This document provides an overview of the structure of W3C governance.

Introduction

The web works thanks to an array of web infrastructure services, which provide "shared means to many ends" ([[?Infrastructure]]) including interoperable standards and other critical services. The [=W3C=] governs many of the relevant standards and could be legitimate in governing other infrastructural components. Over the years, the [=community=] has developed a multi-pronged governance system to manage the infrastructure components that are under community governance. This document makes this governance system more explicit, and suggests a number of changes that stem from the recent addition of a [=board=] and [=corporation=]. (It may be worth noting that the current W3C Process Document has become slightly out of date in some of its definitions.)

NOTE: the description provided in this document partially matches current reality but is focused on developing a governance architecture that is a better match for the W3C's mission than the current one. The essential changes made here compared to reality are:

• Explicitly placing the [=community=] at the centre.
• Focusing on the infrastructural nature of the work.
• Make the AB about the entire institutional structure, including the governance of the infrastructure product itself. It is also in charge of contributor welfare which you can think of as a form of community union. This is modelled after the Mondragón governance architecture.
• The TAG is put in charge of tech strategy and of coordinating [=horizontal review=]. There should probably be two separate groups: one for architecture (and that should be a regular [=horizontal review=] group) and another for strategy+review (being elected).

High Level Structure

The web community is the set of stakeholders, individual and collective, who rely upon and take part in the web.

Since its founding in 1994, the W3C's role has been to provision infrastructure critical to the operation of the web. Over the years, depending on needs, available resources, and strategy, this has taken various forms: often open, interoperable standards but also software products and libraries, test suites, policymaking support, educational material, community organising, or interoperability testing. The [=W3C=] is comprised of the [=consortium=] and, as of 1 January 2023, the [=corporation=]. They work together in support of the [=community=]. The W3C Team, under the leadership of the CEO, provides support for both the [=consortium=] and the [=corporation=] and is also part of the [=community=].

The role of the corporation is to handle the day-to-day executive and operational aspects in support of [=web infrastructure=]. The CEO leads the [=corporation=]. The Board exerts oversight over the [=CEO=] and aspects of the corporation within its purview as a Delaware corporation, and through its certificate of incorporation and bylaws. The Board's oversight roles include setting the [=corporation=]'s strategy and monitoring its financial health. By design, the Board does not play a direct role in the technical development of [=web infrastructure=].

The consortium's role is to convene the [=community=] stakeholders most actively involved in the provision of [=web infrastructure=] and to define and maintain the institutions that organise their cooperation. The Advisory Board (AB) oversees the institutional aspects of the [=consortium=]'s work and guarantees that [=web infrastructure=] is provided and governed as a commons. It is also responsible for maintaining and improving the work conditions of all those in the community who contribute to the W3C's mission.

Horizontal review is the cornerstone of an integrated approach to [=web infrastructure=], ensuring to the extent possible that the many moving parts of [=web infrastructure=] operate coherently and as intended. It is operated by review groups (acting as [=independent agencies=]) that each regulate foundational aspect of [=web infrastructure=]. The TAG is tasked with the coordination of [=horizontal review=] and with the technical strategy of [=web infrastructure=]. Currently, horizontal review includes topics of accessibility, internationalization, privacy, security, and Web architecture but it could be extended to additional domains. All W3C standards must undergo [=horizontal review=].

An independent agency is a body that has authority over a given domain with meaningful independence from the people or entities that its reviews apply to.