Role and Structure of W3C Offices

09 Aug 2005

Role and Structure of W3C Offices

Slides of the presentation …

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Some history

W3C was formed in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee
- 1994: first “host” at MIT, Cambridge, USA
- two more “hosts” joined later
  - 1995: INRIA, France
  - 1996: Keio University, Japan
- 2003: European Host transferred from INRIA to ERCIM
W3C was modeled after the X Consortium, but…
… was more international from the start!

W3C-LA Project

1997: EU funded project to increase W3C’s presence
Strong outreach component (conferences, demonstrators, etc)
Establishment of European offices:
- Germany (GMD, now FhG)
- Greece (Forth)
- Italy (CNR)
- Sweden (SICS)
- The Netherlands (CWI)
- United Kingdom (CCLRC)

W3C-LA results

The offices’ presence influenced membership evolution!
- a sign for the increasing awaraness of W3C

Office Programme history with membership tables

Further expansion

Establishment of offices outside Europe:
- Hong Kong (HKUST, 1998)
- Israel (HUJI, 2000)
- Morocco (EMI, 2000
- Australia (DSTC, 2000)
- Korea (ETRI, 2002)
- India (CDAC, 2005)
New offices in Europe, too:
- Hungary (SZTAKI, 2002)
- Finland (DMI/TUT, 2002)
- Spain (CTIC, 2003)
Office regionalization in 2002:
- UK Office became UK & Ireland office
- Dutch Office became Benelux office
- German Office became Office for Germany & Austria

A World Wide Consortium...

The globe with the W3C hosts and offices

Offices’ motto

“To promote adoption of W3C recommendations among developers, application builders, and standards setters, and to encourage inclusion of stakeholder organizations in the creation of future recommendations by joining W3C”

Offices: why?

Outreach and awareness is paramount to W3C
- W3C recommendations are complex and numerous
- range of applications are growing
  - they are used in digital government programs, for example
- they help in overcoming a digital divide
Outreach is also bound to local issues
- uptake of the Web differs from one place to the other
- language might be a major problem
- cultural, regional issues might be obstacles
W3C always needs new members, too
This is where Offices come in!

Offices: where?

W3C is especially interested in setting up an office if
- the region is under represented at W3C (compared to its economic, scientific, etc, potential)
- W3C needs special input from a region to accomplish its mission:
  - internationalization
  - region’s dominating role in an industry area
  - etc.

Role of offices

First point of contact locally (organizationally, technically)
Education and outreach
- sponsorship of events
- shepherding translations
- forum for regional discussions
- localized promotional activities
- conduit for W3C communications and press releases
Regional input to W3C (eg, internationalization)
Channel for national level funding schemes
Advocacy for W3C in the region
Building contacts on governmental levels
Local recruiting
etc

Hosts and Offices

Hosts and Offices have different roles and responsibilities!
Hosts (MIT, ERCIM, Keio):
- are the administrative and financial centers of W3C, they manage
  - W3C member contracts
  - membership fees and W3C's operational budget
- are the copyright holders for W3C Recommendations
- W3C team is bound to (and mostly employed by…) hosts:
  - coordination of all technical work within W3C
  - management of the W3C Web site
  - primary press contacts, press releases
  - software development
  - etc
- real “homes” of W3C
Offices: local representation of W3C

Office hosting institutions

Vendor Neutral
- W3C can work because members see it as impartial!
A W3C Member
- need to be a Member to have access to the information
- delivers a unique Member contribution to W3C
Has a technically able local staff in W3C technologies
- important for member contact, technical issues, courses, …
Has an established network of contacts
Examples: research institutes, university departments, technology transfer institutions…

Office activities in practice

Shepherding prospective local members to W3C
- establish contacts
- clarification of administrative, legal issues
- help the W3C administration in resolving local, special problems
Organizing local events, tutorial, courses on W3C topics
Regular (usually monthly) newsletter
Translation and local dissemination of press releases
Participation at local events as sponsor, speaker, etc
Participation in governmental programs, decision bodies
- Web accessibility problems is a typical example

Office activities in practice (cont.)

Larger scale translation programs
- using, eg, local funding
- targeted audience, eg, the local disability communities
Web sites in local language (eg, Morocco site)
Liaisons with local organizations (eg, ISOC)
Organization of W3C Working Group meetings
Answering technical issues, local “point of excellence”
- office staff can turn to W3C team members for technical issues

Mechanics

Contractual agreement with W3C
Continuous contact with the Head of Offices
Monthly Office teleconferences:
- review status, current plans and achievements
- updates on key W3C Recommendations
- work together, share experiences
One face-to-face meeting a year (at one of the W3C hosts)
Promotional materials, overview slides, etc, are available
W3C Team members try to act as speakers at office events
- there are only 60+ team members, this is not always possible…
- current financial problems may need help in trip financing
In practice: an office usually consists of 1-2 persons part-time

Finances

A percentage of the local members’ membership fees
- 25% for the first year of joining, 20% in the second, then 15%
A startup fund is possible for the first two years
W3C finances the face-to-face meeting costs
Usually, this is not enough to cover all expenses
- hosting institutions regard this as part of PR activities
- they underwrite possible deficits
With lots of local members, the books can be balanced!

Further Information

More information about W3C: http://www.w3.org/Consortium/
Local W3C Offices: http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Offices
Head of Offices’ address:: ivan@w3.org

Role and Structure of W3C Offices

Role and Structure of W3C Offices

Table of Contents:

Some history

W3C-LA Project

W3C-LA results

Further expansion

A World Wide Consortium...

Offices’ motto

Offices: why?

Offices: where?

Role of offices

Hosts and Offices

Office hosting institutions

Office activities in practice

Office activities in practice (cont.)

Mechanics

Finances

Further Information