Community Work Groups Operations Charter

Owned by Ann Su
Last updated: Mar 12, 2021
4 min read

Contents

Formal Relationships with Other Ed-Fi Groups

Each Work Group is part of a larger Ed-Fi Alliance governance model as depicted in the figure below. As such, it participates with other community work groups and the Ed-Fi Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to provide input and feedback to the Ed-Fi Governance Advisory Team (GAT). 

Figure 1: Ed-Fi Governance Structure

The Work Groups comprise part of Tier 1, whose primary role is to propose and debate changes and additions to the Ed-Fi data model and technology.  The Tier 1 Work Groups consist of program area and technical group members as well as Alliance representatives.  The Tier 1 Work Groups send their outputs to Tier 2 (i.e. the GAT) in the form of recommended Requests for Comments (RFCs, for Ed-Fi data standards) or proposals (for Ed-Fi technology or program operations).  The GAT provides a cross-functional review and approval of these recommendations or proposals.  The GAT is made up of representatives from each Work Group, The Ed-Fi Alliance, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and representative at-large members.  The GAT reviews and recommends proposals to Tier 3, the Ed-Fi Executive Committee.

Operating Procedures

Work Group meetings are open to any members, and minutes are published to the Ed-Fi community. Meeting minutes are summaries and published under the Chatham House Rule (i.e., viewpoints are not attributed to specific individuals) unless the situation demands attribution (e.g., an action is taken by a member, or identity is critical to the discussion, as in a case where an agency volunteers their field work as an example of a situation or problem). In addition, any work group member or community member is invited to comment on meeting notes or other artifacts that are published online, for example, to offer a correction or addition to notes, or to comment on the ideas in the notes.

Work Group decisions, proposals and recommendations are provided from the Work Group chair(s), and it is is the responsibility of the chair(s) to ensure that those items, to the extent possible, reflect the consensus of the group.  As such, Work Group polling or surveys may be used as inputs. Care should be given to avoid making closely debated decisions on important topics by strict vote count, as all members or member organizations might not be present or adequately represented for a vote.  Rather, careful consideration must be given to the polling data and this data should be interpreted in such a way as to represent the best interests of the broader Ed-Fi community.  Work Group membership may be polled at the discretion of the chair or co-chairs, however broader polling of the Ed-Fi community must be approved by the GAT. 

Working meetings of the Work Group may be in person but are recommended to be virtual and composed such that the members’ time is used wisely.  Working meetings should be no less than quarterly but may be more frequent as the need arises.

Annually, the work groups, Technical Advisory Group and GAT hold a Technical Congress.  The agenda is set by the GAT with direction and input from the Ed-Fi Alliance. Meetings are constructed to allow time for cross-group discussion as well as discussions within work groups.  Time is scheduled to onboard new members and share key information with all members. 

Work Group Structure

  1. There shall be a chair and vice-char or two co-chairs for each Work Group, as appointed by the President of the Ed-Fi Alliance.

  2. There shall be an Alliance liaison assigned to each Work Group.

  3. There shall be a Work Group support person that assists in scheduling meetings, keeping an overall Work Group calendar, organizing Work Group minutes and artifacts on Tech Docs, conducting membership confirmation every 6 months and general assistance where warranted. This support person is made available by the Ed-Fi Alliance.

  4. There may be subgroups formed as needed by the Work Group chairs to address specific areas or topics of interest to the Work Group.

  5. The Ed-Fi Alliance President will confirm annually that chairs, co-chairs and vice-chairs wish to continue in their roles.  New appointments will be made where needed by the Alliance President.  

  6. The Work Group general membership will be represented in decision-making and recommendations that require broad Work Group adoption.  The representation will be through the designated contacts for the education agencies.

Responsibilities

The Work Group chair, vice chair (or co-chairs) and the Ed-Fi Alliance liaison shall collaborate to be responsible for:

  1. Scheduling the meetings of the Work Group

  2. Preparing agendas and materials for all meetings

  3. Facilitating the sessions of the Work Group

  4. Maintaining the minutes of all meetings

  5. Conducting research

  6. Convening Work Group information and practice-sharing sessions

  7. Developing tools or protocols to advance the members’ work.

  8. Working with the support person to conduct Work Group membership confirmation prior to the annual Summit and Tech Congress.

Membership

Enrollment

  1. Qualification: Participation in Ed-Fi Governance requires registering for a “community membership” account here: https://www.ed-fi.org/create-an-account/
  2. Enrollment
    1. Members interested in joining a work group should email Governance@Ed-Fi.org with the following information:
      1. Name
      2. Organization
      3. Title
      4. Email address
      5. Work group enrolling for; there is no restriction on how many work groups an individual can enroll for.

Membership Tracking

  1. Participation: Work group member names and organizations are published online and work groups are encouraged to record attendance in meeting minutes, at the discretion of the work group chair.
  2. Periodic Roster Update: Membership is periodically updated to reflect participation in each work group. A confirmation email is sent twice a year to all members on the roster requesting a confirmation reply to stay on the roster. Based on a review of confirmation emails, members not confirming will be removed.

Code of Conduct

The Ed-Fi Community is made up of technology and education professionals committed to making a positive difference in the lives of students. As such, the Community is open and welcoming by default. Even so, we have a few expectations we ask of our members, memorialized in this code of conduct. The full text of this code can be found in the Code of Conduct

Intellectual Property Disclosure

By participating in the Ed-Fi Community, the Member acknowledges receipt of the Ed-Fi Community Intellectual Property Disclosure Policy.

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