diff --git a/governance.md b/governance.md index 233fa8ad..7b0351a1 100644 --- a/governance.md +++ b/governance.md @@ -5,52 +5,36 @@ permalink: /governance/ filename: governance.md --- -### Background -[Project Open Data](/), a new White House resource, is an online collection of code, best practices, and case studies developed to help agencies adopt the framework presented in the memorandum on “Managing Government Information as an Asset to Promote Interoperability and Openness.” Project Open Data will evolve over time as a community resource to facilitate adoption of open data practices. To facilitate collaboration across the Federal Government and in partnership with public developers, the Project is published on the developer social network GitHub. +#Project Open Data Governance +##Background +Project Open Data is an online collection of code, best practices, and case studies developed to help agencies adopt the framework presented in the OMB memorandum M-13-13 “[Open Data Policy-Managing Information as an Asset] (/policy.md).” Project Open Data will evolve over time as a community resource to facilitate adoption of open data practices. To facilitate collaboration across the Federal Government and in partnership with public developers, the Project is published on the developer social network GitHub. -As the Project founder, the White House is dedicated to maximizing openness, participation, and collaboration while ensuring the integrity of the resources hosted within the Project. This page provides information on ways to participate in the Project and how the White House will govern it. +As the Project founders, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, components of the Executive Office of the President, are dedicated to maximizing openness, participation, and collaboration while ensuring the integrity of the resources hosted within the Project. This page provides information on ways to participate in the Project and how the OMB and OSTP will govern it. -### Participation -Anyone – Federal employees, contractors, developers, the general public – can view and contribute to Project Open Data. (Set up a [GitHub user account](http://www.github.com/users) to get started). Ultimately, the goal is for users to contribute to the project by suggesting changes to code/content (making “[pull requests](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests)”). However, there are many ways to participate: -* Browse. Look around at the different resources available. -* Clone. Copy code/content to your local machine. There is no official record in Project Open Data, and others cannot see what you do with the code/content. -* Fork. Copy code/content to your own repo in GitHub, and make modifications there. Record of the fork is seen in Project Open Data, and others can see the code/content, but it now resides outsides the Project. -* Comment. Comment on the code/content in Project Open Data using the issue tracker function. Others can see your suggested changes in a public log on Project Open Data. A moderator must accept, modify, or reject the comment in that public log. -* Contribute. Suggest changes to the code/content in Project Open Data by making a pull request. Others can see your suggested changes in a public log on Project Open Data. A moderator must accept, modify, or reject the suggested change in that public log before it becomes a part of the official code/content. +##Contributing +Project Open Data is a collaborative, open source project. Both Federal employees and members of the public are strongly encouraged to improve the project by contributing. Fortunately, contributing is very easy. Simply click the “Improve this content” button at the top of every page, make your edit, and hit “submit.” Your changes will appear once they are approved. Ultimately, the goal is for users to contribute to the project by suggesting changes to code/content (making “[pull requests](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests)”). +However, there are many ways to participate: +* _Browse_. Look around at the different resources available. +* _Clone_. Copy code/content to your local machine. There is no official record in Project Open Data, and others cannot see what you do with the code/content. +* _Fork_. Copy code/content to your own repo in GitHub, and make modifications there. Record of the fork is seen in Project Open Data, and others can see the code/content, but it now resides outsides the Project. +* _Comment_. Comment on the code/content in Project Open Data using the issue tracker function. Others can see your suggested changes in a public log on Project Open Data. A moderator must accept, modify, or reject the comment in that public log. +Contribute. Suggest changes to the code/content in Project Open Data by making a pull request. Others can see your suggested changes in a public log on Project Open Data. A moderator must accept, modify, or reject the suggested change in that public log before it becomes a part of the official code/content. -### Governance -In GitHub parlance, Project Open Data is actually a collection of different little-p “projects” housed in individual repositories, or “repos.” Each individual project repo will be managed as an open source project – i.e., users can make pull requests (suggest changes), and a repo manager will adjudicate the pull requests (accept, modify, or reject) in a public log according to a communicated release cycle (e.g., once a week, every other month). Information on the repo manager and release cycle for updates will be available in each repo’s documentation file. A program management office (PMO) in the General Services Administration (GSA) may be delegated management of individual technical repos on behalf of the White House, as well as provide daily technical oversight and user support for the Project. +##Owners +Project Open Data is managed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), both components of the Executive Office of the President. The Federal CIO and CTO will both be actively involved, along with members of their teams. -Given that the breadth of Project Open Data supports both technical and policy work, there will be slightly different governance processes for each subject. +##Approving Changes +In GitHub speak, Project Open Data is actually a collection of different little-p “projects” housed in individual repositories, or “repos.” Each individual project repo will be managed as an open source project – i.e., users can make pull requests (suggest changes). A repo manager will adjudicate the pull requests (accept, modify, or reject) in a public log on a standard release cycle. Proposed changes to relevant policy areas will be evaluated by relevant policy officials. Information on the repo manager and release cycle for updates will be available in each repo’s documentation file. A program management office (PMO) in the General Services Administration (GSA) may be delegated management of individual technical repos, as well as provide daily technical oversight and user support for the Project. +Given that the breadth of Project Open Data supports both technical and policy work, there will be different governance processes for each subject. -* Technical (e.g., source code and applications) and Content (e.g., best practices) – Technical repositories will be maintained by appropriate White House Officials with in the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with support from technical staff at GSA (i.e., the Technical Review Committee). All comments and proposed changes from the public or other Federal employees will be reviewed regularly by the Technical Review Committee, at intervals not to exceed every other week. As needed, additional stakeholders will be involved in review processes based on needed subject matter expertise. -* Policy (e.g., common core metadata schema) – governance held closely by the White House. While federal employees and members of the public may submit comment and proposed change, changes to the official version (the “master branch” in GitHub terms) will be made in accordance with a publicly communicated schedule in consultation with a set of advisory groups that include relevant subject matter experts from across the Federal government. Information on the repo manager and release cycle for updates (including the role of the advisory groups) will be available in each repo’s documentation file. At the onset, this category will include semi-annual review. +* _Technical Repositories Governance & Review Cycle_ (e.g., source code, applications, best practices)– Technical repositories will be maintained by staff within the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with support from technical staff at GSA (i.e., the Technical Review Committee). All comments and proposed changes from the public or other Federal employees will be reviewed regularly by the Technical Review Committee, on bi-weekly intervals. Additional stakeholders will be involved in review processes based on needed subject matter expertise. +* _Policy Related Repositories Governance & Release Cycle_ (e.g., open licensing, metadata)— Changes to repositories with implications for the policy must be approved by OMB and OSTP policy officials. All comments and proposed changes from the public or other Federal employees will be reviewed by the appropriate staff on bi-weekly intervals. Additional Federal stakeholders will be involved in review processes based on needed subject matter expertise. -### FAQ -**What problem does this solve?** -Technology moves much faster than policy ever could. Often when writing policy for technology, agencies are stuck with outdated methods as soon as they publish new policies. +There are two policies repos that will have very regulated release cycles: -**How does it solve that problem?** -This Project is meant to be a living document so that collaboration in the open data ecosystem is fostered and the continual update of technology pieces that affect update can happen on a more rapid pace. - -**Who can participate in Project Open Data?** -Anyone – Federal employees, contractors, developers, the general public – can view and contribute to Project Open Data. - -**Who is in charge of Project Open Data?** -Ultimately? You. While the White House founded and continues to oversee the project, Project Open Data is a collaborative work — commonly known as "open source" — and is supported by the efforts of an entire community. See the "how to contribute" section above to learn more. - -At the onset, the General Services Administration is here to provide daily oversight and support, but over time, it is our vision that contributors both inside and outside of government can be empowered to take on additional leadership roles. - -**Can I use the project's content or source code elsewhere?** -The project [as originally published](/) constitutes a work of the United States Government and is not subject to domestic copyright protection under 17 USC § 105. Subsequent contributions by members of the public, however, retain their original copyright. -In order to better facilitate collaboration, the content of this project is licensed under the [Creative Commons 3.0 License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/deed.en_US), and the underlying source code used to format and display that content is licensed under the [MIT License](http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php). - -**How can I contribute?** -This project constitutes a collaborative work ("open source"). Federal employees and members of the public are encouraged to improve the project by contributing. This can be done by contributing to ongoing discussions or by simply clicking the “improve this content” button at the top of each page and submitting a proposed improvement. - -**Are my interactions to this project subject to any special privacy considerations?** -Comments, pull requests and any other messages received through this repository may be subject to the [Presidential Records Act](http://www.archives.gov/about/laws/presidential-records.html) and may be archived. Learn more at [http://WhiteHouse.gov/privacy](http://WhiteHouse.gov/privacy). +* _Common Core Metadata Schema_— Changes to the common core metadata schema will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Starting November 9th, new releases of the schema will only be issued every 6 months, as needed. Suggested changes that alter implementation and structure of the schema will not be merged in-between the regular release cycles, though discussion and commenting during these periods are encouraged. Each version of the schema will have a depreciation date of one year. +* _The Open Data Policy M-13-13_— A version of The Open Data Policy (M-13-13) is available for public feedback and suggested changes through Project Open Data. Suggested changes to the policy will be reviewed bi-annually. Adjudication times will depend on the extent of the suggested policy changes and decisions regarding the mechanism for dissemination (e.g., the need to consider updating official version of M-13-13, or other forms of guidance). Accepted changes to the policy will not be merged in-between the regular release cycles to prevent inconsistencies and confusion, though discussion and commenting during these periods are encouraged.