Roles of W3C Offices

A W3C Office is a regional arm that helps recruit Members and promote W3C technology. The primary roles of a W3C Office are to:

1. Recruit stake-holders in the region by introducing them to W3C, developing relationships with local technology or policy leaders, and guiding organizations through the steps for joining W3C. The W3C Offices play an important role in maintaining W3C’s Membership base, which is fundamental to W3C's operations.
2. Provide support for existing W3C Members in the region.
3. Provide feedback to W3C on regional issues (for example, in support of W3C's Internationalization Activity).
4. Promote the adoption of W3C Recommendations with a particular attention to the local languages and cultures.
5. Initiate translations and help others translate W3C materials and promote their dissemination.

Background

W3C plays an increasingly important role in developing core Web standards. To ensure that W3C continues to produce standards that meet the needs of the global community, W3C must:

• Broaden participation to include more stake-holders from around the World;
• Increase the diversity of organizations that participate actively, including industry, research, implementers, and user communities;
• Develop international education and outreach programs and raise awareness of W3C's role;
• Understand and satisfy the linguistic and cultural requirements of many different communities and gain a better understanding of the technological problems deriving from linguistic and structural differences

The Offices play a key role in helping W3C reach these goals.

Hosting Institutions

A W3C Office represents one or more countries or regions and is “hosted” by an organization that is vendor-neutral. Each hosting institution of a W3C Office has a contractual relationship with W3C. W3C uses the following criteria when considering a host institution for an Office:

Vendor Neutrality

Like W3C itself, a W3C Office must be vendor neutral. Typically, a W3C Office is hosted by a research center, a university department, or a technology transfer institution.

Contributing W3C Members

The synergy between contributing to W3C work and promoting this work is at the heart of the W3C Office concept. The institution has to have a proven record with W3C technologies (as users and, we hope, as contributors as well).

Established Network of Contacts

Effective promotion in a region relies on an established regional network of contacts. These contacts should include research institutions, local industry, governmental bodies, and press.

Benefits to Host Institutions

Institutions that host a W3C Office benefit from the relationship in a number of ways:

• A W3C Office develop networks of contacts in the region that may also benefit the host institution;
• The Office can increase the technical credibility of the hosting institution in, for example, applying for various research and development funds, grants, and industrial contacts;
• The Office staff can help the host institution remain aware of W3C initiatives and opportunities for participation.

It is the responsibility of the Office Manager and staff to maintain close contacts within the host institution, to ensure the integration of the Office into the host institution, and to communicate W3C news to the host institution. In return, Office staff generally call on host institutions for local expertise and for help in organizing tutorials and other events.

Starting a W3C Office

Launching and running a W3C Office involves a significant investment from W3C and the host organization, in terms of time, money, and human resources. W3C decides to set up an Office only after careful consideration. Two important factors when considering to set up an Office are:

• Contributions and Membership from the region do not live up to the region's industrial and technological potential (current or anticipated);
• Organizations in the region can offer unique input to W3C for example, for understanding issues of internationalization, or because companies in the region have a important presence in a sector of the industry

W3C creates an Office when the W3C Management approves a proposal from a qualifying host institution to the Head of Offices.

The Offices receive between 15% and 25% of the membership fees paid by W3C members in their respective region/country during the first 3 years of the membership (the exact amount depends on the date when the member joins W3C: 25% for the first year, 20% for the second, and 15% for the third year).

Staffing a W3C Office

Each W3C Office has an “Office Manager” responsible for running the Office. This manager is nominated by the host organization, and is approved by the Head of Offices at W3C. An Office operates with typically one full time equivalent; often that time is divided up among several people. At least one person in the staff should have a thorough understanding of the technical work of W3C.

Principal Activities of a W3C Office

A W3C Office develops and maintains local relationships in a number of ways:

• They nurture contacts with existing members in the region (e.g., by holding member only meetings, workshops), providing a forum for these W3C members to work together.
• They recruit new Members in their region, ensuring representation at W3C by the local community.
• They create and support local networks interested in W3C technologies, and organizing tutorials, courses, and general presentations (e.g., as stand-alone events or bound to a major national conference as, for example, an extra conference track or separate “W3C day”).
• They sponsor and support local events where there is a focus on W3C topics; this can happen by contributing W3C related information (e.g., by providing a speaker, a conference track, participating in panels, running a booth, disseminating brochures) as well as by offering extra publicity to the event through the Office’s own channels. W3C Staff members and Working Group participants are encouraged to attend and speak at Offices events when they are in the region.
• They provide information on W3C’s activity to the local community and are the first point of contact locally when it comes to addressing W3C-related technical questions and concerns.
• They build privileged relationships with local authorities, government agencies, user groups, various local communities (e.g., disability groups) and local press (general and specialized), representing W3C’s position, and collecting and understanding local issues of interest to W3C.

Communications Channels

A W3C Office employs a number of communications mechanisms to carry out their activities:

• Each Office manages a Web site (following a common style), that lists the activities in the region, translations of W3C materials and press releases, local presentations, and includes staff contact information.
• Each Office publishes a monthly newsletter, sent out to a local mailing list, including local new and the most important news of W3C in the past period, possibly translated to the local language.
• They produce promotional brochures and documents (printed and electronic) for use by the Office, and possibly by other Offices or the W3C Staff.
• They use W3C logos and other branding tools, including the logo for the local the Office.
• They support the W3C Communications Team, notably through the translation of W3C news and press releases, and by providing information about conferences and other regional events where W3C should be present.
• They relate local regional issues, problems, questions to the W3C Team.

While Offices maintain close contacts to their host institutions, they also must ensure that they can represent W3C positions both in public presentations and when speaking with the press.

A set of overview slides, presentation and promotional materials, etc, are at the disposal of the Offices. Offices use and translate these materials to use it in their own presentations and work. Offices also actively improve and share these resources with one another and with the core W3C Staff.

W3C Offices Meetings

All W3C Office managers participate in a monthly teleconference to discuss current problems, tasks, etc. These phone conferences often include a short overview on one of the W3C activities by a member of the W3C team. These meetings are chaired by the Head of Offices, who acts as a bridge between the offices and the rest of the W3C Team.

Office managers also attend an annual face-to-face meeting (traditionally in January). W3C pays the costs of one person per Office to attend this annual meeting.

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