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Give the Advisory Board a mission statement #1021

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Give the Advisory Board a mission statement
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46 changes: 26 additions & 20 deletions index.bs
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Expand Up @@ -872,28 +872,34 @@ Advisory Board (AB)</h4>
<h5 id=ab-role>
Role of the Advisory Board</h5>

The <dfn export lt="Advisory Board|AB">Advisory Board</dfn> provides ongoing guidance to the Team
on issues of strategy,
management,
legal matters,
process,
and conflict resolution.
The Advisory Board also serves the Members
by tracking issues raised between Advisory Committee meetings,
soliciting Member comments on such issues,
and proposing actions to resolve these issues.
The Advisory Board manages the <a href="#GAProcess">evolution of the Process Document</a>.
As part of a [=W3C Council=],
members of the [=Advisory Board=] hear and adjudicate on [=Submission Appeals=]
and [=Formal Objections=].

The [=Advisory Board=] is distinct from the [=Board of Directors=]
and has no decision-making authority within W3C;
its role is strictly advisory.
The <dfn export lt="Advisory Board|AB">Advisory Board</dfn>
is elected by the Membership to advance the effectiveness of W3C as a
standards development organization (<abbr title="standards development organization">SDO</abbr>).
The [=Advisory Board=]:

Note: While the [=AB=] as such does not have decision-making authority,
its members do when sitting as part of a [=W3C Council=].
<ul>
<li>Provides ongoing guidance to the Team
on issues of strategy,
management,
legal matters,
process,
community engagement,
and conflict resolution,
that arise during the the work of the W3C community;
<li>Serves the Members by
tracking issues raised between Advisory Committee meetings,
soliciting Member comments on such issues,
and proposing actions to resolve these issues;
<li>Owns the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,
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@hober hober Jan 27, 2026

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I don't think this is quite right. The AB can't promulgate a new Process without the Membership's approval (via an AC vote). I think, instead, it's the Membership that owns the Process Document, and it's delegated the maintenance of it to the AB, subject to its review and ratification.

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@brentzundel brentzundel Jan 28, 2026

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How about

Suggested change
<li>Owns the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,
<li>Owns the evolution of the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,

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@igarashi50 igarashi50 Jan 28, 2026 •
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As its name indicates, the AB is an advisory body. For the sake of separation of powers, I believe it is better not to change this, even after becoming a Members Consortium.

While I think the @brentzundel proposal is reasonable, as a non-native English speaker, I feel that "owns " might be a bit too strong in this context. Though it would be acceptable to remove "owns and", I suggest the following:

Proposed wording:
owns and steers the evolution of the Process Document.

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@hober hober Jan 28, 2026

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How about

Suggested change
<li>Owns the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,
<li>Owns the evolution of the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,

That works for me!

which includes considering proposals,
approving changes,
and publishing new versions.
Comment on lines +893 to +896
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@nigelmegitt nigelmegitt Jan 28, 2026

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Fair point @hober - I don't mind the idea of "owns the evolution" or "owns and steers the evolution", but it strikes me that in any Charter this would be described as a "Deliverable" of the group, hence:

Suggested change
<li>Owns the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,
which includes considering proposals,
approving changes,
and publishing new versions.
<li>Delivers the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,
which includes considering proposals,
approving changes,
and proposing new versions
for approval by the <a href="#AC">Advisory Committee</a>.

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@brentzundel brentzundel Jan 28, 2026 •
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Suggested wording from the Process CG call

Suggested change
<li>Owns the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,
which includes considering proposals,
approving changes,
and publishing new versions.
<li>Has responsibility for the <a href="#GAProcess">Process Document</a>,
which includes considering proposals,
approving changes,
and publishing new versions.

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@nigelmegitt nigelmegitt Jan 28, 2026

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The proposal from the Process CG call seems not to address @hober 's point that the AC approves the Process - I'm not sure if @hober was present in the call or not, but I thought she made an important point.

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@brentzundel brentzundel Jan 28, 2026

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I think the change in language helps the proposed text better align with section 10 which already describes the need to take the document to the AC for review and approval. I don't think we need to reiterate section 10 here.

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@brentzundel brentzundel Jan 28, 2026

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and section 10 is already linked to in the first line

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@nigelmegitt nigelmegitt Jan 28, 2026

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Right, thanks, I see that now, makes sense.

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@brentzundel brentzundel Jan 30, 2026

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@hober @igarashi50 what do you think of this option?

</ul>

Members of the [=AB=] also take part in [=W3C Councils=]
to hear and adjudicate [=Formal Objections=]
and [=Submission Appeals=].

Details about the Advisory Board
(e.g., the list of Advisory Board participants,
mailing list information, and summaries of Advisory Board meetings)
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