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Clarify interactions between AC / Team / Board about MoUs (#704)
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See #670

Co-authored-by: Ted Thibodeau Jr <[email protected]>
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frivoal and TallTed authored Feb 22, 2023
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Expand Up @@ -5070,39 +5070,47 @@ Liaisons</h2>
confidentiality agreements;
and mutual membership agreements.

The [=CEO=] <em class="rfc2119">may</em> negotiate
a Memorandum of Understanding with another organization.
For purposes of the W3C Process, a <dfn id="mou" export lt="Memorandum of Understanding | Memoranda of Understanding | MoU">Memorandum of Understanding</dfn> (<abbr>MoU</abbr>)
is a formal agreement or similar contractual framework between W3C and another party or parties,
other than between W3C and W3C members
for the purposes of membership,
and other agreements related to the ordinary provision of services
for the purpose of running W3C,
that specifies rights and obligations of each party toward the others.
W3C <em class="rfc2119">may</em> negotiate
[=technical agreements=] with another organization.
For purposes of the W3C Process,
a <dfn local-lt="agreement">technical agreement</dfn> is a formal contract,
or a Memorandum of Understanding (<abbr id=mou>MoU</abbr>),
or a similar document,
between W3C and another party or parties,
that relates to the technical activity of the Consortium
(e.g., its publications, groups, or liaisons).
It specifies rights and obligations of each party toward the others.
These rights and obligations <em class="rfc2119">may</em> include joint deliverables,
an agreed share of technical responsibilities with due coordination,
and/or considerations for confidentiality and specific IPR.
The agreement may be called something other than a “Memorandum of Understanding”,
and something called a “Memorandum of Understanding”
might not be an [=MoU=] for the purposes of the Process.

When considering an MoU
Non-technical agreements, including
those between W3C and its [=Members=] for the purposes of membership,
between W3C and its Partners for the purposes of partnership [[BYLAWS]],
and other agreements related to the operation of the Consortium
or to the ordinary provision of services,
are not subject to these Process provisions.

When considering a [=technical agreement=]
(i.e., before the decision whether to sign is made),
the Team <em class="rfc2119">should</em> provide
the [=Advisory Committee=] with a draft of the proposed MoU,
along with an explanation of how W3C would benefit from signing this MoU,
the [=Advisory Committee=] with a draft of the proposed [=agreement=],
along with an explanation of how W3C would benefit from signing this [=agreement=],
for their review and discussion.
After addressing any comments,
if the [=Team Decision|Team decides=] to proceed with signing the MoU,
and subject to any management or governance procedures that apply
(e.g., formal review of proposed contracts by legal counsel or by the [=Board=]),
if the [=Team Decision|Team decides=] to proceed with signing the [=agreement=],
the Team <em class="rfc2119">must</em> announce the intent to sign,
and provide the final text of the MoU
and provide the final text of the [=agreement=],
with an explanation of signing rationale, to
the [=Advisory Committee=].
[=Advisory Committee representatives=] <em class="rfc2119">may</em> initiate an [=Advisory Committee Appeal=]
of the decision to sign the [=MoU=].
Unless an [=appeal=] rejects the proposal to sign an MoU,
the [=CEO=] may sign the [=MoU=] on behalf of W3C.
A signed [=Memorandum of Understanding=] <em class="rfc2119">should</em> be made public.
of the decision to sign the [=agreement=].
If the proposal is rejected on [=appeal=],
the [=Team=] <em class=rfc2119>must not</em> sign the [=agreement=] on behalf of W3C
unless directed to do so by the [=Board=].
A signed [=agreement=] <em class="rfc2119">should</em> be made public.

Information about <a href="https://www.w3.org/2001/11/StdLiaison">W3C liaisons with other organizations</a> [[LIAISON]]
and the guidelines W3C follows when creating a liaison is available on the Web.
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