Role and Structure of W3C Offices

1. Some history
2. W3C-LA Project
3. W3C-LA results
4. Further expansion
5. A World Wide Consortium...
6. Offices’ motto
7. Offices: why?
8. Offices: where?
9. Role of offices
10. Hosts and Offices
11. Office hosting institutions
12. Office activities in practice
13. Office activities in practice (cont.)
14. Mechanics
15. Finances
16. Further Information

Some history

• W3C was formed in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee
  • 1994: first “host” at MIT, Cambridge, USA
  • two more “hosts” joined later
    • 1995: INRIA, France
    • 1996: Keio University, Japan
  • 2003: European Host transferred from INRIA to ERCIM
• W3C was modeled after the X Consortium, but…
• … was more international from the start!

W3C-LA Project

• 1997: EU funded project to increase W3C’s presence
• Strong outreach component (conferences, demonstrators, etc)
• Establishment of European offices:
  • Germany (GMD, now FhG)
  • Greece (Forth)
  • Italy (CNR)
  • Sweden (SICS)
  • The Netherlands (CWI)
  • United Kingdom (CCLRC)

W3C-LA results

• The offices’ presence influenced membership evolution!
  • a sign for the increasing awaraness of W3C

Further expansion

• Establishment of offices outside Europe:
  • Hong Kong (HKUST, 1998)
  • Israel (HUJI, 2000)
  • Morocco (EMI, 2000
  • Australia (DSTC, 2000)
  • Korea (ETRI, 2002)
  • India (CDAC, 2005)
• New offices in Europe, too:
  • Hungary (SZTAKI, 2002)
  • Finland (DMI/TUT, 2002)
  • Spain (CTIC, 2003)
• Office regionalization in 2002:
  • UK Office became UK & Ireland office
  • Dutch Office became Benelux office
  • German Office became Office for Germany & Austria

A World Wide Consortium...

Offices’ motto

Offices: why?

• Outreach and awareness is paramount to W3C
  • W3C recommendations are complex and numerous
  • range of applications are growing
    • they are used in digital government programs, for example
  • they help in overcoming a digital divide
• Outreach is also bound to local issues
  • uptake of the Web differs from one place to the other
  • language might be a major problem
  • cultural, regional issues might be obstacles
• W3C always needs new members, too
• This is where Offices come in!

Offices: where?

• W3C is especially interested in setting up an office if
  • the region is under represented at W3C (compared to its economic, scientific, etc, potential)
  • W3C needs special input from a region to accomplish its mission:
    • internationalization
    • region’s dominating role in an industry area
    • etc.

Role of offices

• First point of contact locally (organizationally, technically)
• Education and outreach
  • sponsorship of events
  • shepherding translations
  • forum for regional discussions
  • localized promotional activities
  • conduit for W3C communications and press releases
• Regional input to W3C (eg, internationalization)
• Channel for national level funding schemes
• Advocacy for W3C in the region
• Building contacts on governmental levels
• Local recruiting
• etc

Hosts and Offices

• Hosts and Offices have different roles and responsibilities!
• Hosts (MIT, ERCIM, Keio):
  • are the administrative and financial centers of W3C, they manage
    • W3C member contracts
    • membership fees and W3C's operational budget
  • are the copyright holders for W3C Recommendations
  • W3C team is bound to (and mostly employed by…) hosts:
    • coordination of all technical work within W3C
    • management of the W3C Web site
    • primary press contacts, press releases
    • software development
    • etc
  • real “homes” of W3C
• Offices: local representation of W3C

Office hosting institutions

• Vendor Neutral
  • W3C can work because members see it as impartial!
• A W3C Member
  • need to be a Member to have access to the information
  • delivers a unique Member contribution to W3C
• Has a technically able local staff in W3C technologies
  • important for member contact, technical issues, courses, …
• Has an established network of contacts
• Examples: research institutes, university departments, technology transfer institutions…

Office activities in practice

• Shepherding prospective local members to W3C
  • establish contacts
  • clarification of administrative, legal issues
  • help the W3C administration in resolving local, special problems
• Organizing local events, tutorial, courses on W3C topics
• Regular (usually monthly) newsletter
• Translation and local dissemination of press releases
• Participation at local events as sponsor, speaker, etc
• Participation in governmental programs, decision bodies
  • Web accessibility problems is a typical example

Office activities in practice (cont.)

• Larger scale translation programs
  • using, eg, local funding
  • targeted audience, eg, the local disability communities
• Web sites in local language (eg, Morocco site)
• Liaisons with local organizations (eg, ISOC)
• Organization of W3C Working Group meetings
• Answering technical issues, local “point of excellence”
  • office staff can turn to W3C team members for technical issues

Mechanics

• Contractual agreement with W3C
• Continuous contact with the Head of Offices
• Monthly Office teleconferences:
  • review status, current plans and achievements
  • updates on key W3C Recommendations
  • work together, share experiences
• One face-to-face meeting a year (at one of the W3C hosts)
• Promotional materials, overview slides, etc, are available
• W3C Team members try to act as speakers at office events
  • there are only 60+ team members, this is not always possible…
  • current financial problems may need help in trip financing
• In practice: an office usually consists of 1-2 persons part-time

Finances

• A percentage of the local members’ membership fees
  • 25% for the first year of joining, 20% in the second, then 15%
• A startup fund is possible for the first two years
• W3C finances the face-to-face meeting costs
• Usually, this is not enough to cover all expenses
  • hosting institutions regard this as part of PR activities
  • they underwrite possible deficits
• With lots of local members, the books can be balanced!

Further Information

More information about W3C

http://www.w3.org/Consortium/

Local W3C Offices

http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Offices

Head of Offices’ address:

ivan@w3.org