General Committee Charter

This page is kept as an archival reference.If you want to raise a point about it, please start a discussion thread on the community forum.

This document sets out the general principles, charter and terms of reference that is applicable to all committees.

Constitution

1. Committees are sub-committees of the Wikimedia UK Board.
2. Committees are established by, and are responsible to, the Board of Wikimedia UK.
3. Delegation takes place under Article 21.

Responsibilities

1. Committees may have delegated budget responsibilities up to (£250?).
2. Committees are responsible for decision-making within their delegated budget.
3. Decisions relating to amounts in excess of the delegated budget amount will be referred to the Board.
4. Job descriptions for newly-appointed staff related to the topic of the committee should be approved by the committee
5. The Committee should submit input into the staff appraisal process for staff that relate to the topic of the Committee

Purpose

1. Each Committee must have a specific topic to focus on, as decided by the Board.
2. The scope of the Committee's responsibility for that topic must be clearly defined.
3. Each Committee must clearly set out its aims and goals on the page describing the committee.
4. General aims of each Committee are:
   1. To encourage and develop participation of volunteers and staff in the topic of the Committee within the scope of Wikimedia UK;
   2. To report to and inform the Board of WMUK on the topic of the Committee;
   3. To help disseminate relevant information from the Board of WMUK to anyone interested in the topic of the committee.
   4. To develop and grow our network of contacts within the sector related to the committee's topic.

Membership and selection

1. Committees will consist of at least 5 and no more than 13 members.
2. Committees will consist of at least one stakeholder drawn from each of: Trustees; Volunteers; Staff.
3. Committees should include at least two trustees, such that they follow Article 21.1.
4. Quorum is defined as 50%+1 of the committee membership
5. Committee members will be appointed by the Wikimedia UK Board.
6. Committee members must be members of Wikimedia UK.
7. All members of the Committee are full members in their own right, and not delegates of any group.
8. Each Committee will have at least two named positions: that of Chair and Secretary.
   1. The Chair will organise and conduct meetings. They will liaise with the Board to ensure that all relevant topics are appropriately covered in committee meetings.
   2. The Secretary will record the discussions and decisions made by the committee. They will liaise with the WMUK Board Secretary to ensure that appropriate records are taken, as per Article 21.4.
9. Other positions may be appointed by the Committee as it feels are necessary.

Meetings

1. Committees must meet at least every 3 months.
2. Committees may meet in person or virtually (such as via telephone conferencing, IRC, Skype, Mumble or other similar means).
3. Committees should meet in-person at least once per year.
4. Decisions may be taken at meetings, by email, or through a page on the WMUK wiki, providing that a quorum is present or involved in the decisions.

Communication

1. Committees must report to WMUK Board regularly. This may take place via:
   1. Contributions to the monthly reports
   2. Reports to Board meetings
   3. Communications by the Chair to the Board
   4. Communications by the nominated trustee to the Board
2. Committees will advise the WMUK Board on topical issues relating to its topic.
3. Committees will help liaise between stakeholders in the sector of the topic and the WMUK Board.