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:
- 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.
- Provide support for existing W3C Members in the
region.
- Provide feedback to W3C on regional issues (for
example, in support of W3C's Internationalization Activity).
- Promote the adoption of W3C Recommendations with a particular attention
to the local languages and cultures.
- 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.
Ivan Herman, Head of Offices (ivan@w3.org)
Klaus Birkenbihl, Coordinator of Offices (Klaus@w3.org)
Last revised: $Date: 2008/12/22 10:12:56 $
Copyright © 1994-2006 W3C® (MIT, ERCIM,
Keio), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark, document use
and software
licensing rules apply. Your interactions with this site are in accordance
with our public and
Member privacy
statements.