diff --git a/source/site/getinvolved/governance/psc.rst b/source/site/getinvolved/governance/psc.rst index b5999249d6..a2075d5d84 100644 --- a/source/site/getinvolved/governance/psc.rst +++ b/source/site/getinvolved/governance/psc.rst @@ -1,130 +1,311 @@ .. _psc: -What is the PSC -=============== +Charter of the QGIS.ORG Association +=================================== -Current members of the (Project Steering Committee) PSC can be found :ref:`here ` +(QGIS.ORG Verein) -Term of PSC members -................... +​1​ Legal status of QGIS.ORG +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -The PSC seats are non-expiring. PSC members may resign their position, or be -asked to vacate their seat after a unanimous vote of no confidence from the -remaining PSC members. +QGIS.ORG is the worldwide association of QGIS users and developers. QGIS.ORG is +constituted as a Swiss ‘association’ (Verein im Sinne des Schweizerischen +Zivilgesetzbuches (Art. 60-79 ZGB)). -Member's roles within the PSC -............................. +The German version of this document is the legally binding version. It can be translated into +other languages. + +​2​ Definitions +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +1. QGIS Project​ - the development, maintenance and propagation of the GIS software +QGIS and any other software in the official QGIS repositories as free software in the +sense of the Free Software Foundation. + +2. ‘The association’, ‘QGIS.ORG’​ - the not-for-profit legal entity as defined in Verein +im Sinne des Schweizerischen Zivilgesetzbuches (Art. 60-79 ZGB) + +3. QGIS Community​ - Any active participant of the QGIS community including users, +committers, patch providers, translators, document maintainers, advice givers, stack +exchange contributors etc. + +4. QGIS Committers​ - Any person who has been granted commit access in any of the +official QGIS repositories + +5. QGIS Project Steering Committee (PSC)​ - The elected representatives of the QGIS +community that advises the board. + +6. QGIS Board​ - A subset of the PSC (see below) that has been mandated to provide +legal and fiscal oversight for QGIS.ORG. The Board is the legal representative of the +QGIS.ORG Association. + +7. Chair​ - An individual elected from amongst the board who will act as the official +representative of the QGIS project. + + +8. QGIS User Group​ - A formal national chapter, meeting the criteria for official user +group as defined by the board. The official list of registered groups is maintained +here: http://www.qgis.org/en/site/forusers/usergroups.html + +9. OSGeo​ - The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) is a not-for-profit +organization whose mission is to foster global adoption of open geospatial +technology by being an inclusive software foundation devoted to an open philosophy +and participatory community driven development. QGIS is a OSGeo member. + +10. Voting member​ - any person who may vote on communal decisions made by the +board. The voting members (general meeting) will approve the annual budget and +the election of any new board members. + +11. Financial auditors ​- nominated from the whole QGIS Community and they are +elected by the voting members. The financial auditors shall approve the accounts +annually. + +​3​ Goals of QGIS.ORG +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +1. To steer the QGIS project in order to maximise its good standing in the GIS +community and ensure that we reach as many potential users who can benefit from +our work as possible. + +2. Coordination of QGIS project activities and disbursement of available financial +resources for initiatives that will ensure the long term growth and sustainability of the +QGIS project. + +3. Marketing of QGIS through orientation courses, case studies, informative meetings or +articles in GIS related media and any other suitable means. + +4. Disseminate information to the QGIS community to keep them informed about +planned and past activities including things such as the financial state of the project, +initiatives that will be carried out on behalf of the QGIS project and so on. + +5. Support of research or studies around QGIS. + +6. Foster regular meetings of the QGIS community. + +7. Act as a liaison between the community of QGIS user groups, and third parties +interested in knowing about or supporting QGIS. + +​4​ QGIS.ORG Legal entities +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +1. The General Meeting (the Voting Members) +2. The Board +3. Two non-Board members who shall act as financial auditors + +These three entities are in place to support and represent the broader QGIS Community. + +​5​ General Meeting +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Voting members of the general meeting are the deciders of policy and any major decisions +that affect the general standing may be put to the Voting Members for a vote by the PSC. +Voting Members vote on any motion raised at the Annual General Meeting. Voting Members +also nominate and elect the PSC membership. + +​5.1​ Types of voting members +........................... + +1. QGIS User group​ voting members +2. QGIS Community​ voting members +3. One OSGEO representative ​voting member +4. Honorary​ voting members + +​5.2​ Composition, appointment and role of voting members +....................................................... + +The voting members shall be appointed according to the following scheme: + +● QGIS User Group Voting Members:​ One voting member per QGIS country level +user group. Each user group will nominate who their voting member shall be. + +● QGIS​ Community Voting Members:​ For each user group voting member, there will +be one voting community member elected. + +● OSGeo Voting Member:​ One voting member representing the OSGeo foundation +put forward by the OSGeo board. -The PSC consists of 8 identified roles as follows: - -* **Chair** - To support the activities and present a public face to the - project. To issue press releases, conduct interviews, collaborate with PSC - members and provide stability and guidance to the project. -* **Community Adviser** - To further building of relations with the community. - To ensure smooth running of the QGIS.org online experience including web sites, - blog, mailing lists, forums etc. To achieve these aims he / she will recruit - and advise 'managers' to curate these individual online services and provide - oversight for their activities. -* **Technical Adviser** - To provide oversight and guidance to the development - effort. This will include recruiting and facilitating 'managers' for discrete - areas of the code based (core, gui, plugins, providers, tests) who will ensure - consistency and quality of code added into the SVN code repository. -* **Financial and Marketing advisor** - To provide reporting and explore avenues - of revenue for the QGIS project. To interface with business to secure funding - for future efforts. To identify areas where funding is needed and put into - place actions to secure this funding. To keep track of funding as managed by - OSGeo. To present the PSC with financial options for any initiative requiring - funding. -* **Release Manager** - To oversee timely, regular, stable releases of QGIS on the various supported - platforms. With the PSC, determine timelines for freezes, releases, and - general release and maintenance policies. Recruit and support build - managers to create packages for supported platforms. -* **Design Advisor** - To oversee activities related to QGIS branding, including logo, user experience, - icons, and other graphic elements common to both the application and the project's - web presence. -* **Infrastructure Manager** - Manage and oversee the QGIS project infrastructure, including servers, websites, - source control, and issue tracking. - Make recommendations for improvements, expansion, and consolidation of services. - Guide and direct volunteers -* **Testing and QA Manager** - To oversee the development of a Quality Assurance framework infrastructure - within QGIS so that we may present the best possible version of QGIS to the - world at large. The remit includes development of a comprehensive unit - testing framework, curation of the issue tracker, improving API - documentationm API consistency and generally supporting and promoting the - improvement of quality within the project. - -Candidacy for the PSC +​5.3​ Election and eligibility of QGIS User Group voting members +.............................................................. + +● Only country-level user groups may put forward a nominated voting member. +● In order to be recognised, a user group must be approved by the PSC. + +The user group should democratically nominate one person from within their ranks to act as +their representative within the QGIS.ORG voting membership. + +​5.4​ Election and eligibility of QGIS Community voting members +............................................................. + +● QGIS community members will be nominated and voted for by the established QGIS +committers. + +● Any active QGIS community member will be eligible for nomination as a QGIS.ORG +voting member. + +● Voting Memberships shall be awarded on a ‘first past the post’ basis, with the +nominee receiving the greatest number of votes being awarded voting membership +first and so on in descending order of number of votes received until all voting +memberships have been allocated. + +​5.5​ Honorable members ..................... -All members have equal standing and voice in the PSC. To be eligible for -membership in the PSC, a person should have a demonstrated and substantial -involvement in QGIS. +Honorable members are individual persons who receive special acknowledgment for +extraordinary achievements in the QGIS project. Applications for the nomination of an +honorable member should be directed to the PSC. The general meeting shall vote about the +acceptance of a new honorable member. Honorable members shall have voting rights. + +​5.6 Voting member terms +....................... + +Voting memberships will be valid until: + +● The voting member resigns +● There is a motion raised from within the voting membership, and passed vote by the +voting membership to remove the member +● A voting member gets elected to the PSC in which case voting membership of the +new PSC member will be relinquished and a new voting member will be elected in +the new PSC member’s place. Outgoing PSC members that were previously voting +members will need to be re-elected into the voting membership should they wish to +return to their former role. + +​6​ The board +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The board is the legal representation of the QGIS.ORG project with authority to sign legal +documents on behalf of the QGIS.ORG project. + +The official domicile of the association shall be determined by the board. The group is legally +represented by the chair’s signature and a signature of an additional member of the board. + +The treasurer has sole authority to carry out financial transactions provided they are within +the bounds of the annual budget authorized by the general meeting. + +​6.1​ Election of board members +............................. + +Board members shall also be members of the PSC and shall be nominated and elected by +the general meeting. In an election of board members, the nominee receiving the greatest +number of votes for each position (chair, vice chair, treasurer) shall be appointed. A tied +election shall trigger a re-vote until one nominee has the majority. On expiration of a board +member’s term, nominees from within the QGIS PSC shall be put forward by the QGIS -Election process for PSC members -................................ +Voting Members. The outgoing board member shall automatically receive a nomination +unless he/she no longer wishes to serve on the board. -Anyone is eligible to be nominated to the QGIS PSC. Ideally nominees would be -QGIS users or developers and have an understanding of GIS and the goals of the -QGIS project. In addition, nominees should meet the qualifications set forth in -this document. Anyone can submit a nomination. +​6.2​ Terms of members of the board +................................. -To nominate someone: +Board members will serve for a two year term. -* Nominator checks with the nominee to make sure they are willing to serve on - the PSC and commit to the goals and duties described in this document -* Nominator submits the nomination via email to the PSC mailing list. -* The subject line of your email must be **Nomination for QGIS PSC** -* Nominations without the correct subject line will be rejected -* Nominations without complete information will be rejected +​6.3​ Composition of the board +............................ -Complete information includes: +The board shall include at minimum these roles: -* Full name of the nominator -* Email address of the nominator -* Full name of the nominee -* Email address of the nominee -* Justification why the person should be a member of the PSC. This can be just - a sentence or two in length. +1. Chair +2. Vice-chair +3. Treasurer +​6.4​ Board and PSC Member remuneration -The PSC contacts the nominee to confirm their willingness to serve and their -name is added to the list of nominees. You must submit all the information in -item 4 for the nomination to be accepted. +Board and PSC members will receive no remuneration for their services other than +reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred when carrying out activities on behalf of +the board. -Expectations of PSC members +​7​ The Project Steering Committee (PSC) +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +​7.1​ Election of PSC members ........................... -* Be willing to commit to the QGIS development effort -* Be responsive to requests for information from fellow members -* Be able and willing to attend online meetings -* Act in the best interests of the project +On expiration of a PSC member’s term, nominees from within the QGIS Voting Membership +shall be put forward by any QGIS Community Member. The outgoing PSC member shall +automatically receive a nomination unless he/she no longer wishes to serve on the PSC. If +an incoming PSC member is a Voting Member, they will relinquish their voting membership +in the general meeting on joining the PSC. + +Prior to the election, the outgoing PSC determines the total number of seats of the incoming +committee. QGIS Voting Members shall be allowed a number of votes equal to the number +of PSC memberships up for election and shall be asked to rank their votes in order of +preference. The votes shall be weighted based on the number of PSC positions being voted +for. For example if three PSC positions are available, each first choice vote shall be worth 3 +points, second point vote 2 points and so on. PSC memberships shall be awarded on the +total weighted score of the vote, with the nominee receiving the greatest score being +awarded PSC membership first and so on in descending order of score of votes received +until all PSC memberships have been allocated. A list of currently serving PSC members +shall be maintained at: https://www.qgis.org/en/site/getinvolved/governance/ + +​7.2​ Terms of members of the PSC +............................... + +PSC members will serve for a two year term. + +​7.3​ Honorary PSC members +........................ + +Gary Sherman, as founder of the QGIS project, shall be accorded lifetime honorary +membership on the QGIS PSC from its inception. By common vote, QGIS.ORG may award +any individual a lifetime honorary seat on the PSC. + +​8​ Administration of QGIS.ORG +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The annual general meeting (AGM) will be held via a virtual forum The online location and +date is to be determined and communicated by the board in advance of the meeting. The +board shall publish a meeting agenda prior to the meeting. The protocol of the past general +meeting shall be provided by the board and sent to the voting members at least 15 days +prior to each general meeting. The chair of the association authorizes the release of the +protocol. + +The meeting shall be open to all QGIS community members. Only voting members can vote +on any motion. Substantial proposals made by QGIS community members for future +QGIS.ORG activities should be provided to the board in writing to be added as agenda items +in advance of the meeting. Minor proposals should be presented to the board and dealt with +independently of the AGM. + +The annual general meeting shall deal with the following: + +1. Approval of the annual report +2. Approval of the annual financial report +3. Approval of the annual budget +4. Election of the board chair +5. The nomination and election for the outgoing board and PSC member replacements +6. Confirmation or selection of the financial auditors for the upcoming financial year +7. Resolutions / voting of proposals made by the board, the PSC or voting members +8. Revision of the statutes +9. Deal with any matters arising + +All other decisions and competences are the responsibility of the QGIS Board. + +Extraordinary meetings can be convened by the board or on demand of at least 2/5 of the +voting members. + +Every officially convened general meeting has a quorum. At elections and for voting a simple +majority (more than 50%) of the present members decides, except for the cases listed in +sections 6.1, 7.1. and 5.4. + +The reporting year and the accounting year starts at January 1 and ends at December 31. +The correspondence of the QGIS.ORG Association will be carried out in English, unless +otherwise requested by the authorities. + +The association can only be dissolved by the general motion with a majority of more than 3⁄4 +of the voting members affirming the motion. In case of the liquidation of the association, the +general meeting can vote on the usage of the assets of the association with a simple +majority (more than 50% of voters). + +​9​ Financial arrangements +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -Role of the PSC -............... +The financial revenues of QGIS.ORG shall originate from donations, sponsorships, grant +funding and other diverse sources. -The PSC is intended to: +The general meeting shall elect two financial auditors each year. -* Provide guidance to the general direction of the project -* Provide a central point of contact for the project -* Ensure that the various expectations placed on the project by its members and - the users of QGIS are met to the best degree possible -* Vote on issues relating to project governance -* Arbitrate disputes -* Deal with confidential and legal matters that may arise -* Provide a stable base of 'institutional knowledge' to the project +Limited Liability: ​the QGIS Association can only be held liable up to the amount of the +current assets of the association. Personal liability of members of the board or individual +other members are excluded. -The PSC is not: -............... +This charter was approved by the general assembly via Loomio vote on May 8, 2017.. -* A legal entity -* Intended to deal with minutae of the project (these should be delegated to - trusted members)