ESEAP Preparatory Council/ESEAP Hub Governance Systems Proposal/22 May 2025 version

Proposed Governance System

Drawing of how ESEAP Hub community, Liaisons, and Steering Committee may interact with each other.

Overview

This proposal mirrors the concept of appointing administrators in Wikimedia projects, authorizing a group of trusted ESEAP Wikimeidans as "Liaisons" who represent the certain communities in Hub affairs. Liaisons help incorporate community needs into Hub decisions and implement Hub initiatives within their communities. Liaisons also serve as a talent pool for the Steering Committee (decision-making team), periodically nominating members to the "Steering Committee" which meets with the employee team to ensure resolution implementation.

Liaison: Definition, Formation, and Responsibilities

• Liaisons are trusted by a significant number of ESEAP Wikimedians, recognized for their rich experience in community organization, and capable of determining Hub affairs with others in a spirit of cooperation, openness, and diversity.

• Liaisons are not traditional representatives in the political context, so they don't require regular re-election or an electoral system to ensure they represent their constituents. Ideally, any self-identified ESEAP Wikimedian can be a Liaison.

• People meeting the following qualifications can self-nominate to become Liaisons:
  • Movement contribution:
    • Registered on any Wikimedia projects for over 3 years,
    • with more than 1,000 total edits,
    • and at least 100 edits in the past one year.
  • Governance experiences: (At least one of the following four):
    • "Former" Foundation Board member, full-time paid employee for over 1 year, or committee member.
    • "Current or former" board member (or high committee) or full-time paid staff of an affiliate for more than 1 year.
    • Administrator on any Wikimedia project for more than 1 year.
    • Management position in a non-Wiki NGO for more than 1 year.
  • Other:
    • Not permanently banned from any project when applying (bans for account security reasons don't count).
    • Does not have an active UCOC or T&S case, or a completed one which suggests or forbids them from holding leadership position or effectively discharge their duties such as attending in-person events.
  • Nominations can be submitted anytime, followed by a 14-day endorsement period. ESEAP Wikimedians can choose to "Support," "Oppose," or remain "Neutral." Within the 14-day endorsement period, candidates receiving more than 30 net “Support” become Liaison. Endorsers must be registered in any Wikimedia project for at least 90 days.

• To facilitate the handover of Hub affairs and quick startup, any willing EPC members can become “Founding Liaisons" without endorsement, with the same authority as regular Liaisons but serving until May 31, 2026 the latest, or until the ESEAP Wikimedians has endorsed 7 Liaisons. "Founding Liaisons" can convert to regular Liaisons through the regular endorsement mechanism at any time, after which there is no term limit.
• Liaisons don't require re-election but may leave their position for the following reasons:
  • Voluntary resignation.
  • Being reported and being verified for not participating in any Hub decision-making discussions for 90 days.
  • Permanent ban by any project or the Foundation, or a ESEAP Wikimedians raised an endorsement of no confidence with a majority of endorsers no longer trusting them.^＊
  • As a result of UCOC/T&S case ruled against them, the position is terminated with the Steering Committee making the determination.^#

^＊ Unless an error is found in the reason for departure, those who leave cannot return for one year; details regarding departure and investigation are determined by the decision-makers.

^# The process for suspending or terminating may evolve according to how U4C and Trust and Safety operate.

• Each Liaison can and should collect community requirements for the Hub, and may invite other Liaisons to discuss and form implementation proposals at any time, requesting the "Steering Committee" to consider including them in their work. The required number of participating Liaisons and process for forming a proposal will be established by the first Steering Committee, but must include at least one committee member throughout the entire process.
• Liaisons also need to actively participate in Hub affairs discussions, and encourage community involvement in Hub decision-making. To enable this, rules can be established to grant Liaisons certain micro funds and authorities.

Steering Committee(StC):Definition, Formation, and Responsibilities

• The Steering Committee is the decision-making core of the Hub and represents the ESEAP Hub externally. The StC consists of the most active members with governance skills from among the Liaisons. Compared to general Liaisons, they need a more comprehensive understanding of the Hub's status and must commit a certain amount of time to assist with the organizational operation of Hub.
• The Steering Committee consists of 5-11 people, elected from among the Liaisons and renewed annually.
• If a Steering Committee member is suspended or terminated from their Liaison role due to a UCOC or T&S case, that Steering Committee member should be suspended or terminated from the Steering Committee as well, and/or replaced by another Liaison determined by consensus among Liaisons.
• The Steering Committee's responsibilities include:
  • Ensuring the decision-making process is efficient and can be practically implemented.
  • Coordinating communication between Liaisons and the work team to ensure smooth Hub operation.
  • Supervising the implementation results of the work team.
  • Hiring and dismissal of Hub staff.
  • The first Steering Committee begins operation when the number of Founding Liaisons plus ESEAP Wikimedians-endorsed Liaisons reaches the minimum required number, and should establish detailed rules for committee nomination and resignation as soon as possible.
  • If there are sufficient Liaisons in total to fill out the 11 maximum seats of the StC, the Steering Committee does not need to fill all seats; when announcing re-election rules, the previous committee can publish the number of seats for the next committee based on Hub conditions.
• The Steering Committee should perform the following tasks:
  • Hold monthly meetings with employees to hear work reports.
  • Monitor financial status monthly.
  • Convene all Liaisons at an appropriate time each year to determine the Hub's annual plan and budget, and submit it to the Foundation on behalf of the Hub.
  • Compile work and financial reports with the work team annually, invite Liaisons and the ESEAP Wikimedians to read and comment, and submit to the Foundation.
  • Evaluate suitable timing to guide the ESEAP in formulating long-term strategies for the Hub.
• Steering Committee members are also responsible for:
  • Participating in project discussions initiated by Liaisons
  • Providing professional consultation or assistance to the employee team
  • Proactively researching Hub management issues and presenting reports

Interaction between Hub employees (e.g. Hub Manager), Liaisons, and the Steering Committee

• Hub employees (e.g. Hub Manager) are responsible for implementing various resolutions and report to the Steering Committee; as they gradually develop into a team, the highest team leader will report to the Steering Committee.
• At the planning and decision-making level, Liaisons convey community opinions to the Steering Committee; at the implementation and coordination level, Liaisons help employees implement work within communities.

FAQ

• Q: Why is there no longer a Strategist in the Strategists System?

A

The original system's Strategist were meant to engage in strategic formulation, but considering that such an open decision-making approach might not be entirely suitable for Hub affairs, we've significantly concentrated strategy decisions within the Steering Committee, so we've modified the name Strategist to Liaison to avoid misunderstanding. However, to help people understand that this system extends from the original Strategist proposal, and considering this name won't need to appear again in the future, we've kept the original title in the Summit presentation.

• Q: The renaming of Strategist sounds more professional, but why "Liaisons"? That sounds strange.

A

We welcome suggestions for more appropriate names that fit the concept.

• Q: Why establish an additional Steering Committee and adjust on the description?

A

We have considered the comment for the both systems previously presented with some preferring to establish a committee similar to CEE. The original Strategist system also suggested that Strategist would eventually discuss and form a committee to represent the Hub. However, based on concerns about decision-making efficiency without an appropriately sized group, we believe directly designing this committee in advance addresses these concerns.

• Q: Since you've designed a Steering Committee, why maintain Strategist and adjust them to Liaisons? Why not just establish the Steering Committee (or similar organization)?

A

There are two strong reasons for keeping Liaisons:

• First, to maintain the diversity nature of ESEAP. Based on discussions at the 2023 Singapore Wikimania and 2024 KK ESEAP Conference, an election with limited seats can hardly satisfy the ESEAP region's vision of diverse decision-makers including underrepresented communities and individual contributors. The original Strategist system aimed to allow anyone trusted by the ESEAP Wikimedians with governance capabilities to join without competing for limited positions. After adjusting to Liaisons, although this role does not have direct right to make final decisions, they still have the right to make proposals, maintaining the original diversity ideal while compromising for decision-making efficiency.
• Second, to strengthen sustainability. Since Liaisons play a certain role in Hub operations, their work attitude and abilities can be observed, providing better candidate selection for annual Steering Committee elections. Meanwhile, wikimedians from small or new communities can become familiar with complex governance work through practicing as Liaison, developing regional affairs participation capabilities. Compared to the limited seats on the Steering Committee, unlimited Liaison positions offer more empowerment opportunities.

• Q: Aren't you concerned that unlimited seats might lead to too many Liaisons, making decision-making difficult?

A

We've addressed this through the proposal process design. Although specific details are left to the future Steering Committee, it's clearly required that at least one Steering Committee member participate throughout the Liaison proposal process. This prevents each Liaison from making individual proposals, leading to too many opinions. We expect the Steering Committee to guide Liaisons to form different topic groups, with enough Steering Committee members to participate separately. Liaisons will first present opinions entrusted by the communities and coordinate relatively consistent consensus, which Steering Committee members will bring to the final decision-making meeting.

• Q: Is there really a way for so many Liaisons to discuss together? They might spend all meeting time just introducing themselves.

A

The system doesn't require a general assembly with all Liaisons—though it doesn't oppose this, and it would be interesting if they achieve it in the future. Liaisons can form consensus through asynchronous discussions using project management tools or communication platforms, or they can arrange thematic group meetings. The proposal formation process is decentralized; centralized decision-making meetings only require Steering Committee members and those they invite to attend.

• Q: Why don't Liaisons have regular re-elections?

A

We don't need to spend too much energy on elections. For an unlimited-seat design, those wanting to serve as Liaisons or represent their communities can simply nominate other Liaisons without needing elections to replace existing ones. We also have resignation regulations for inactive Liaisons, so those who don't participate will be eliminated.

• Q: Why is the Steering Committee size 5-11 people?

A

During the previous discussion phase, there were comments specifically suggesting the number was 5-10; based on the operation of some chapters, a number around 10 is indeed reasonable. The Wikimedia Foundation Board currently has 16 seats. We expanded to 11 seats considering that the Hub's functions will become more complex with development, so a seat count between that of an affiliate and the global foundation seems reasonable. However, the current proposed system doesn't require immediately establishing a 11-seat committee. We can imagine: in the first year with only 11 Liaisons, 5 would be elected as Steering Committee members, while the other 8 would remain as Liaisons. This is completely acceptable.