EventsProcess

From W3C Wiki

This wiki is about processes and considerations related to W3C Events such as Group meetings, Meetups, Workshops, Conferences and such. Section 9 of the W3C's 2005 Process Document Workshops and Symposia contains information about Consortium events. That document is sorely in need of updating and this document contains information that could be (used as) the basis for a replacement document.

Open Actions and Issues for this document are tracked by the [ W3C Process] Community Group's Tracker.

This document is a Work In Progress. Input from All is strong encouraged! If you are unable to directly edit this document, please send comments, feedback, etc. to the public-w3process @ w3.org mail list (archive) with a Subject: prefix of [eventsprocess].

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Problem Statement

Problems and issues with the Workshops and Symposia section of the 2005 process document:

  • For all practical purposes the Consortium no longer has Symposia.
  • The document doesn't address new-er types of events such as meetups. What are the W3C brand requirements for more informal/ad hoc events such as meetups?
  • Six or eight week notification might be too long for some events, especially events such as meetups or events that were pre-announced.

Other problems:

  • Should the W3C create a centralized curated calendar of its events including relevant external events? If so, who creates and maintains the consolidated calendar; what is the criteria for adding external events, etc. Michael Champion
  • What is the process and criteria for determining requests for W3C branding for relevant events hosted by external organizations? How do ensure transparency on the processing of such requests? Michael Champion; Daniel Glazman
  • Should the Consortium use community tools (such as an external organization like Lanyard) for event management? Daniel Glazman
  • What is the process and requirements for an external organization to seek the Consortium's brand for their event? Daniel Glazman

Types of Events

Types of events

  • Workshops
  • Conferences
  • Meetups

Event Considerations

Events vary considerably and that means related processes must be flexible. Among the more important considerations including some examples are:

  • Purpose: educational/informative, gather input on specific topic(s), write tests, ...
  • Terminal objectives: determine if there is wide support to start new work, Member recruiting, ...
  • Target Audience: Developers, Implementers, Members, ...
  • Location of target audience: local, continental, international
  • Duration: 1/2 day, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, ...
  • Remote participation requirements
  • Co-location with other event(s)
  • W3C Branding: none, partial, full
  • Length of notification period: 24 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
  • Frequency: once, monthly, quarterly, twice per year, annual
  • Requirements for W3C Staff support
  • Native language
  • Post event reporting: none, summary, event report, minutes

Best Practices

  • Pre event annoucement:
    • Announce an event as far in advance as possible
    • Use multiple social medium to announce an event
    • Announce events to the Public and/or Members as appropriate (f.ex. the chairs list)
  • Post event reporting:
    • Workshops: publish a report within 2 weeks of the workshop

Recommendations for Updated Process

  • The process needs to be flexible to reflect the type of the event and to reflect various considerations
  • Pre event annoucement:
    • Conferences: 8 weeks
    • Workshops: 6 weeks if pre-announced; otherwise 8 weeks
    • Meetups: 4 weeks