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DIRECT Governance

Executive Summary

DIRECT is a community-led project built on open collaboration, shared ownership, and sustained engagement. As the project has grown, a lightweight governance model is needed to provide clarity without creating unnecessary structure.

This document sets out a proportionate approach designed to:

  • Support continued growth and collaboration
  • Protect the vision and values of DIRECT
  • Clarify how decisions are made
  • Enable, rather than constrain, community contributions

The governance model is intentionally minimal. It provides enough structure to support coordination, transparency, and sustainability, while keeping authority close to the work and the community.

This model is expected to evolve over time in response to experience, feedback, and growth.

Governance Principles

DIRECT governance is guided by the following principles:

  • Light-touch – Governance should enable progress, not slow it down.
  • Proportionate – Structure should scale only as needed.
  • Open and inclusive – Participation and ideas are welcome from across the community.
  • Community-led – Most innovation and activity happens through working groups.
  • Transparent – Roles, decisions, and priorities are visible and understandable.
  • Time-respectful – Processes should minimise meetings and administrative overhead.

Governance Model

DIRECT governance has two components:

  • Project Co-Leads, who provide strategic stewardship and overall coherence
  • Community-led Working Groups, where most activity takes place and which are led by Working Group Leads

The model is deliberately simple. Responsibility sits primarily with those doing the work, with the Co-Leads ensuring alignment, sustainability, and continuity.

The Co-Leads are accountable to the community and operate in service of it.

Project Co-Leads

DIRECT is guided by two Project Co-Leads who jointly steward the project’s direction, sustainability, and integrity.

They hold equal responsibility and authority and work collaboratively in all aspects of leadership.

Responsibilities

Together, the Co-Leads:

  • Steward the vision, purpose, and values of DIRECT
  • Guide strategic direction and prioritisation
  • Ensure coherence across initiatives and outputs
  • Support and enable working groups
  • Represent DIRECT externally where appropriate
  • Act as a point of escalation when needed
  • Make structural or strategic decisions where required

Their role is to enable progress and remove obstacles, not to control day-to-day work.

Ways of Working

  • The Co-Leads operate as equal partners.
  • Decisions are made jointly wherever possible.
  • Disagreements are handled constructively and transparently.
  • Where significant decisions affect the wider project, community input will be sought.

Working Groups

Most work within DIRECT happens through community-led working groups.

Working groups:

  • Form organically around interests or needs
  • Are open to participation
  • Are self-organising and autonomous
  • May be time-bounded or ongoing

Expectations

Working groups are expected to:

  • Have a clear purpose
  • Share progress openly
  • Coordinate with other groups where relevant

They are trusted to organise their work in ways that suit their aims.

Current Working Groups

Working Group Leads

Working groups may have one or more leads.

Responsibilities

Working groups leads:

  • Organise meetings and agendas
  • Help coordinate activity
  • Support delivery of outputs

Leads may rotate or leadership can be shared. There is no fixed minimum term.

Current Governance Membership

  • Project co-leads: Dave Horsfall (April 2023 - present), Aleks Nenadic (February 2026 - present).
  • Framework Working Group Lead: Aleks Nenadic (April 2023 - present).
  • WebApp Working Group Lead: Adrian D'Alessandro (February 2026 - present).
  • Engagement and Adoption Working Group Lead: Phil Reed (February 2026 - present).

Decision-Making

Decisions are made as close as possible to the work.

  • Day-to-day decisions are made by contributors and working groups.
  • Cross-cutting decisions are coordinated openly with those affected.
  • Strategic or structural decisions are made jointly by the Co-Leads, informed by community discussion where appropriate.

DIRECT favours:

  • Consensus where possible
  • Transparency over formality
  • Reversible decisions where feasible

If disagreement arises that cannot be resolved within a group, it may be escalated to the Co-Leads.

Transparency and Communication

To maintain trust and openness:

  • Governance roles are publicly documented
  • Priorities and roadmap items are visible
  • Significant decisions are shared with the community
  • Discussions are documented where appropriate

Meetings

  • DIRECT project meetings: second Wednesday of each month, 11:00–11:55 GMT/BST
  • Framework Working Group meetings: every two weeks, Tuesday 16:00–17:00 GMT/BST
  • WebApp Working Group meetings: every two weeks, Thursday 14:00–14:50 GMT/BST
  • Engagement and Adoption Working Group meets on a per-need basis (typically in a lead up to an event) and also uses the DIRECT project meetings to engage the whole team

Contact

Review and Evolution

This governance model is intentionally lightweight and adaptive.

It will be reviewed at least annually, or sooner if needed.

Changes may be prompted by:

  • Community feedback
  • Project growth
  • Sustainability needs

If governance begins to create friction rather than enable progress, it should be simplified.