Steering Board (SB)#

The Steering Board is the strategic governing body of SGCI. It represents the community and decides on the foundational rules, policies, and direction of the initiative.

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Purpose#

The Steering Board is responsible for all aspects of oversight relating to the initiative that are not purely technical. This includes:

• Strategic direction — defining goals, priorities, and the initiative's roadmap.
• Community policies — establishing and maintaining the Code of Conduct, contribution guidelines, and membership criteria.
• Foundational compliance rules — approving the compliance baseline that images must meet, based on TAB recommendations.
• Community norms and workflows — establishing contribution processes, security issue reporting policies, and release workflows.
• Resource management — overseeing infrastructure, communication channels, and budget allocation.
• External representation — appointing representatives to work with other open source communities, standards bodies, and government stakeholders.
• Events and outreach — coordinating community events, marketing, and communications.
• Governance oversight — creating or modifying governance bodies, roles, and processes, including the establishment and dissolution of working groups and sub-committees.

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Decision Criteria#

In its decisions, the Steering Board MUST consider:

• relevance for public sector use cases
• security and compliance impact
• reusability across organizations
• alignment with open standards
• avoidance of vendor lock-in
• long-term sustainability and maintainability

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Composition#

• The Steering Board consists of up to 10 members.
• Members are individuals with a track record of sustained contribution to SGCI and demonstrated commitment to the initiative's long-term health.
• The Steering Board is composed of members with organizational, strategic, or community leadership experience — complementing the TAB's technical focus.

Balanced Representation#

The Steering Board must reflect the breadth of the SGCI community. Two rules apply jointly:

1. Organizational cap. No more than three members may share the same organizational affiliation.

2. Sector diversity. Each seated member is assigned to one of four sectors based on their primary affiliation at the time of selection:

The following sector rules apply:

• At least three of the four sectors must be represented on the Steering Board at all times.
• No more than half of seated members may come from any single sector.
• If a member's primary affiliation changes mid-term, the change is disclosed in the next public minutes. The member keeps their seat until the term ends, but the Steering Board must verify that the diversity rules still hold at the next selection round.
• If a vacancy would push the Steering Board below the sector-diversity rule, the next selection round must prioritize candidates from under-represented sectors. If no eligible candidate from an under-represented sector applies, the seat may be left open rather than filled in a way that violates the rule.

These rules apply equally to the initial Steering Board established during the interim period and to all subsequent compositions.

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SB Chair#

• The Steering Board elects a Chair from among its members to serve a one-year term.
• The Chair is responsible for:
  • Setting meeting agendas and presiding over Steering Board meetings.
  • Representing SGCI in external communications and partnerships.
  • Coordinating with the TAB Chair to align technical and strategic direction.
• The Chair may be re-elected for consecutive terms.

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Membership#

Eligibility#

A candidate for the Steering Board must:

1. Demonstrate expertise in representing the initiative — e.g., through community leadership, outreach, policy work, or stakeholder engagement. Active contribution to SGCI in the past is preferred.
2. Demonstrate commitment to the long-term health and neutrality of the initiative.
3. Be recognized by the community as a constructive participant.

Election#

Once the interim period concludes, Steering Board members are elected by the community:

1. Any community member may nominate a candidate (including self-nomination).
2. Candidates publish a brief statement outlining their motivation and the perspective they bring.
3. The existing Steering Board screens nominees for eligibility by majority vote and publishes the final list of eligible candidates.
4. A community election is called. The Steering Board announces the election at least two weeks in advance through public channels.
5. Every community member has one vote. Voting is conducted by secret ballot.
6. To be elected, a candidate must receive at least half of the votes cast. Abstentions are not counted.
7. In case of a tie, a runoff election is held between the tied candidates. If the tie persists, the winner is determined by a transparent random draw.
8. Results are published publicly.

Term and Rotation#

• Steering Board members serve two-year terms.
• Terms are staggered into two cohorts of approximately equal size. Roughly half of the seats are up for election each year, so the Steering Board never turns over more than half of its membership in a single election cycle.
• The initial Steering Board assigns starting cohort lengths (one or two years) at its first meeting — by lot if no consensus is reached — and publishes the result. This bootstraps the staggered rotation. From the second election onward, every term is two years.
• Members may serve consecutive terms if re-elected.

Overlap and Handover#

To avoid loss of context between cohorts, every rotation includes a structured overlap:

• Election results are announced at least four weeks before the new term begins, giving outgoing and incoming members time to coordinate.
• During this handover window, incoming members attend Steering Board meetings as non-voting observers and receive access to internal channels, working documents, and pending decisions.
• Outgoing members are expected to document open initiatives, ongoing decisions, and external relationships they have led, and to brief their successors on each.
• For up to four weeks after their term ends, outgoing members remain available as non-voting advisors to answer questions from the new cohort. After that, they return to their normal community role.
• The SB Chair is responsible for ensuring the handover happens and for flagging gaps to the incoming cohort before the new term starts.

Inactivity, Resignation, and Mid-Term Vacancies#

• A member who is inactive for more than six consecutive months may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the remaining Steering Board members.
• A member may resign at any time by written notice to the SB Chair. Where the resignation creates a gap in institutional knowledge, the resigning member is asked to provide a brief written handover before stepping down.
• A mid-term vacancy is filled at the next scheduled election. The replacement serves only the remainder of the original term so that the staggered-cohort structure is preserved. Until the seat is filled, the Steering Board may operate at reduced size provided quorum is still met.

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Working Groups#

The Steering Board may establish working groups to address cross-cutting topics such as outreach, documentation, or policy development. Working group members do not need to be Steering Board members. The Steering Board appoints and removes working group members by simple majority vote.

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Meetings and Voting#

• The Steering Board meets at least quarterly, with additional meetings as needed.
• Meetings are open to the public unless the Steering Board determines that specific agenda items require a private session (e.g., security disclosures, personnel matters). Private sessions are the exception and must be justified.
• Agendas are published at least one week before each meeting.
• Meeting minutes — including decisions and rationale — are published within one week after each meeting through public channels.

The Steering Board aims to operate by consensus. When a decision requires a formal vote:

• Each Steering Board member has one vote.
• Quorum requires at least half of all Steering Board members to be present or participating electronically.
• Standard decisions require a simple majority of those present, provided quorum is met. Without quorum, the Steering Board may meet but not make binding decisions.
• Decisions by electronic vote outside a meeting require a simple majority of all Steering Board members.
• Charter amendments and overriding a TAB recommendation require a two-thirds majority of all Steering Board members.
• Removing a member requires a two-thirds majority of the remaining Steering Board members.

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Relationship to the TAB#

The Steering Board relies on the TAB for technical expertise. Before making decisions with technical implications, the Steering Board must request and consider a TAB recommendation. The TAB is the authoritative body for technical standards and compliance rules within SGCI. “It acts in an advisory capacity to the Steering Board on technical implications of strategic decisions. It acts in an advisory capacity to the Steering Board on technical implications of strategic decisions.

The TAB Chair (or their delegate) participates in Steering Board meetings as a non-voting advisor to ensure alignment between technical and strategic direction.