Member invited by the
Chair to join the Working Group. Invited Experts may not represent a Member.
Lead Representative - A member of a Working Group
designated by an OeBF Member to be their lead or primary representative to the
Working Group.
Member - Any Principal or Associate Member of the
OeBF.
Membership - The collective group of Members of
the OeBF.
Observer - A designee of a Principal or Associate
Member to a Working Group who may attend a Working Group but may not vote.
OeBF – The Open eBook Forum.
OeBF Document Library – The collection of
Recommended Documents, Informational Documents, Notes and other materials that
the OeBF maintains. (see Section 4)
Output Documents - Documents produced by Working
Groups.
Principal Member – A full, voting Member of OeBF.
(See Associate Member)
Process Document - A document that describe OeBF
policies and procedures, position papers, best practices, etc.
Recommended Document - A document approved by the
Membership; also known as a Recommendation.
Remote Vote - Votes communicated in writing
(including fax, e-mail, letters, etc.) as opposed to in person at a meeting.
Representative - A participant designated by a
Member to a Working Group or an Invited Expert.
Secondary Representative - A member of a Working
Group who is designated by the Member to be their alternate Representative to
a Working Group. (See Lead Representative)
Specification - A document including
specifications or processes of the OeBF.
Vice-Chair – A Working Group leadership position.
Working Group – A subset of OeBF Members and
others participants who engage in projects in furtherance of the OeBF's
purpose and mission.
Working Group Application Form –
The General Voting section provides definitions and
procedures for voting by the Board, the General Membership, and Working
Groups.
No vote that requires a Quorum will be considered valid
if the number of electors is less than the specified quorum. For purposes of a
Quorum, the total eligible members shall be defined as the membership at the
start of the Voting Period.
An acceptable level of participation for formal voting,
exists when at least one half of the eligible voting members are present in
person or by proxy.
An acceptable level of participation for formal voting
exists when at least two thirds of the eligible voting members are present in
person or by proxy.
A "simple majority" is represented by one-half plus one
of the votes cast.
A "super majority" is represented by two-thirds (rounded
up) of the number of votes cast.
Votes may be held by secret ballot, by roll call or by
acclamation.
All announcements of votes will be made in an approved
method by the Board or by whom the Board designates. The announcement will
declare the issue, the voting procedure, the type of vote, and the duration of
the voting period.
These are votes where the electorate is using written
communication (e.g. fax, e-mail, letters, etc.)
The voting period will last a minimum of seven (7)
calendar days with a maximum, set by the caller of the vote, not to exceed 30
calendar days. The vote announcement will declare the date and time of the
close of the voting period.
In the event all possible votes have been
cast, the Secretary may call the voting closed, even if the minimum voting
period has not been met.
Within one business day of the close of vote, the results
will be reported by the Secretary to the electorate.
These are votes held where the electorate is present
either physically or via real-time electronic means.
For a Live vote, a Member may designate another Member to
cast their vote, using the Forum’s Proxy Form. The Proxy cannot be held
responsible for miscasting votes; it is up to the absent member to insure that
the Proxy will act in the absent member’s behalf. Proxies will not be accepted
for Remote votes.
Background: Alternative votes are used to choose a
sub-set from a set of alternatives. Primarily for election of Board Members,
this may also be used to choose Meeting locations, restaurant choices, logo
choices, etc.
Given N alternatives in which M
choices must be made (M < N). Each elector is
asked to “approve”/vote for up to M choices and may vote for
each alternative only once. Each “approved” choice receives one point; the
choice(s) with the most points win. In the event of a tie, for the choices
with the least meaningful points, a run off will be held for those choices
using Alternative voting.
Tiebreaker examples:
Scenario A: Given
seven (7) alternatives and five (5) choices, the alternatives receive the
following point totals:
A-7, B-6, C-5, D-4, E-3, F-3, and G-1.
A, B, C, & D would be
declared winners and a run-off would be held for E & F using Alternative
voting.
Scenario B: Given seven (7) alternatives and five
(5) choices, the alternatives receive the following point totals:
A-7, B-7, C-7, D-4, E-4, F-4, and G-1.
A, B & C would be declared winners and a run-off would be
held for D, E, & F using Alternative voting.
Scenario C: Given seven (7) alternatives and five
(5) choices, the alternatives receive the following point totals:
A-7, B-7, C-7, D-7, E-7, F-7 and G-1. No winners would be declared and a
run-off would be held for A, B, C, D, E, & F using Alternative voting.
Scenario D: Given seven (7) alternatives and five
(5) choices, the alternatives receive the following point totals:
A-7, B-5, C-5, D-5, E-4, F-1 and G-1. A, B, C, D, & E will be declared winners
and no run-off will be held, no tie occurred in the least meaningful position.
This scheme is used by the following organizations:
·
United Nations - to elect secretary-general.
·
Mathematical Association of America
·
Institute of Management Science
·
American Statistical Association
·
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Further discussion of AV may be found at:
http:// bcn.boulder.co.us/government/approvalvote/altvote.html .
Each elector may cast a vote as FOR, AGAINST, or ABSTAIN
and any comments. At the end of the voting period, the total votes are
counted. The resolution is considered to have passed if:
1.
The total number of votes cast exceeds a Quorum
2.
The total number of FOR votes achieves the appropriate majority
ABSTAIN count only for the purposes of a Quorum.
The announcement of the vote will indicate the tallies of
the FOR votes, the AGAINST votes and the ABSTAIN votes plus any comments.
A Consent vote can be used to validate the recommendation
of leadership when a quorum is not present.
In votes where:
1.
The vote does not:
a.
Remove a member.
b.
Remove a Director from the Board.
c.
Change the Open eBook Forum Bylaws.
2.
The Vote is announced to be Consent Vote.
The vote will at the end of the voting period unless the
AGAINST votes outnumber the FOR votes. If the proposition is defeated, the
proponents may re-propose it for a Material Vote if no quorum was present.
The announcement of the vote will indicate the tallies of
the FOR votes and the AGAINST votes.
A Principal Member may appeal a vote to the Board if the
Member alleges the vote was conducted in contravention to the by-laws of the
Forum. The Board will hear the appeal if made within seven (7) calendar days
of the vote. The appeal may be filed where the Member alleges the vote did not
follow the appropriate procedure, may be invalid due to procedural defects or
may have been unfair. The Board must respond within fourteen (14) calendar
days on the validity of the vote. The decision of the Board is final.
The Board will hold face-to-face meetings quarterly. The
Board may hold face-to-face meetings on a more regular basis. It is expected
that the Board will hold frequent conference calls.
A meeting may be held if a Quorum is not present, however
no decision in the name of the Board may be made.
Each Director shall have one vote. The votes of
individual Directors will be entered into the Board minutes.
Working Groups engage in projects in furtherance of the
OeBF's purpose and mission.
Principal and Associate Members of the OeBF may designate
representatives to participate in Working Groups. Member organizations must
ensure that any representative they designate will adhere to the terms and
conditions specified in the Membership Agreement.
One representative to each Working Group is designated
the Lead Representative. Additional representative(s) participating in the
same Working Group are Secondary Representative(s). The Chair of a Working
Group may limit the number of Representatives from any Principal or Associate
Member. If a member has been granted or has the right to representation then
the member is entitled to a minimum of two representatives on that Working
Group. The Member organization must inform the Working Group Chair using the
OeBF Working Group Application Form, found at the website of the OeBF (www.openebook.org),
of the name(s) of its Representative(s).
Any Principal Member may join any Working Group at any
time. The Primary or Alternate Representative of the Member organization must
inform the Working Group Chair using the OeBF Working Group Application Form,
found at the website of the OeBF (www.openebook.org),
of its intent to join.
A Principal Member joining a Working Group must assign a
Lead Representative to the Working Group, and may assign Secondary
Representatives. While more than one Representative may represent a Principal
Member in a Working Group, there is only one vote per Member.
At the discretion of the Working Group Chair, an
Associate Member may join a Working Group. The Primary or Alternate
Representative of the Member organization may request to join the Working
Group Chair using the OeBF Working Group Application Form, found at the
website of the OeBF (www.openebook.org).
The Working Group Chair will respond to the request in a timely fashion.
An Associate Member joining a Working Group must assign a
Lead Representative to the Working Group, and may assign Secondary
Representatives. Though more than one Representative may represent an
Associate Member in a Working Group there is only one vote per Member.
The Chair may invite one or more persons who do not
represent a Member to join the Working Group as Invited Experts. The total
number of Invited Experts may not constitute more than twenty per cent (20%)
of the entire number of Working Group participants. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, a Working Group may have at least one Invited Expert.
An Invited Expert has the same rights and
responsibilities within the Working Group as do other Working Group
Representatives, including the right to vote.
It is recommended that Invited Experts be considered from
university, non-profit organizations, professional associations, or other
entities that may not otherwise join the OeBF. If the Board makes a
determination that the Invited Expert represents a business entity with a
commercial interest in the activities of the Working Group, then the Invited
Expert’s organization may be asked to join the OeBF.
At any time, the Working Group Chair or the Board may
withdraw the Invited Expert's invitation to participate in the Working Group.
Invited Experts participate in Working Groups at their
own expense and without any obligations for fees from OeBF.
Representatives from Principal Members not represented on
the Working Group may attend meetings as Observers. Associate Members do not
have this right, but may be permitted to observe at the discretion of the
Chair. The Working Group Chair will determine the ways in which an Observer
may participate, but in any case an Observer cannot vote on Working Group
matters.
A Working Group Chair may invite Guests to Working Group
meetings. No Guest may attend more than two meetings of a given Working Group
during a twelve-month period. The Working Group Chair must ensure that the
Guest complies with the non-disclosure requirements of the OeBF. This
provision is not to be used in lieu of other forms of OeBF participation
(Membership, Invited Experts, Observers, etc.)
The Chair of a Working Group, acting in good faith, may
remove any Representative from a Working Group. The Representative being
removed may appeal in writing to the Board. The Board will render a decision
within 14 calendar days of receipt of the appeal. The Representative being
removed, or the Chairperson of the Working Group, may appeal the Board’s
decision to the Membership. In the event of such an appeal, the Board will
submit the issue to the Membership and a Super Majority of a Remote Vote will
be required to reinstate the Representative. Substitution of Representatives
A Member may change those individuals who are its Working
Group Representatives.
If a Working Group Representative of a Principal Members
ceases participation in the Working Group, the Principal Member may appoint a
substitute. If a Working Group Representative of an Associate Members ceases
participation in the Working Group, the Associate Member must reapply to
rejoin the Working Group.
In all situations, Members must inform the Chair of the
Working Group in writing of the replacement.
The Working Group Chair has the right to limit the total
number of Representatives (including Observers) from any given Member.
However, in no event can the Chair limit this number to less than two. The
Chair also has the right to remove or deny admittance to an Associate Member
to ensure a manageable Working Group size; should removal be necessary this
should be done using a last in first out (LIFO) procedure.
Working Group Representatives must make reasonable
efforts to attend face-to-face meetings. Failure to attend several consecutive
meetings without contacting the Chair is sufficient cause for the Chair to
remove the Representative from the Working Group.
Working Group Representatives must make reasonable
efforts to attend teleconferences. Failure to attend several consecutive
teleconferences without contacting the Chair is sufficient cause for the Chair
to remove the Representative from the Working Group.
The Chair must be a Representative of a Principal Member.
The Chair is selected as part of the Working Group creation process; see
Section 3.3.
A Working Group must have at least one Vice-Chair. A
Vice-Chair should normally be a Representative of a Principal Member different
than the Chair. However, in exceptional circumstances the Board may approve
the appointment of a Vice Chair representing an Associate Member. When the
Chair is temporarily absent, a Vice-Chair will fulfill the roles and
responsibilities of the Chair. Additionally, the Chair of the Working Group
may choose to assign additional roles and responsibilities to the Vice-Chair.
The position of Vice-Chair is filled during the creation of a Working Group.
A Working Group Chair shall ensure that OeBF antitrust
policies and all other policies and procedures are adhered to, and that the
Working Group operates only within its Charter.
It is the responsibility of the Chair to publish a status
report to the Board (see 3.5) and manage all Output Documents and related
procedures in a timely manner. The Chair shall be permitted to appoint a
secretary and/or librarian for the Working Group to assist in the performance
of his/her duties.
The Chair shall be responsible for deciding if a
consensus has been reached. The Chair shall document minority views and if
necessary include them in the deliverables.
It will be the responsibility of the Vice-Chair to carry
out the duties of the Working Group Chair in the Chair's absence and to carry
out those duties delegated to the Vice-Chair by the Chair.
Working Group Lead and Secondary Representatives shall
attend most or all meetings of the Working Group. Representatives are
encouraged to participate, to promote the goals and charter of the Working
Group and honor their commitments in a timely manner.
To create a Working Group, at least two Principal Members
shall submit a Proposal, using the OeBF Working Group Proposal Template (refer
to Appendix A), to the Board describing the Working Group. The Board will
ensure that the Proposal is complete. A complete Proposal must contain:
1.
A Charter for the Working Group
2.
A suggested Chair and Vice-Chair. The suggested Chair or Vice-Chair
must meet the requirements of Working Group Representative of a Principal
Member
The Board and the proposing Members may collaboratively
edit the proposal for a period not to exceed thirty (30) calendar days.
This package shall be submitted to the Membership for a
fourteen (14) day Comment Period.
After the Comment Period:
1.
The submitters of the Working Group Proposal will consider the comments
of the Membership and may revise the Proposal.
2.
The Board will submit the final proposal to the membership for
approval. The Board will attach to the proposal:
a.
A statement of alignment of the proposed Working Group with the OeBF
bylaws and strategic plan.
b.
A statement of fiscal impact.
c.
A statement of recommendation for approval or disapproval.
3.
If the Board recommends approval, a Consent vote will be held to
approve the Working Group Proposal. If the Board recommends not approving the
Working Group Proposal, a Remote Vote will be held requiring a Super Majority
to approve the Working Group Proposal.
4.
Upon approval, the proposed Charter becomes the Approved Charter and
governs the activities of the Working Group.
The Approved Charter governs the scope of activities of
the Working Group. Specifically, the Working Group may pursue only those
activities defined in its Approved Charter. See 4.5.
Meetings of the Working Group should encourage and
promote attendance or participation by a quorum of representatives. If the
Chair determines that substantive issues are being discussed and a quorum is
not present, the Chair can defer the discussion of the substantive issues. In
no event can a vote be taken if a quorum is not present. The Chair has some
discretion to define a quorum based on a count of active, recent
representatives; see section 4.4.2.6.
The Chair or Vice Chair should promote and maintain an
orderly meeting. Because Working Groups often engage in long discussions, it
is suggested that the Chair or Vice Chair take steps to ensure the meetings
are productive and discussions are managed. Working Group Chairs and Vice
Chairs are encouraged to rely on Robert’s Rules of Order for guidance on
procedures for conducting an orderly meeting. Chairs also shall follow other
prescribed rules for conducting OeBF meetings, including antitrust provisions.
The following procedures are recommended to promote
orderly and balanced meetings. Speakers should seek recognition from the Chair
before speaking or interrupting except on points of order or privileged
motions. The Chair should make an effort to balance the discussion by asking
for dissenting opinions. This may be promoted by recognizing speakers out of
order. Speakers should avoid personal attacks and innuendo and should not
speculate openly on the motives of other participants.
Chairs and Vice Chairs are responsible to see that
Working Group meeting agendas are prepared in advance of any Working Group
meeting. Chairs shall deliver a copy of the agenda to the OeBF staff to be
placed into the OeBF Document Library to be available for all OeBF Members.
Chairs and Vice Chairs are responsible to see that
Working Group meeting minutes are recorded. Within seven (7) days of the
minutes being approved, Chairs shall deliver a copy of the minutes to the OeBF
staff to be placed into the OeBF Document Library to be available for all OeBF
Members. Normally minutes are approved at the subsequent meeting of the
Working Group.
Working Groups should strive to reach substantial
consensus on issues by orderly discussion and debate. The minutes shall record
minority views. The determination of consensus shall be at the discretion of
the Chair. If the Chair determines that consensus has not been achieved, the
Chair or Vice Chair shall call for the matter to be put to a vote by those
eligible to vote. It is recommended that the Quaker Vote be used to aid in
developing consensus and to ascertain the relative strength of issues.
Otherwise the Working Group shall conduct a Material Vote, either in public or
by secret ballot.
A Quaker Vote is a method to test or gauge the relative
positions of participants on a contested issue. When arguments over
implementation details or other details intrude on a policy discussion, a
“Quaker vote” may be useful to see whether there is consensus, or can be
consensus, on the presumed end result. A Quaker Vote has a ballot that
contains three choices:
Strongly agree
Neutral
Strongly disagree
This process may be useful to promote progress in
arriving at a consensus on an issue.
The results of all Material Votes (i.e., the yeas, nays,
and abstentions) shall be recorded in the meeting minutes.
To remain an active Representative with standing to vote
in a Working Group and for a Representative to have their name included as a
contributor to work products; participation is essential.
Nonparticipation may mean loss of voting privileges
within the Working Group. The Chair may remove working Group Lead and
Secondary Representatives if they repeatedly fail to attend meetings or fail
to provide deliverables in a timely fashion. The Chair shall apply the
standards fairly, taking into consideration the expense of attending meetings.
Working Group Representatives must make reasonable
efforts to attend face-to-face meetings. Failure to attend several consecutive
meetings without prior notice to the Chair is sufficient cause for the Chair
to remove the Representative from the Working Group. In exceptional
circumstances, if prearranged with the Chair and technically feasible, a
Representative may arrange remote participation in a face-to-face meeting.
Between face-to-face meetings, teleconferences of the
Working Group may be used to promote the activities and mission of the Working
Group.. The Chair shall schedule conference calls of reasonable length to
minimize expense both to the members and to the OeBF, and should accommodate
time zone differences of the Members. The Chair is encouraged to carefully
communicate the meeting time, details and agenda to promote efficient and
productive meetings..
Working Group Representatives must make reasonable
efforts to attend teleconference meetings. Failure to attend several
consecutive teleconference meetings without prior notice to the Chair is
sufficient cause for the Chair to remove the Representative from the Working
Group.
It is required that each Working Group Chair provide a
status report (no less often than monthly) to OeBF staff to be published to
Members on the OeBF Web Site. See Appendix C.
A Working Group may create a Subgroup to research and
pursue details of Working Group matters. The Working Group Chair may create a
subgroup composed of Working Group representatives. Subgroups shall operate
under the following principles:
·
The activities of the subgroup must conform to the charter of
the Working Group.
·
Subgroups shall record minutes of all meetings and these minutes
must be submitted to the OeBF along with the Working Group minutes.
·
Subgroups may create documents, but these documents have no
official status unless approved by the entire Working Group.
·
Subgroup status reports shall be incorporated in the status
reports of the Working Group.
To modify a Working Group Charter, the Chair of the
Working Group shall submit a Proposal to revise the charter of the Working
Group to the Board of Directors. The Board shall determine if the proposed
revisions to the charter are substantive or nonsubstantive.
In the event the Board determines a proposed revision to
a Working Group Charter is substantive, it shall advise the Working Group
Chair of its determination. In the event the Working Group desires to proceed
with the proposed revisions, it will be required to go through the same
process as is required for the formation of a new Working Group.
In the event the Board determines a proposed revision to
a Working Group Charter is nonsubstantive, the Board will notify the Working
Group Chair of its approval, rejection, or comments to the proposal. The
Board will notify the membership of any nonsubstantive modifications to the
Working Group Charter.
Any Working Group Chair or Vice-Chair may resign at any
time. Such resignation shall be made in writing and shall take effect at the
time specified therein, or if no time be specified, at the time of its receipt
by the President or Secretary. The acceptance of a resignation shall not be
necessary to make it effective.
Removal of a Working Group Chair or Vice-Chair requires
one of the following:
·
A Simple-Majority of a Quorum of the Principal Members of the
OeBF
·
A Super-Majority of a Quorum of the members of the Working Group
·
A Super-Majority of a Quorum of the Board.
When the Chair or Vice-Chair position is open on an
existing Working Group, the Board will select a new Chair or Vice-Chair. This
selection will require approval of the Principal Members of the OeBF using the
Consent vote. While the replacement is being identified and approved, the
Board may appoint a temporary Chair or Vice-Chair.
The output of a Working Group is an Output Document.
There are two classes of Output Documents:
Official Documents - within the class of Official
Documents are two sub-classes:
·
Specifications - these documents specify technical
specifications or technical processes of importance to the OeBF.
·
Process Documents - these include documents that describe
policies and procedures (such as this document), position papers, best
practices, etc.
Informational Documents – The Working Group may
produce Informational documents as well. These are documents the Working
Group feels are relevant to the members of the OeBF and that it wants to
recommend to the members for review. These may include white papers,
commentaries, or other relevant documents. These documents are to be treated
as informational only and do not have any official status within the OeBF.
For the approval process, see section 5.1.6.
All output documents from the Working Group must be
approved by a Formal Vote using a Simple Majority of a quorum of the Working
Group.
Official Documents will have the following life cycle.
The Documents start at the Submitted state and may be elevated at each stage
to the next level until reaching the stage of being Recommended.
1. Submitted
2. Draft
3. Proposed
4. Recommended
Official Documents have the following approval process:
1. Submission of a Proposal to
Board for Review, to see whether the Document should be elevated from
Submitted to Draft status.
2. Submission of Draft to
Membership by Board, with Comments
3. Membership Review
4. Final Board Review, to see
whether the Document should be elevated from Draft to Proposed status, and
Recommendation to the membership
5. Vote by the Membership for
Approval as a Recommended Document.
All Official Documents must be submitted to the Board for
Review. Such documents must be submitted in the form of a Submitted Document
using the OeBF Submitted Document Template (see Appendix B).
This would be the appropriate point in the process for
the Board to receive input from the Systems Working Group if appropriate and
to conduct an antitrust review if required.
The Working Group and the Board will have thirty (30)
calendar days to collaborate on the Submitted Document. At the discretion of
the Board or Chair, comments by the Board must be submitted to the Working
Group in writing and the Working Group must respond to the Comments in writing
within seven (7) calendar days. At the end of the collaboration period the
Board may recommend that the Submitted Document plus the Board and the Working
Group's collaborative edits be elevated to a Draft Document or it may send the
Submitted Document back to the Working Group for further work, stating the
reasons in writing that the Submitted Document is not ready for elevation to a
Draft Document. If the Working Group members feel that the Board is
unreasonably withholding a recommendation, the document may be elevated to a
Draft Document by a supermajority of a quorum of the Working Group.
The Board will submit the Draft Document to the
Membership with Board Comments.
The Membership will have thirty (30) calendar days to
Review and Comment on the Draft Document. All Comments from the Membership
must be submitted in writing to the Working Group Chair.
The Working Group may choose to conduct a public review
during the same period as the membership review, or it may conduct a
subsequent public review. Public review is optional.
The Working Group will maintain a record of all Member
Comments. At the end of the Comment Period the Working Group will record their
Action on each Comment and submit the revised Draft Document, Comments and
Actions to the Board.
The public may be given a minimum of twenty-one (21)
calendar days and maximum of ninety (90) days to Review and Comment on the
Draft Document. All Comments from the public must be submitted in writing to
the Working Group Chair. The Working Group will maintain a record of all
public Comments. At the end of the Comment Period the Working Group will
record their Action on each Comment and submit the revised Draft Document,
Comments and Actions to the Board.
The Board will review the Draft, Comments and Actions.
The Board and the Working Group will have up to thirty (30) calendar days to
collaborate on the Draft. At the end of the collaboration period the Board may
recommend that the Draft Document plus the edits based upon Membership
comments be elevated to a Proposed Document or it may send the Draft Document
back to the Working Group for further work, stating the reasons in writing
that the Draft Document is not ready for elevation to a Proposed Document. If
the Working Group members feel that the Board is unreasonably withholding a
recommendation, the document may be elevated to a Proposed Document by a
supermajority of a quorum of the Working Group.
The Board will present the Proposed Document to the
Membership for a vote, with a Recommendation as to the whether the Membership
should approve or disapprove of the Proposed Document.
·
If the Board recommends approval, a Remote Material vote will be
held to approve the Proposed Document.
·
If the Board recommends not approving the Proposed Document, a
Remote Material Vote will be held requiring a Super Majority to approve the
Proposed Document.
If the Proposed Document is approved it will be elevated
to the status of Recommended and added to the OeBF Library.
In all instances of closing of a Working Group the Board
will notify the Membership of the closing and request comments during a
fourteen (14) calendar day Comment Period before closing the Working Group.
If the Working Group Charter expires the Board may
disband the Working Group or issue a Charter extension. The Board may extend
the Charter any number of times. However, no single extension may exceed the
duration of the original charter. For example, a Working Group originally
chartered for one year may be extended only in one-year increments.
In the event the Board determines that the Working Group
is in violation of its Charter, the Board will first work with the Working
Group to correct the Charter violation. If the Working Group Chair requests,
the Board will publish how the Working Group violated the Charter and what
remedies the Board requires. In the event the violation cannot be remedied,
the Board may elect to replace the Working Group leadership or may terminate
the Working Group.
In the event the Board determines that the Working Group
lacks sufficient resources to continue, the Board may disband the Working
Group.
In the event the Board determines that the Working Group
has completed its Charter, the Board may disband the Working Group.
Tuesday, May 29, 2001: This section is recent work by
the Board and still preliminary.
The OeBF will maintain a document library containing the
Output Documents of Working Groups, the Board and other OeBF activities.
Sections of the library will be made available to the
following groups.
A collection of documents approved by the Membership
and/or the Board will be maintained and made available to the general public.
This will include Recommended Documents, Press Releases, selected
Informational Documents, and other official documents.
A collection of documents approved by the Membership
and/or the Board will be maintained and made available to the Principal and
Associate Members. This will include minutes of Board Meetings and Working
Group meetings, the Bylaws, Informational Documents, and other relevant
documents.
A collection of documents used internally by the Board.
A collection of documents used internally by Working
Groups and posted on their pages of the Web site. These documents are
primarily for the use of the Working Group members but are accessible to all
OeBF members.
A collection of documents used for other OeBF Approved
activities.
Informational Documents may be produced as by-products of the Working
Groups or Special Interest Groups or may be produced by other entities that
the Board may recognize or authorize from time to time. All Informational
Documents must be submitted to the Board for Review. The Board and the Working
Group or other author may collaboratively edit the document for a period not
to exceed sixty (60) calendar days. The Board will then submit the
Informational Document to the Membership with Comments or may send the
document back to the author for further work, stating in writing the
deficiencies of the document.
Informational Documents have no official OeBF status and
require no vote of approval by the Membership.
The OeBF will maintain many E-mail Lists (reflectors)
including one or more for each Working Group. E-mail Lists shall be archived
in the OeBF document library and be made available for browsing and searching
by all OeBF Members for a period of at least five (5) years.
Each E-mail List shall have a designated List Monitor. In
the case of Working Groups that List Monitor is the Chair unless otherwise
designated. In addition to making sure that the E-mail List is properly
archived and made available to Members, the List Monitor shall monitor all
list traffic and ensure compliance with the OeBF Antitrust Policies and
Procedures.
To be supplied: A template for Working Group Proposals.
To be supplied: A template for Submitted Documents.
Appendix C: Working Group Reporting Standard Operating Procedures
