Charter & Responsibilities

The ESCo's Charter is set out in §6.2(b) the Bylaws :

"The ESC shall be responsible for the active maintenance and management of the Symphony Open Source Project, which may include establishing product roadmaps and the development, testing, acceptance, commitment and publication of new features and releases related to the Open Source Project and the Symphony Software."

Among other things, the ESCo is responsible for:

• Defining standards for Project code quality, security, etc.
• Approving new Working Groups proposed by Members
• Approving new Projects proposed by members
• Reviewing and providing feedback on Project and Working Group status reports and roadmaps
• Reporting to the Board of Directors on Project and Working Group progress
• Resolving any disputes that may arise within or between Projects and Working Groups

The ESCo generally operates according to the ESCo Voting Process.

Governance

The ESCo meets on a weekly basis. The process used for voting and decision making is documented in ESCo Voting Process.  

For meeting agendas and past meeting minutes, decisions, and actions see ESCo Meeting notes.

Composition

The ESCo consists of the following participants:

Project Leads

The ESCo Project Leads are the core voting members of the ESCo. The Project Leads meet regularly to confer on the technical direction of the Symphony Open Source Project and to vote on technical matters. Two Project Leads (the "Board Leads") are appointed by the Board of Directors, two (the "Member Leads") by the Members, and one by Symphony Communication Services Holdings, LLC.

Per the ESCo's rules, Project Leads serve 2-year terms. The terms of the Board Leads and Member Leads are staggered, so that the Member Leads are re-appointed one year after the Board Leads.

Advisors

The ESCo Advisors are generally non-voting members of the ESCo whose role is to provide the Foundation's Members and with visibility and input into the ESCo's regular activities, and to allow the ESCo to solicit advice from important community members. In the event that the Project Leads cannot reach a majority in a vote on a technical matter, the ESCo Advisors participate in a tie-breaking plenary vote of the Project Leads and Advisors. 

Up to seven ESCo Advisors may be appointed, as follows: up to three by the Project Leads, and one each by the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and At-Large classes of Members, respectively. (According to the Silver and At-Large Member Policies, those classes of members may only appoint an ESCo Advisor once they have attained a membership threshold of 10 and 20 members, respectively.)

Secretary

The ESCo secretary is a non-voting ESCo member who presides over and takes the minutes of ESCo meetings.