First Meeting

The manner in which the first meeting is conducted will go a long way towards setting the tone of the TC. All meetings, but the first meeting in particular, should be business-like and professional, yet friendly, encouraging participation of all members, seeking consensus while also addressing all issues.

There are two requirements for a First Meeting to be successful; that is, if they are not met, the Technical Committee fails and is immediately closed:

• The Technical Committee must achieve Minimum Membershipmeans five Voting Members of a TC (or, in the case of a TC about to be formed, five Eligible Persons), at least two of which represent OASIS Organizational Members; and
• a Chair must be elected.

The Convener is responsible for bringing the meeting to order and conducting the first four orders of business:

• Call to Order and Welcome,
• Roll Call,
• Accepting nominations for Chair/Co-Chairs, and
• Conducting the election for Chair/Co-Chairs.

Once a Chair has been elected, the meeting is turned over and the Convener's responsibilities are complete.

The only other required piece of business that must be completed before adjourning the First Meeting is a determination of when the committee will hold its next meeting.

Recommended agenda

1. Call to Order and Welcome. Typically, this is an informal, short talk, limited to housekeeping issues such as conference bridge or F2F location issues.
2. Roll Call. The list of Voting Members is determined, as well as the number of votes required for majority. All attendees are noted and minuted.
3. Nominations for Chair/Co-Chairs. Nominations posted to the e-mail list are acknowledged, and the floor is opened for additional nominations. The TC may choose to elect a single Chair, or two Co-Chairs.
4. Chairs may be elected by unanimous consent or by voice ballot. A candidate must receive a Full Majority in order to be elected. If the Convener is one of the candidates for Chair, the OASIS staff person runs the election. Once the Chair(s) have been elected, the Convener steps down and the meeting is handed over to the new Chair.
5. Welcome from OASIS Staff. Includes a short overview of the OASIS Technical Committee Process, the OASIS IPR Policy, the TC Charter, and the tools available to the Technical Committee Members.
6. (Optional) Review of the TC Charter. This is for informational purposes only; by joining the TC the members accept the Charter as proposed and no further ratification is required. It is oftentimes useful, however, to provide an overview of the plans and deliverables. Note that a Technical Committee may clarify its Charter at any time.
7. (Optional) Discussion of Contributed Work.
8. (Optional) Adoption of Standing Rules. Some typical standing rules are to allow motions to be made via e-mail, or to allow chairs to use web-based ballots. Standing Rules can be adopted at any time.
9. (Optional) Assignment of Responsibilities. The TC may, at its choosing, elect or appoint the following: secretary, editor, webmaster,and liaisons.
10. (Optional) Creation of Subcommittees.
11. Confirmation of Meeting Schedule. Along with determining the frequency, date and time of meetings, it's helpful to determine who will be providing call-in numbers and whether any video-conferencing tools will be used. All Members must be taken into consideration in the selection of mutually-convenient meeting times and tools. Some Technical Committees rotate calling times in an effort to foster global participation and ensure that no one group is more inconvenienced than another.
12. Adjourn.

The OASIS TC Administrator or other OASIS staff person will note attendance and adjust the roster at the end of the first meeting; it is typically the responsibility of the Chair or Secretary to track attendance and voting rights.

Related Information:

OASIS Technical Committee Process Policy - First Meeting