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Open Standards Board

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Terence Eden edited this page Nov 9, 2016 · 2 revisions

Why do we need a Board?

  • Our criteria for open standards state that in order to be considered standards must be selected through an open process. We need to meet our own standards.
  • Being open and putting this Board in place reduces the risk of legal challenge - this is a real and present danger particularly if the selection process that we use to select our standards has not been performed in accordance with our own principles.
  • PEX(ER) has already approved the Open Standards Principles which included a statement that we would be advised by an Open Standards Board selected from a group of industry, professional, developer and academic volunteers (see annex).

Where should the accountability lie?

  • The SRO for open standards is the Government CTO. The chair of the board will therefore be the CTO. Department CTOs will have delivery accountability for the implementation of standards.
  • The PEX mandate states that departments will publish an implementation plan for each adopted open standard, and the proposed IT metrics will track this.
  • Each standard will have a business SRO who will be responsible for driving adoption through capability building and advising departments on implementation.

Can we re-use an existing board?

  • We considered existing boards such as the Digital Leaders Network, or the Transparency Board, but these were deemed unsuitable due to the specialist nature of this board.
  • The current CTO Executive has responsibility and representation among large departments to drive adoption of open standards. We propose therefore that the Open Standards Board will be a sub-board of the CTO Executive with delegated authority, chaired by the Government CTO.
  • Separate technical, document and data standards panels will be created to advise the Open Standards Board.

ANNEX

PEX mandate

PEX approved the Open Standards Principles, including:

  • Cabinet Office, advised by an Open Standards Board, will use the Standards Hub process to set standards.
  • The Board membership will be selected from a group of industry, professional, developer and academic volunteers. Volunteer expert advisers will also be selected to advise the Board on specific subject matters. The Board will be supported by panels of data and technology experts drawn from within and outside of government.
  • The Standards Hub process will be proposed to the Board for ratification. The selection criteria for compulsory open standards shall be agreed by the Board.

Advising the Board will be Standards Panels

  • There will be Data, Document and Technical Standards Panels.
  • Standards champions (SROs) will work with the Standards Panels to identify users who have meaningfully contributed through the Standards Hub.
  • These people may be invited to volunteer for task-based Working Groups to advise on the practicality of implementation of a particular approach.

Wider engagement will be via the Standards Hub

  • This is the public route into the transparent, open engagement process.
  • Anyone who is active and engaged through the Standards Hub may be invited to work more closely with us through working groups set up by Standards Panels and standards champions.

To note

  • All suppliers can get involved in conversations through the Standards Hub, but there will be no special preference given to any supplier, large or small, in the outcome.
  • A rolling recruitment call will be issued to provide a mechanism for getting other external volunteers on to the board if we desire.
  • The Board’s role will be reflected in the new IT governance structure as it is developed.

Additional information

The Board will meet once every 6 months to review and challenge the recommendations made by panels and working groups which make submissions to the Board. The meeting will either be face-to-face or via tele/video-conference and will last no more than 2 hours.

The work of the Open Standards Board will be transparent. Notes of meetings and written advice will be accessible through the Standards Hub.

Meetings with over 60% attendance will be considered quorate.

Roles associated with the Open Standards Board

  • Chair - the Senior Responsible Owner for Open Standards in the Government. Decisions will be made by the chair and will be based on consensus of the Board. The Board will seek advice from specialists.

  • Board Members - external volunteers, government officials and not for profit bodies who attend each meeting, counsel the chair and reach consensus based agreement on recommendations submitted to the Board from standards panels or working groups. Board Members are expert users and are expected to attend each meeting.

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