W3C is home for Web related standardization aspects of EU-funded projects and an ideal partner for those interested in creating new open standards for the Web. W3C has extensive experience with EU projects both as coordinator and as partner; see a summary of current funding through EU projects and other non-Member sources.

W3C has several mechanisms to make it easier for research projects to participate in the design of future Web technologies, and all funded projects should understand the details of how to bring their research outcomes to a standardization process, and as importantly, which standard framework to use to innovate while keeping the Web open and free.

Ways to Participate in W3C

W3C offers several ways to participate to meet diverse needs.

Project Membership in W3C

A special "Project" Membership tailored for EC project/consortia can be included as part of the funding request when drafting a EU proposal, and it will be reimbursed by the commission.

W3C membership not only allows for direct participation in the W3C working groups dealing with your technology, but is a requirement for submitting a specification for the rest of the membership to review and decide the future of at W3C. Often, a member of an EC project is already a member of W3C and can do the submission on behalf of the group, but it's always better that the real submitter be represented as an entity in its own rights.

This type of membership is only open for multi-partner, government-funded, time-limited, project, and it gives up to four (or more at the Team's discretion) individuals the right to represent the Project in W3C groups. The commitment is for a minimum of one year and the W3C membership fee to be paid by the Project is the highest that would be required of any participating non-Member entity, were it to join W3C in its own right.

Community Groups

In August 2011, W3C created Community and Business Groups with a lighter-weight process to promote innovation.

The first one, Community Group is an open forum, without fees, where Web developers and other stakeholders develop specifications, hold discussions, develop test suites, and connect with W3C's international community of Web experts.

A W3C Business Group gives innovators that want to have an impact on the development of the Web in the near-term a vendor-neutral forum for collaborating with like-minded stakeholders, including W3C Members and non-Members.

Both are a great way to do early standardization work in W3C for EU-funded project, independently of the official standard track dynamics, and without having to get the endorsement of the rest of the W3C membership and community, but still while using the W3C tools and pool of experts know-how.

Administrative Information

We understand well what it means to follow an EC contractual work program including project milestones and reviews. We also know how to help projects advance a specification in the standardization track of W3C. It is very important to at least consult with us if your project planning includes a technology submission to W3C with a goal to move the document forward in our process.

Time Accounting

Whether as a member in full right, or as participant in a given W3C working group, time spent by project engineers within W3C can be billed on EU projects as part of the standardization work packages usually present in the work programme, and travel expenses can also be used to attend W3C face-to-face meetings, where specifications are developed and refined.

Some W3C groups actually ask for a time commitment in order to participate, and it is therefore important that this time is properly accounted for on both sides.

About this Document

This resource was created as part of W3C's involvement as co-chair of the EC SSAI Standardization Collaboration Group — the “Software & Service Architectures and Infrastructures” Unit has set up a number of groups between funded projects, in order to coordinate more effectively in various areas, i.e. avoid duplication of work, reuse designs, share experience, agree on architectures, etc.

W3C has also participated with other SDOs in the COPRAS project, a support action project in the EU 6th Framework Programme aiming to improve the interfacing, cooperation and exchange between IST research projects and ICT standardization.

For more information, please contact Daniel Dardailler <dd@w3.org>.