Role of the Group Chair

See also: On Chairing a group, Joseph Reagle

The team contact should arrange for the Chair and the Director to meet (by phone if necessary) to make sure they're on the same wavelength about things like:

• where the group's work fits into Web Architecture
• where does it fit with other groups
• testing, test suites ... generating tests as you come to each
• responsibility not just to the group -- working toward consensus of the whole community
• cost of delaying wider consensus - negotiating your reviews and really getting in touch with people - versus time to market and specification relevance
• formal objections, i.e. the tricky bits of W3C process

and the team contact should make sure the chair is in the chairs group.

Creates Group charter and convenes Group

• Develops Group charter together with the Staff Contact.
• Is familiar with W3C Process and Member Guide.
• Convenes Group and ensures Group members oriented to W3C Process with assistance of Staff Contact.
• Schedules deliverables and sets milestones towards completion of deliverables.
• Appoints document editors. (NOTE: Editors are responsible for ensuring that Group decisions are correctly reflected in Group documents, and for maintaining an issue list.)
• Proposed invited experts with assistance of Staff Contact (W3C staff must be involved in decisions regarding inclusion/exclusion of participants).  Makes sure that all participants have filled out a call for participation and have disclosed their IPR in accordance with W3C process.
• (If there is a Co-chair) Establishes clear and close coordination with Co-chair.

Coordinates with W3C Team and other W3C Working Groups as needed

• Maintains close coordination with W3C Staff Contact.
• Maintains coordination with assigned liaisons from other W3C working groups.
• Participates in the relevant Coordination Group.
• Participates in the Chairs mailing list (archive) and attends Chairs meetings.
  the team contact should make sure the chair is in the chairs group
• Works with the Comm Team and Staff Contact in preparing press release.
• Communciates with the press, when necessary and appropriate, and with prior coordination with the communication team, on behalf of the group.
• Ensures all participants have proper access to Group data with assistance from Staff Contact.

Maintains Group Process & Organization

• Solicits drafts, encourages participation.
• Judges items in or out of scope for the Group.
• Generally stays neutral in discussion but can participate in technical discussions if announces in advance that will remove his or her chair "hat" at that time.
• Keeps Group's charter compliant with W3C Process, and initiates charter update as needed (through Coordination Group).
• Announces calls, meetings, events with appropriate advance time and through proper channels.
• Ensures minutes are taken and posted in due time.
• Defines meeting agendas.
• Maintains home page of Group using W3C authoring guidelines (receives access privileges for doing that).
• If it is necessary to take a vote, supervises voting and announces results, with assistance of Staff Contact.
• Resolve issues that motivated "No" votes (facilitate reaching consensus).
• Revises deliverables timeline as needed.

What to look for when choosing a chair

The following bullets based on suggestions from Joseph Reagle

• Experience in chairing similar groups, committees, and/or conferences;
• Previous participation or technical contributions in related communities;
• Ability to satisfy the time commitment (from you and/or your organization/management);
• Familiarity and/or willingness to learn W3C process and document formatting rules;
• The ability to keep the Working Group "in Charter", both for technical and IPR issues;
• The ability (both actual and perceived by the Working Group -- including potential competitors) to forge consensus fairly and without bias from your affiliation/employer and, sometimes, even your own technical positions;