Governance Toolkit
This section of the toolkit is focused on activities that will help you with planning how to establish, stabilize, and evolve sustainable governance for your program. It is designed to help you structure discussions and gain consensus about next steps for sustainable governance for your OSS program. It is not a toolkit for day to day governance.
Click here to download a PDF of ALL Governance activities.
Facet Description
A governance model describes the roles that project participants can take on and the process for strategic and tactical decision making within the project. In addition, it describes the ground rules for participation in the project and the processes for communicating and sharing within the project team and community.
Getting Started
Review the activities and goals below to select ones you want to use for sustainability planning. These activities are designed to help you move from one phase to the next and can be used in any order. You can use any or all of them.
Click on the icons below to download a DOC or PDF version of each Activity.
Click on the Activity name or more button (…) for additional resources.
Use the "contact" page to ask questions.
Governance Pre-Work
Activities that may be helpful if your program hasn't already done strategic planning.
Click here to download a PDF of all Pre-Work activities.
Goal: To enable program governance to consider and create a Mission and Vision Statement if you do not already have one. Having Mission and Vision Statements are helpful for many of the ITAV activities.
Goal: To enable program governance to consider and create some high level strategic priorities if you do not already have them. These are helpful for many of the ITAV activities.
Goals: To identify community stakeholders, consider goals for each stakeholder group, and prioritize community stakeholders.
Click here to download a PDF of all Phase 1 activities.
Goals: Understand how the program’s current governance model (or decision making) works with unexpected issues; Understand if the model works well or has gaps; and Identify and document issues that need to be solved
Related Objective: Define the need for governance
Goals: Understand the elements of various governance models; Determine which your governance structure currently has; and Prioritize future elements
Related Objective: Review existing governance models
Goal: Understand the range of various governance models, how they function, and what they could mean for your own program
Related Objective: Review existing governance models
Goals: Enumerate the decisions for stakeholders; Enumerate responsibilities; Match roles with decision making groups; and Validate governance model against scenarios
Related Objective: Select the governance model that works best now
Goal: Finalize an initial governance structure
Related Objective: Select the governance model that works best now
Goal: Draft your communication strategy and communicate change to your stakeholders
Related Objective: Communicate changes to stakeholders
Goal: Evaluate how well your communication campaign was received
Related Objective: Communicate changes to stakeholders
Click here to download a PDF of all Phase 2 activities.
Goals: Test resiliency of current governance model; Understand how the program’s current governance (or decision making) works with unexpected issues; Understand if the model works well or has gaps; Identify and document issues that need to be solved
Related Objective: Evaluate each element of existing governance
Goals: Enumerate the strategic and tactical decisions the program stakeholders are faced with; Enumerate the paths those decisions take before they are finalized; For decisions that have no path, identify choke points, redundancies; and Identify gaps or areas of governance or program management that need improvement
Related Objective: Evaluate each element of existing governance
Goals: Assess the financial and organizational stability of your program’s governance; and Identify gaps or areas of governance that need improvement
Related Objective: Evaluate each element of existing governance
Goals: Create, update, or confirm position descriptions for elected leaders; Help elected leaders and community members understand the roles and responsibilities of each position; and Facilitate succession planning
Related Objective: Document existing governance practices
Goal: Create more explicit stakeholder personas to help guide community efforts
Related Objective: Increase the level of community engagement
Goals: Understand how the program currently recognizes contributions; Understand how recognition and contributions are incorporated into the program; Understand the kind of recognition that is most appreciated/motivating to each kind of contributor; and Discover how the program can improve in this area
Related Objective: Increase the level of community engagement
Goals: Determine if you need a new organization to provide functions; Gather requirements for assessment and decision
Related Objective: Evaluate long-term home organization options
Goals: Evaluate the program’s current governance structure; Determine potential needs; and Prioritize work going forward
Related Objective: Evaluate each element of existing governance
Click here to download a PDF of all Phase 3 activities.
Goals: Identify critical positions within your organization; Identify future staffing needs; Identify people with the skills and potentials to perform future roles; Develop action plans for individuals to assume those positions
Related Objectives: Continue to evaluate and evolve governance; Expand community participation in governance
Goals: Determine what information is necessary for Board members to feel invested, informed and engaged; Identify topics that inform Board discussions and decisions; Create a continuing education plan (schedule and content) based on those topics for Board members
Related Objective: Support consistent structures
Goals: Test resiliency of current governance model; Understand how the program’s current governance (or decision making) works with unexpected issues; Understand if the model works well or has gaps; Identify and document issues that need to be solved
Related Objective: Continue to evaluate and evolve governance practices
Goals: Evaluate if governance structure is representative; Prioritize any gaps; Document or revise governance policies or decision making process; and Devise a plan to make change to practices
Related Objectives: Continue to evaluate and evolve governance practices; Expand community participation in governance
Goal: Develop a plan to expand community participation in governance
Related Objective: Expand community participation in governance