Ensemble Formula Council Codification

Team Councils

For active teams and sub-projects within Ubuntu, the Ubuntu Community Council delegates many of its responsibilities to "Team Councils". These councils act as proxies for the Community Council over a particular team or scope of activity within the Ubuntu community. These governance councils are ultimately responsible for managing the actions and activity within their team or scope. In addition to this, the councils resolve disputes and manage policies and procedures internal to their team, and frequently appoint Ubuntu members on behalf of the Ubuntu Community Council.

The Ensemble Formula Council is the team governance council for the Ensemble Formula community. Ensemble Formula Council Charter

The Ensemble Formula Council is the group that is ultimately responsible for assessing new contributions, defining formula contribution processes, and governing this work.

This will be the charter of the council,and based upon other team council charters:

• The Council will consist of five (5) members. Membership should be public.
• Decisions requiring a vote will be passed when more than half, and at least three, of the total members of the Ensemble Formula Council are in agreement.
• Ensemble Formula Council members should be accessible by and responsive to the IRC community in a dedicated IRC channel (#ubuntu-ensemble) and through a dedicated mailing list.
• For the first iteration of the Ensemble Formula Council the members will be grandfathered in at Mark Shuttleworth’s selection. After a period of one year, the Council will be appointed by the Ubuntu Community Council. Requirements for membership of the Council are as follows:
  • Ubuntu membership (Essential)
  • Be able to demonstrate a competent technical knowledge of Ensemble.
  • Be able to demonstrate a passion and desire for Ensemble Formulas and maintaining effective governance of the Ensemble Formula community.
  • Be familiar of the expectations listed in this charter and commit to executing them as part of the Ensemble Formula Council
  • Members serve terms of two (2) years. Ensemble Formula Council members can serve multiple or repeated terms. Weight will be given to proven contributors and re-election of consistently active members should be both easy and common.
  • The Ensemble Formula Council will have a chairman with a casting vote, appointed by the Community Council. In the case of a deadlock during a vote (where an equal number of people vote +1 and -1), the chairman will be able to break the tie and make a decision.
  • Regular IRC Meetings - at least one public real-time Ensemble Formula Council meeting per month with a public request for agenda items. There should be an Agenda wiki page where the community can add agenda items to be discussed and decided upon.
  • Reporting - meeting notes and outcomes should be published using a Team Report. Important announcements should also be emailed to community mailing lists.

Appointment Process

Elections of new Ensemble Formula Council members will be held in the following way:

• An open call for nominations should be announced in the Ensemble Formula Community, and people can nominate themselves for a seat on the council. All Ubuntu Members are welcome to apply.
• To apply for a seat the candidate creates a wiki page outlining his or her work in the community, and inviting people whom they have worked with to add testimonials.
• When the application deadline has passed, the Ensemble Formula Council will review the applications and provide feedback on the candidates for the Community Council to review.
• The Community Council will identify a shortlist of candidates and circulate the list publically for feedback from the community. The Community Council will then finalize the appointment of new Council members.

Membership Through Formula Contributions

Ensemble Formula authors and participants have the ability to become Ubuntu Members if they make significant and sustained contributions to the Ensemble Formula community. This will be achieved by a membership process that will be set up by the Ensemble Formula Council in conjunction with the Community Council. Dispute Resolution

The Ensemble Formula Council will provide a documented method whereby any disagreements or conflicts between community members can be brought to the Council's attention for review and discussion.

In extreme situations, contributors who feel that they have not been given a fair hearing by the Ensemble Formula Council can appeal a decision to the Community Council.

Any deadlock within the Ensemble Formula Council can be referred to the Community Council for resolution.