The following contains the formal governance structure of the PyBaMM project. This document clarifies how decisions are made with respect to community interactions, including the relationship between open source development and work that may be funded by for-profit and non-profit entities.
The PyBaMM community strongly values inclusivity and diversity. Everyone should treat others with the utmost respect. Everyone in the community must adhere to the Code of Conduct which reflects the values of our community. Violations of the code should be reported to members of the steering council, where the offenses will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
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The Project has a Steering Council that consists of Project Contributors who have produced contributions that are substantial in quality and quantity, and sustained over at least one year. The role of the Council is to provide active leadership for the Project in making everyday decisions on technical and administrative issues, through working with and taking input from the Community.
During the everyday project activities, Council Members participate in all discussions, code review and other project activities as peers with all other Contributors and the Community. In these everyday activities, Council Members do not have any special power or privilege through their membership on the Council. However, it is expected that because of the quality and quantity of their contributions and their expert knowledge of the Project Software and Services that Council Members will provide useful guidance, both technical and in terms of project direction, to potentially less experienced Contributors.
The Steering Council and its Members play a special role in certain situations. In particular, the Council may:
Steering Council decisions are taken by simple majority, with the exception of changes to the Governance Documents which follow the procedure in the section ‘Changing the Governance Documents’.
To become eligible for being a Steering Council Member, an individual must be a Project Contributor who has produced contributions that are substantial in quality and quantity, and sustained over at least one year. Potential Council Members are nominated by existing Council Members or by the Community and voted upon by the existing Council after asking if the potential Member is interested and willing to serve in that capacity.
When considering potential Members, the Council will look at candidates with a comprehensive view of their contributions. This will include but is not limited to code, code review, infrastructure work, mailing list and chat participation, community help/building, education and outreach, design work, etc. We deliberately do not set arbitrary quantitative metrics to avoid encouraging behavior that plays to the metrics rather than the project’s overall well-being. We want to encourage a diverse array of backgrounds, viewpoints and talents in our team, which is why we explicitly do not define code as the sole metric on which Council membership will be evaluated.
If a Council Member becomes inactive in the project for a period of one year, they will be considered for removal from the Council. Before removal, the inactive Member will be approached by another Council member to ask if they plan on returning to active participation. If not they will be removed immediately upon a Council vote. If they plan on returning to active participation soon, they will be given a grace period of one year. If they do not return to active participation within that time period they will be removed by vote of the Council without further grace period. All former Council members can be considered for membership again at any time in the future, like any other Project Contributor. Retired Council members will be listed on the project website, acknowledging the period during which they were active in the Council.
The Council reserves the right to eject current Members if they are deemed to be actively harmful to the Project’s well-being, and attempts at communication and conflict resolution have failed.
All fiscal decisions are made by the steering council to ensure any funds are spent in a manner that furthers the mission of the Project. Fiscal decisions require majority approval by acting steering council members.
The Project will consider setting up an Advisory Committee that works to ensure the long-term well-being of the Project. The role of the Committee will be to advise the Steering Council.
It is expected that Steering Council and Advisory Committee Members will be employed at a wide range of companies, universities and non-profit organizations. Because of this, it is possible that Members will have conflicts of interest. Such conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to:
All members of the Council and Committee shall disclose any conflict of interest they may have. Members with a conflict of interest in a particular issue may participate in Council discussions on that issue, but must recuse themselves from voting on the issue.