Governance/TSC

TECHNICAL STEERING COMMITTEE

11 Voting Members

The meritocratic council that holds final authority over technical decisions.

Council Chamber

A balanced composition ensuring no single organization dominates technical direction.

Elected(6)

Appointed(3)

Founding(2)

No organization may hold more than 2 seats

Seat Composition

Three distinct pathways to TSC membership, each serving a unique purpose.

Elected Seats

Chosen by active contributors through annual elections. Represents the meritocratic core of the TSC.

12 months of active contribution

Self-nomination or peer nomination

Ranked-choice voting by contributors

Term: 2-year terms, max 2 consecutive

Appointed Seats

Selected by the Governing Board to fill expertise and diversity gaps. Ensures geographic and industry segment balance.

Fill expertise gaps in elected TSC

Geographic or segment diversity

Approved by Board majority vote

Term: Renewable 2-year terms

Founding Partners

Reserved for founding organizations during the launch phase. Ensures early stewardship while maintaining meritocratic long-term governance.

Founding Partner organization

Jointly nominated by partners

Seats convert to elected on expiry

Term: Sunset after 3 years

Election Cycle

Annual elections ensure fresh perspectives while maintaining continuity through staggered terms.

September2 weeks

Nominations Open

Contributors may nominate themselves or others. Nominees must accept and meet eligibility requirements.

September2 weeks

Campaign Period

Nominees present their vision for the standard. Community Q&A sessions and written platforms.

October1 week

Voting Period

Eligible contributors cast ranked-choice votes. One vote per person, verified through commit history.

OctoberWithin 7 days

Results Announced

Winners announced with full vote tallies. Transition planning for outgoing members begins.

January 1New year

New Term Begins

Elected members officially take their seats. Onboarding and handoff from predecessors.

Staggered Terms

Only 3 elected seats are up for election each year, ensuring institutional memory and preventing complete turnover. Terms are 2 years, renewable once. After two consecutive terms, a 1-year gap is required before re-election.

TSC Responsibilities

The Technical Steering Committee holds authority over all technical aspects of the Galileo standard.

Specification Approval

Final authority on accepting, modifying, or rejecting specification changes.

RFC Decisions

Review and vote on Request for Comments proposals from the community.

Technical Roadmap

Set priorities for future development and coordinate release timelines.

Architecture Integrity

Ensure changes maintain backwards compatibility and design consistency.

Working Groups

Charter and oversee specialized working groups for focused development.

Standards Liaison

Represent Galileo in external standards bodies (W3C, GS1, ISO).

Decisions require simple majority vote unless otherwise specified. Quorum is two-thirds of voting members.

Breaking Change Protections

Any TSC member may veto a proposed breaking change. This ensures that no specification modification that would harm existing implementations can be rushed through.

Single-Member Veto: Any one TSC member can block a breaking change.

Override Threshold: Requires unanimous TSC consent or 2/3 Governing Board vote.

Resolution Period: 90-day mandatory negotiation period after any veto.

Why this matters:Luxury brands invest heavily in implementing the Galileo standard. This protection ensures their implementations won't be broken by hasty specification changes, building the trust necessary for widespread adoption.