---
tags: CodeRefinery
---

# Governance document idea
Below is the kind of sections I would want in the governance document, to be able to take to our management to get them to join

## What is CodeRefinery
(introduction)

## Mission, values, guiding principles
(copied as the other place)

## Outline of the structure
- partners: the institutions that collaborate, and unaffiliated inviduals
- Steering group: high-level strategy and help
- Project managers: Manage day-to-day work and connection with steering group.
- Community: does work

## Partners

- Any institution that contributes in-kind time
- Some representatives from unaffiliated individuals
- The board refletts their diverse interests

## Board

- Initial board is one person per organization of the NeIC project
- Board decides its future compisition, probably once a year.
- Board confirms partner-level contributions
- Board confirms project managers (likely with the community's input) and delegates most daily operation to them.
- The board likely has most daily operations decisions proposed to them by the project managers, if there is need for strategic guidance.

## Project managers
- Coordinate most of the day-to-day work.
- Are responsible to the board, but mainly lead the community in doing the work
- Ensure rough consensus and push things forward if it can't be done.
- Can appoint (=recognize on the website) leads in different areas.

## Members
- Members do most of the work, and should be recognized as decided by the project managers/board.
- This is a volunteer organizaiton, no person has any requirement to do anything
- Members are expected to abide by our community standards of cooperation and respect

## Changes to this document
- Board can change based on majority vote

# Old stuff below here ("idea for future")

> I made a new doc ["Future ideas"](/2XxOTpeQQiKPvBy7RCt5yA) before checking if any exist. Now they're cross-linked. -MJ

*This is one proposal for the future. It is designed to be one particular extreme for discussion, not necessarily even what the author (rkdarst) wants to do.*

People want to run CodeRefinery workshops, and we want to enable that. At the same time, we both need to control our name *and* be as open as possible to others using our material. On top of that, we need more work with Carpentries community.

- "CodeRefinery" is the name of the group of people teaching in the Nordics.
- "CodeRefinery" is also the name of the workshop we give.
- "CodeRefinery" could also be used to describe the content of the lessons, but this is discouraged when the workshop is not given by CodeRefinery itself.

- We become affiliated with the Carpentires, but we do not "merge" in the sense that others do: CR is not a legal organization so can't actually merge. Our work is part of our day jobs, which *can't* be owned by Carpentries.
- CodeRefinery is the Nordic team running CodeRefinery (and other advanced) workshops and teaching in the Nordics, and working closely with those doing Carpentries workshops.

- CodeRefinery is the current steward of the CodeRefinery lessons. As our instructor base expands, we expect more people to become involved and our role to transition into a part of a broader community.

- If someone else wants to run a CodeRefinery workshop, there are several options:
- **If they are part of CodeRefinery-Nordic:** do it as we do now
- **They aren't affiliated with anyone:** They can simply run a workshop, the materials are open. *But*, "CodeRefinery" should not be in the workshop name. For example, university ABC could call their workshop "Software development tools for scientists", and note that it is "using CodeRefinery material but not affiliated with CodeRefinery.
- **They are in the Carpentries universe:** run it as a Carpentries workshop, using all of their standard procedures but our material. Carpenties has these "mix and match" workshops, if they can't adapt to using other material, then that is a bug with their processes. If you meet Carpentries requirements (instructors, CoC, standards, etc), then you can call it CodeRefinery.
- We don't even need advanced discussions with Carpentries to do this. Either they want to use our lessons, or they have constricted themselves so much that they can't (in which case it's their job to ask us to change something).
- We advertise some sort of instructor training towards Carpentries community so that they can get started.

- CodeRefinery are not moved from coderefinery.github.io. This is considered their permanent, maintained URL which we expect learners can continually refer to for updates.
- If other visibility goals require moving lessons, then perhaps it is a problem with visibility schemes.
- CodeRefinery is faced with the task of continuing to maintain and develop lessons, but with a much larger userbase. This will cause a conflict between stability and continual improvement, but... that's the interesting challenge.

- **CodeRefinery's background is advanced computing teams and users**, and we keep this focus, working through national e-infra providers, HPC support teams, etc.
- The main differences are less time and motivation for instructor training, there is much more independent writing and modifying of lesson materials, and more preceived independence of teaching.
- If we did not have this focus, we would be the same as Carpentries and there is not much reason for us to exist.
- If this focus turns out to not be a good strategy, then CodeRefinery may be absorbed by Carpentries.
- At least for now, we continue with our more agile approach, trying to reach a more advanced insturctor audience within these computing centers (people who teach various courses as a side-role to other jobs). This is the reason for a shorter instructor training program with a different kind of focus.
- It remains to be see if this "computing center" focus is sustainable or can advance beyond the Nordics. But that is a question for later, not now.
* CodeRefinery wants to be a partnership of more advanced lessons. This naturally fits with everything above.
* If site A want to make a site, they can choose if they want co-maintenance in the CodeRefinery Github organization in their own Github org.
* It is up to each other site, and CodeRefinery-the-Nordic-people, if they want to advertise it and contribute.

* If a whole group of institutions wants to join CodeRefinery, they can decide if they like the informal, computing-centric CodeRefinery style or the Carpenties style, and join either organization. There is not a particular reason to join CodeRefinery in particular rather than Carpentries for most people.