Delegate's Guide

Introduction

The present document endeavours to provide step-by-step guidance on the essential elements, most common practices and responsibilities of an ETSI Delegate.

It has been formatted to be used as a reference guide together with the ETSI Directives version 49, released June 2024. If in any doubt regarding the application of the correct procedures, the ETSI Directives prevail and the ETSI Technical Officer can provide guidance.

The structure of ETSI consists of a General Assembly, a Board, a National Standards Organizations Group, a National Standardisation Bodies Group, Technical Groups composed of Technical Committees, ETSI Projects, and ETSI Partnership Projects, Special Committees, Industry Specification Groups, Software Development Groups and Coordination Groups. The ETSI Secretariat is headed by the Director-General.

The scope of this guide covers Technical Committees (TCs), Special Committees (SCs), Industry Specification Groups (ISGs), and Software Development Groups (SDGs). It does not cover ETSI Partnership Projects (e.g. 3GPP and oneM2M) or ETSI Projects.

Rights, Obligations and Responsibilities of an ETSI delegate

ETSI Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Antitrust Compliance policies

An ETSI delegate participating in the technical work of  ETSI shall be aware of ETSI IPR policy and Antitrust Compliance policies as detailed in the ETSI Directives. 

References: ETSI IPR Policy Annex 6, Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance. 

Code of Conduct for ETSI delegates

The Code of Conduct is intended as a broad guide to appropriate behaviour while carrying out activities in or for ETSI, and to encourage certain collaborative styles of interaction. The respect of other delegates, the ETSI Secretariat and the professional culture of standardization is foremost.

ETSI operates according to the principles of international standardisation: consensus, transparency, openness, impartiality, effectiveness, relevance, and coherence.

An ETSI delegate:

-      Should discuss and debate in a moderate, professional, respectful without prejudice and avoid conflict of interest.

-      Is expected to act in good faith and with due care and diligence, avoid collusive, anticompetitive, or dominant behaviour and to promote a culture of fair and ethical behaviour.

-      Is expected to act on a fully informed basis and take decisions with due diligence, in order to engage constructively in ETSI activities.

-      Is invited to actively participate in the work of ETSI, providing timely contributions uploaded to the ETSI portal.

-      Shall value diversity and act against any discrimination, as outlined in the ETSI Values, e.g. regarding gender, race, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

-      Shall acknowledge that speakers should not be interrupted; delegates may speak once recognized by the Convenor/Chair of the call or meeting. Speakers should keep their interventions short and to the point.

-      Should take the views of all meeting attendees (including those whose first language is not English) into consideration.

-      Shall inform the Chair or the ETSI Secretariat of any issue requiring escalation so a solution may be reached in a timely manner.

References: Code of Conduct for ETSI Members; ETSI Values.

Technical Organisation

Introduction 

Participation in the technical work is governed by the ETSI Technical Working Procedures (TWPs) and ETSI Drafting Rules (EDRs) as defined in the ETSI Directives.

An ETSI Technical Group (TC, ISG, SC, SDG) provides a forum for technical discussions and development of the work programme that lead to the publication of ETSI deliverables.

A TC is the primary decision-making body for all matters that fall within its Terms of Reference (ToR) and may establish Working Groups (WGs), if required.

A SC may be established by the General Assembly (GA) for defined tasks and follows the ETSI Technical Working Procedures (TWPs) unless otherwise stipulated in their ToR.

An ISG is an activity organized around a set of ETSI Work Items addressing a specific technology area as defined in the ToR of the ISG and may establish Working Groups, if required.

A Software Development Group (SDG) is a Software or open-source Software development activity hosted by ETSI addressing a specific technology area where the Software and related documentation is made publicly available. An SDG does not produce standards.

References: ETSI TWPs clauses 1.1,3.1 & 7.

Participation in TB or SC technical activities 

A delegate from an ETSI Full and Associate member has the right to participate in any ETSI TC or SC meeting, access documents and provide contributions.

A delegate may only represent one (1) organisation during a TC or SC meeting and shall not change their registration from one (1) organisation to another during the meeting.

Associations which are Full or Associate members shall be represented by their employees and elected officials. Technical experts of an Association attending ETSI meetings shall only represent that Association’s views. A maximum of one (1) nominated technical expert per meeting shall be allowed to attend and participate in meetings.  

A delegate subscribed to the TC or SC membership list with their EOL account email address is eligible for voting by correspondence (Decision tool or Remote Consensus tool).

Prior to participating to a TC or SC meeting, every delegate shall register by logging in the ETSI portal/Meetings application with their ETSI-On-Line (EOL) account.

Upon registration to a TC or SC meeting, each delegate (ETSI Full or Associate member or Counsellor) will be automatically subscribed to the TC/SC membership list, if not already subscribed.

An applicant for Full or Associate membership (Applicant member), who has formally submitted their application to the ETSI Secretariat may attend ETSI TC or SC meetings subject to the agreement of the ETSI Director-General.  

A representative of an ETSI Partner organisation where ETSI has a signed partnership agreement (according to the rules of the relevant agreement) may attend ETSI TC/SC meetings.

A Counsellor may attend meetings of a TC/SC and participate in the work without the right to vote.

A Guest may attend ETSI TC or SC meetings as a non-member or as an ETSI Observer, following authorisation by the Chair for three meetings or six months (whichever is the shorter).

An ETSI Observer and an ETSI non-member may present a document for Information, and answer questions related to the information provided in their document, if authorised by the Chair.

An ETSI Observer is not permitted to:

·        submit written contributions for discussion or decision.

·        contribute in any way to the work on the deliverables, Change Requests and/or Work Item of the respective Technical Group.

·        vote or have the possibility to take part in any decision-making process.

·        subscribe to a TC or SC mailing list.

The above points also apply to Working Groups and Task Groups.

References: ETSI RoP Articles 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.3 & 1.5; 
ETSI TWPs clauses 1.4, 1.5.4 and 1.5.5 & 1.8.1.

Industry Specification Groups (ISGs) 

The main difference with an Industry Specification Group is that each one has a relative Agreement and an Annex entitled “Specific rules complementing the ETSI Technical Working Procedures applying to the ISG” that sets out the operational rules, voting rules, duration, budget mechanism.

ETSI Full and Associate Members

An ETSI Full and Associate Member may participate in the work of any ISG without the need to sign an ISG Agreement.

An Applicant to Full or Associate membership may be authorized by the Director-General to attend meetings of an ISG and to participate in the work of the ISG with the right to vote, before the application to ETSI membership is formally approved by the General Assembly.

An Association which is a Full or Associate member shall be represented by their employees and elected officials. A maximum of one nominated technical expert, per meeting, shall be allowed to attend and participate and shall come from a member of the said Association, unless explicitly authorized by the Director-General on a case-by-case basis.

Prior to participating to an ISG meeting, every delegate shall register by logging in the ETSI portal/Meeting Application with their ETSI-On-Line (EOL) account.

The right to vote is reserved for ISG Members only. The voting rules for each ISG are defined in the ISG ToR.

An ETSI member is subscribed to the ISG membership list (mailing list) upon registration to an ISG meeting.

Non-ETSI members

Participation of a non-ETSI member (known as ISG Participant) in the technical work of an ISG is subject to the signature of the relative ISG Participant Agreement. The ISG Participant Agreement imposes the ETSI IPR Policy.

Meeting fees are stipulated in each ISG Participant Agreement, Annex 5, and shall be paid prior to attendance of a meeting.

An ISG Participant can ONLY access the ISG documents of the ISG(s) for which the agreement(s) has been signed.

An ISG Participant may hold a Rapporteur and/or a WG Vice-Chair position.

The candidature of an ISG Participant for an ISG Chair role is not permitted.

An ETSI Observer may attend meetings of an ISG and participate in the work without the right to vote subject to having signed the relevant ISG Participant Agreement.

For a Guest to attend an ISG meeting on an exceptional and temporary basis, Board Decision (D-B108/8) shall also be adhered to.

An ISG Guest may not be subscribed to the ISG membership list.

A Counsellor is not required to sign an ISG agreement to be able to attend an ISG meeting.

Neither a Counsellor or a non-ETSI member shall support new work items, vote or hold an ISG leadership position.

A representative of an ETSI Partner organisation where ETSI has a signed partnership agreement (according to the rules of the relevant agreement) may attend ISG meetings.

References: ETSI RoP Articles 1.2.2 to 1.2.4, 1.3 & 1.5; 
ETSI TWPs clauses 3.4, 3.5 and 3.7.

Software Development Groups (SDGs)

Each Software Development Group has a relative Agreement that sets out the participation rules, budget mechanism, terms for code contribution.

An ETSI Full and Associate member, or an applicant to ETSI Full or Associate membership who has signed the relevant SDG Agreement, may participate in the work of an SDG and have a right to vote at Plenary Meeting and Plenary Level. The right to vote at other levels is governed and the Detailed SDG Working Procedures.

An Association which is a Full or Associate member shall be represented by their employees and elected officials. In addition, a maximum of one nominated technical expert, per meeting, shall be allowed to attend and participate and shall come from a member of the said Association, unless explicitly authorized by the Director-General on a case-by-case basis.

If the SDG Terms of Reference indicates that participation of Observer members and/or non-ETSI members is permitted, participation  in the technical work of an SDG is permitted, following the signature of the relevant SDG Agreement, and payment of the appropriate Annual Participation Fee.

An ETSI Partner may attend SDG meetings and participate in the work subject to having signed the relevant SDG Agreement and having paid the appropriate Annual Participation Fee.

A Counsellor may participate in technical work of an SDG after signing the relevant SDG Agreement.

The relevant Detailed SDG Working Procedures stipulates the decision-making rights of SDG Participants.

The SDG Agreement includes a Corporate Contribution License Agreement (CCLA) aligned with the terms of the Software License chosen for the SDG, which may differ from the ETSI IPR Policy.

References: ETSI RoP Articles 1.2.2 to 1.2.4, 1.3 & 1.5; ETSI TWPs clauses 7.4, 7.5 and 7.7. 

Preparing for an ETSI meeting (physical or online)

Meetings are held to coordinate the technical activities, discuss important issues and make decisions.

They can be face-to-face at ETSI headquarters in Valbonne-Sophia Antipolis, France, at an external location, online or hybrid.  

The nearest airport is Nice Côte d’Azur (NCE) and the nearest train station is Antibes.

See the ETSI webpage on how to reach ETSI and find a hotel room close by.  

An ETSI delegate shall take note of the following:

·        Registration before the meeting via the ETSI portal.

·        Details of the meeting invitation including the QR code for the printing of the meeting badge, if the meeting is hosted at ETSI.

·        Review of the agenda and in particular the topics for decision or vote (election, New Work Item (NWI) proposal, draft deliverable for approval).

·        Awareness of the guidelines for contributions and deliverables:

o   IPR

o   Copyright

o   Trademarks

o   Third party material

References: References: ETSI TWPs clauses 1.5.4; ETSI IPR Guide; Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance, clause C.4.1; ETSI Rules of Procedure, Annex 6; ETSI Drafting Rules, Clause 4. 

Contributing to the technical activity

The technical experts collaborate to produce ETSI Standards, ETSI Guides, ETSI European Standards, ETSI Harmonised European Standards under Standardisation Requests from the European Commission, Specifications, Reports, White Papers and Publicly Available Specifications.

Contributions related to drafting of the afore mentioned deliverables shall comply with ETSI Drafting Rules.

ETSI Delegates shall follow the Technical Working Procedures (TWPs) on the submission of contributions. Special attention shall be given to the purpose of the contribution: Decision, or Discussion, or Information.

All documents and information provided in or for technical meetings shall be considered non-confidential unless the information (in written form AND is identified AND accepted by the Chair) has been labelled as confidential.

The European Commission consults ETSI during the drafting of a new Standardisation Request (SReq) that it considers may be  of interest to ETSI. ETSI engages the appropriate TC or SC along with the National Standards Body Group (NSBG), the National Standards Organisation Group (NSOG) and the Annex III organisations. ETSI consults the ETSI Board, as well the Operational Co-ordination Group (OCG) which acts as a forum for co-ordination and consists of all ETSI committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs. The NSBG take all decisions by vote on the adoption, change to and approval of SReqs  (not  the TG).

The TG proposes Work Item(s) identified in a Standardisation Request (WISR), once registered by the TC or SC, and the NSBG members vote on the adoption or rejection of each WISR through the Standardisation Request deliverables Approval Process (SRdAP).

Should the TC /SC decide at a later stage to stop a WISR, the ETSI Board is to be consulted before the request to stop the WISR is submitted to an NSBG vote

References: ETSI TWPs clauses 1.4, 1.6.1.2.3, 1.6.3.2, 1.6.5.2 and 2.2.2; RoPs Articles 20 and 21, TWPs Annex N.

Special Task Force/Testing Task Force 

A Special Task Force (STF) or a Testing Task Force (TTF) is a team of highly skilled experts working together to draft an ETSI standard or report under the technical guidance of an ETSI TC, SC, ISG or SDG.

A delegate may submit a new STF/TTF proposal, including the related Work Items, supported by at least four (4) ETSI members for an approval by the Reference Body.

STF proposals under the ETSI budget can be submitted in the two allocation steps, in October/November and in May/June (urgent requests only) time periods.

The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) is the agency handling STF proposals funded by EC/EFTA.  

TTF proposals are under the ETSI budget and can be submitted by the end of summer (e.g. 2 weeks before the ETSI September Board meeting). An email is sent biannually to the OCG by the CTI Director with the allocation process and calendar.

All delegates from ETSI members and ISG Participants who are prepared to actively contribute to the management of the STF/TTF shall be entitled to participate in the Steering Committee.

Applications from ETSI members are encouraged.

References: ETSI TWPs clauses 1.10, 1.11 and Annex H; ETSI Chair’s Guide “STF/TTF Management and Chair’s responsibilities”; ETSI STF/TTF Expert’s Guide.

Technical Group Open Sessions

A Technical Group may need to organise meetings/calls open to ETSI Members and non-Members. This type of meeting is called an Open Session, more details can be found at portal.etsi.org/TB-SiteMap/OCG/TG-Open-Sessions

The Chair ensures that the TG defines the Open Session scope, content, format, location and date. ETSI Secretariat will coordinate the request.

ETSI Working Tools 

ETSI offers a set of electronic means to work and collaborate via the ETSI portal for which an ETSI on-line (EOL) account (username and password) is required. See also Reset my password, Change my password and Update my personal contact details.

Guidance on how to use these electronic tools is available from the portal wiki help pages including FAQs.

ETSI portal 

The tabs Meetings, Contributions, Work Programme and Drafts are the most relevant areas on a TB/ISG/SC portal page. 

• Subscribe to a TC/SC/ISG/SDG e-mail/membership list under Email archives.
• See help page for the Contribution’s application.
• See help page on Drafts application.

• View contact details for ETSI committee support staff. 
• View all ETSI meetings in the Meeting Calendar database. 
• See additional guidance on the portal wiki help pages including FAQ.

ETSI portal applications 

The ETSI Work Programme (EWP) contains all the technical activities and work items of ETSI committees and ISGs and enables the download of ETSI publications via a search engine. 

Remote Consensus is the ETSI online tool to collect comments and measure consensus for contributions during a given period as opposed to during a face-to-face meeting. 

The TB Decision Support application is designed to help the Technical Bodies/ISGs in their decision-making processes. Several types of formal Voting procedures (as opposed to consensus gathering) are predefined, including the vote for the approval of a draft, selecting a technology and electing officials. 

The e-Approval application is the means for voting on draft ETSI Standards, ETSI Guides, ETSI European Standards and ETSI Harmonized European Standards, and also enables consultation of comments and/or results of votes on such documents.  

Preparing for an ETSI meeting (physical or online) 

Meetings are held when and where necessary to coordinate activities, discuss important issues and make decisions. 

They can be face-to-face at ETSI or at an external location, online or hybrid.  

ETSI is situated in Valbonne - Sophia Antipolis between Nice and Cannes on the French Riviera. 

The nearest airport is Nice Côte d’Azur (NCE) and the nearest train station is Antibes. 

See the webpage on how to reach ETSI and find a hotel room close by: https://www.etsi.org/about/find-us.  

An ETSI delegate shall take note of the following: 

• Registration before the meeting via the ETSI portal.
• Details of the meeting invitation including the QR code for the printing of the meeting badge.
• Review of the agenda and in particular the topics for decision or vote (election, New Work Item (NWI) proposal, draft deliverable for approval). 

• Awareness of the guidelines for contributions and deliverables:
  • Copyright.
  • Trademarks.
  • third party material.

References: ETSI TWPs clauses 1.5.4. ETSI IPR Guide; Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance, clause C.4.1, ETSI Rules of Procedure, Annex 6.

Special Task Force/Testing Task Force 

A Special Task Force (STF) or a Testing Task Force (TTF) is a team of highly skilled experts working together to draft an ETSI standard or report under the technical guidance of an ETSI Technical Group. 

A delegate may submit a new STF/TTF proposal, including the related Work Items, supported by at least four (4) ETSI members for an approval by the Reference Body. 

STF proposals under the ETSI budget can be submitted in the two allocation steps, in October/November and in May/June (urgent requests only) time periods. 

The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) is the agency handling STF proposals funded by EC/EFTA.  

All delegates from ETSI members and ISG Participants who are prepared to actively contribute to the management of the STF/TTF shall be entitled to participate in the Steering Committee. 

Applications from ETSI members active in the Technical Group are encouraged.  

References:  ETSI TWPs: clauses 1.10, 1.11 and Annex H, ETSI Chair’s Guide section 8 “STF/TTF Management and Chair’s responsibilities”, ETSI STF/TTF Expert’s Guide.

Useful links to find out more 

ETSI Strategy: https://www.etsi.org/about/our-strategy

ETSI in Europe: https://www.etsi.org/about/etsi-in-europe 

ETSI Worldwide: https://www.etsi.org/about/etsi-worldwide 

ETSI Directives: https://portal.etsi.org/Resources/ETSI- Directives 

ETSI Drafting Rules: ETSI Drafting Rules 

ETSI Brands and Trademarks: https://www.etsi.org/media- library/brand-and-trademarks 

Subscribe to the ETSI magazine ENJOY!: https://www.etsi.org/newsroom/magazine 

Read the ETSI news and press releases: https://www.etsi.org/newsroom/newspressrelease 

See ETSI technology pages and our committees for an overview of the current areas of work in ETSI. 

Read the ETSI Work Programme brochure and annual reports 

Find an ETSI published standard: https://www.etsi.org/standards#Pre-defined%20Collections 

Download published ETSI standards via the ETSI Standards Search  

The ETSI Labs platform where ETSI members can collaborate and experiment with code around ETSI standardized technologies, developing demos, prototypes and proofs of concept: https://labs.etsi.org/. 

The ETSI Forge is for users of ETSI standards to download software produced collaboratively by ETSI delegates: https://forge.etsi.org/.   

Other ETSI Guides: 

• Chair’s guide (EOL logon required).
• Rapporteur's guide.
• STF/TTF Expert’s guide.
• Member Official Contacts’ Guide.

• Guide in use of gender inclusive language for ETSI deliverables. 

ETSI Information Policy 

Annex 1- ETSI Secretariat Contacts 

The ETSI Secretariat provides: 

• guidance to ETSI members and delegates on ETSI rules, best practices and on writing high quality standards. 
• administrative support to ETSI Technical Groups. 
• Assistance in the promotion of Technical Group activities outside of ETSI. 

The table below provides an overview of Secretariat teams available for delegates. 

Secretariat team	Role	Web page
Standards Development Centre (SDC)	Secretariat support to Technical Groups.	https://portal.etsi.org/People/Commitee-Support-Staff
Centre for Testing and Interoperability (CTI)	Support to Technical Groups for the specification and validation of base standards and the development of test specifications.	https://portal.etsi.org/Services/Centre-for-Testing-Interoperability/Contacts
editHelp!	Support and guidance for the drafting and finalisation of ETSI deliverables.	https://portal.etsi.org/Services/editHelp
IT Helpdesk	Assistance for technical issues on ETSI Portal, EOL accounts, etc.	helpdesk@etsi.org
Membership	Advise on membership categories, application process, fees. Liaises with the Official member contact.	https://www.etsi.org/membership
Funded Activities	Support to STFs, TTFs, Plugtests™ and Special Projects at different levels:   Project set-up   Project lifecycle   Project closing   Work closely with the OPS Division, Technical Groups and EC/EFTA (for some projects)	https://portal.etsi.org/STF/STFs/Summary
Communications	Manage the ETSI website, social media, press releases, webinars, blogposts, brochures, leaflets and the Enjoy! magazine. Manage the finalisation and publication of White Papers, not under the control of ETSI.	https://www.etsi.org/newsroom
Events	Manage endorsements of events and negotiate special conference rates (speaking slots and stands). Organise and promote ETSI workshops.	https://www.etsi.org/eventsSee forthcoming and past seminars, plugtests, webinar details.
Legal	Responsible for the IPR Policy and IPR Guide, disclosure of Standard Essential Patents (SEP), and ownership of ETSI Copyright and Trademarks. Provision of legal advice upon request.	https://www.etsi.org/about/legal
Partnerships	Development and maintenance of the ETSI partnership portfolio, interaction with the National Standards Organisations (NSOs)	https://www.etsi.org/about/our-partnerships

Annex 2 - Abbreviations 

For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations apply: 

EC European Commission  

EDR ETSI Drafting Rules 

EFTA European Free Trade Association  

EISMEA European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency 

EN European Standard 

EOL ETSI On-Line 

EP ETSI Project 

EPP ETSI Partnership Project 

ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute  

EWP ETSI Work Programme 

GA General Assembly 

IPR Intellectual Property Rights  

ISG Industry Specification Group 

OCG Operational Co-ordination Group  

RoP ETSI Rules of Procedure 

SC Special Committee  

STF Special Task Force  

TB Technical Body 

TC Technical Committee  

TTF Testing Task Force 

TWPs Technical Working Procedures  

WG Working Group