Hyperledger Governance Model

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: Jul 16, 2019

Hyperledger (HLP) is an open-source, 'permissioned' blockchain technology that is partnered with The Linux Foundation (LF).

Its mission consists of the following:

  • Create an enterprise grade, open-source distributed ledger framework that can support industry specific applications, platforms, and systems for business transactions;
  • Create a technical community to benefit HLP providers and users, centered around blockchain use cases that will work over a variety of industry solutions;
  • Promote participation between all stakeholders, including developers, service and solution providers; and
  • Host the infrastructure for HLP, establishing a neutral home for the community, meetings, events and collaborative discussions and providing the infrastructure for business and technical governance.


Membership

HLP is composed of Premier, General and Associate Members. Premier and General Members must be current corporate members of The Linux Foundation. Anyone may propose a contribution to HLP’s technical codebase regardless of membership status. All members are obligated to comply with all policies as the LF Board of Directors and the HLP may adopt at its discretion.

Associate Members

The Associate Member category is limited to non-profits, open source projects, and government entities. Members require approval by the Governing Board of HLP or whatever such criteria is set forth by the Governing Board.

General Members

General Members are entitled to annually elect one representative to the Governing Board for every ten General Members, up to a maximum of two representatives, so long as at least one member is a General Representative. The election process is determined by the Governing Board.

Premier Members

Premier Members shall be entitled to appoint a representative to the Governing Board, the Marketing Committee and any other committees that are established.

All members are entitled to participate in project meetings, initiatives, and other events as well as publicly identify themselves as members and/or participants of HLP.


Governing Board

The Governing Board shall consist of:

  • Up to 21 Premier Members with one representative appointed by each Premier Member;
  • Elected General Member representatives per the former section; and
  • The Chair, elected by the Technical Steering Committee (TSC).

Meetings

Governing Board meetings shall be limited to the Representatives and follow the outlines of the quorum as defined by the Charter. The Governing Board may decide to allow one named representative to attend as an alternate.

Meetings are confidential unless deemed otherwise by the Governing Board. It may invite special guests to engage in debates on specific topics (with no voting rights). Transparency should be fostered, with the publication of Governing Board meetings within a reasonable time of their approval.

Responsibilities

The Governing Board shall be responsible for:

  • Approving a budget to direct all revenue raised by HLP;
  • Electing a Chair to head the Governing Board of the HLP, authorize expenditures and handle day-to-day operations;
  • Overseeing all Project business and marketing maters;
  • Adopt and maintain policies and procedures for HLP (with LF approval) including a code of conduct, trademark policies, and compliance or certification policies;
  • Working with the TSC to define and administer programs of certification or processes for HLP;
  • Approving procedures for electing General Member Representatives to the Governing Board as well as any officer of other positions created by the Board; and
  • Voting on all decisions that come before the Board.


Technical Steering Committee (TSC)

Composition

During the Startup Period, the first six months after project launch, TSC voting members shall consist of one representative from each Premier Member and each Top Level Project Maintainer. No company shall have more than three votes on the TSC.

In the period following initial launch, there will be a nomination and election period for electing Contributors or Maintainers to the TSC. Voting members shall consist of eleven Contributors or Maintainers chosen by Active Contributors. The TSC will approve the process and timing for nominations and elections on an annual basis.

An Active Contributor is any Contributor who has had a contribution accepted into the codebase during the prior twelve months. They contribute technical documentation, code, or other artifacts to the HLP codebase.

A Maintainer is a Contributor who contributes code to a project on the main branch of HLP. A Contributor can become a Maintainer by vote of existing Maintainers.

The TSC shall elect a Chair, who will also serve as a voting member of the Governing Board. He or she is expected to be the liaison between the Governing Board and technical team on HLP projects.

The TSC may:

  • Establish work flow procedures for the submission and approval of projects;
  • Establish criteria for the appointment and promotion of Contributors and Maintainers; and
  • Adjust and amend the role description of Contributors and Maintainers, as well as create new roles and descriptions at their own discretion.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinating the technical direction of HLP;
  • Approving project proposals in accordance with a project lifestyle document to be developed and approved by the TSC;
  • Designating Top Level Projects;
  • Creating sub-committees to address cross-project technical issues or opportunities;
  • Communication with external organizations for Project technical matters;
  • Appointing representatives to work with other open-source communities;
  • Establishing community norms and workflow practices;
  • Discussing and seeking consensus on technical matters relating to the codebase that affects multiple projects; and
  • Establishing election processes for Maintainers and other positions not related to a specific project.

Current TSC Members

Arnaud Le Hors

Baohua Yang

Binh Nguyen

Christopher Ferris

Dan Middleton

Greg Haskins

Hart Montgomery

Jonathan Levi

Kelly Olson

Mic Bowman

Nathan George


Marketing Committee

Composition

The committee shall consist of:

  • One appointed voting representative from each Premier Member;
  • Non-voting representatives appointed by other classes of representatives; and
  • Any non-voting Maintainer appointed by the TSC.

Their responsibilities include:

  • Designing and executing marketing efforts on behalf of the Governing Board; and
  • Coordinating with the Governing Board, end users, and technical community to maximize outreach and visibility of HLP.

Voting

  • If a vote is required to take place to move a motion forward, representatives of the Governing Board, TSC, or Marketing Committee shall vote on a one-vote-per-head basis.
  • Quorum for the Governing Board, Marketing Committee, and TSC meetings shall require 2/3 of the voting representatives.
  • Provided quorum is met, any vote taken during a meeting requires a majority vote. Electronic votes shall require a majority vote of all voting representatives.
  • In the event of a tied vote, or an action that cannot be resolved by the Governing Board, the chair can refer to LF for reaching a decision. For the TSC or Marketing Committee, if there is a tie vote, it shall be referred to the Governing Board.
  • All resolutions proposed for adoption by the Governing Board must be circulated as a draft at least two days prior to the meeting.

Budget

The Governing Board approves an annual budget that is not to exceed the funds raised. The purposes of its spending shall be congruent with the non-profit mission of the Linux Foundation. As such, the Linux Foundation will provide expense reports on levels against the budget. In the event of underfunding, the Linux Foundation will coordinate with the Governing Board to address the funding gap.

Amendments

This charter may be amended by 2/3 vote of the entire Governing Board subject to approval by the Linux Foundation.


Hyperledger Fabric

The Linux Foundation divides Hyperledger into five sub-projects:

  • Fabric;
  • Sawtooth;
  • Indy;
  • Burrow; and
  • Iroha.