Chair's Guide

Introduction

The present document endeavours to provide step-by-step guidance for an ETSI Chair on the essential elements, most common practices and responsibilities of the ETSI Technical Groups: Technical Committee (TC), ETSI Project (EP), ETSI Partnership Project (EPP), Special Committee (SC) or Industry Specification Group (ISG), Software Development Groups (SDG) and the Operational Coordination Group (OCG).

It has been formatted to be used as a reference guide according to the ETSI Directives (version 49, 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 OCG acts as a forum for co-ordination of TCs, ISGs, SDGs, SCs, other Coordination Groups (CGs) and the Secretariat and assists in the resolution in any duplication of effort or conflict of technical views between the Technical Groups.

The scope of this guide does not cover ETSI Partnership Projects (e.g. 3GPP, and oneM2M) or ETSI Projects. It is to be used in conjunction with the ETSI Delegate’s guide and the ETSI Rapporteur’s guide.

Responsibilities of the Chair

The primary duties of a Chair:

• Ensure an efficient operation of the Technical Group and its Working Groups (in conjunction with the Vice-Chair(s), Working Group (WG) Chair(s) and Vice-Chair(s))
• Ensure the activities of the Technical Group adhere to ETSI Directives and its rules, policies and procedures
• Maintain strict impartiality and act in the interest of ETSI and its members
• Ensure that the ETSI Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance are strictly observed
• Inform the Technical Group of the Code of Conduct for ETSI Members
• Remind the members of the Technical Group of their statutory obligations to submit IPR disclosures
• Endeavour to reach consensus on all issues, including the approval of draft ETSI deliverables
• Ensure that the Work Programme is kept up to date
• Report to the OCG, Board and the General Assembly on the activities of the Technical Group upon request
• As per Directives v47 (June 2023), a Chair may be appointed for up to three consecutive terms of office (of two years) by the same Technical Group
• As per Directives v48 (June 2024), the incumbent Chair of a Technical Group or a Software Development Group may be authorised to apply for more than 3 consecutive terms of office under certain conditions.

References: ETSI TWPs Clauses 1.1.2, 1.3.1, 1.3.1.1, 1.3.7, 1.7.1, 3.3,  3.3.1.1, 3.7.1, 7.3.2, 7.3.8 & 7.7.1.

Who is authorised to participate in the activities of an ETSI Technical Group?

Technical Body and Special Committee meetings

To attend a Technical Body (TB) (e.g. a Technical Committee (TC), an ETSI Project (EP)), or a Special Committee (SC) meeting, the delegate shall fulfil one of the following criteria:

• Represent an ETSI Full or Associate member or Counsellor
• Represent an Applicant for Full or Associate membership who has formally submitted their application to the ETSI Secretariat (Applicant member), subject to the agreement of the ETSI Director-General
• Represent an ETSI Partner organisation where ETSI has a signed partnership agreement (according to the rules of the relevant agreement). (For further information on the 3 types of partnerships see Section 6.1 of this guide)
• Attend as a Guest (non-member or ETSI Observer) following authorisation by the Chair for three TB/SC meetings or six months (whichever is the shorter)
• Represent an Association which is a Full or Associate member, as an employee or as an elected official. A maximum of one nominated technical expert, from the member of the said Association, shall be allowed to attend a meeting, unless explicitly authorized by the Director-General on a case-by-case basis. Technical experts of an Association attending ETSI meetings shall only represent that Association’s views.
• Represent the European Commission (EC) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as a Counsellor.
• The above points also apply to Working Groups and Task Groups.

ETSI Observers and Guests may present a document for information and answer questions related to the information provided in their document, if authorised by the Chair.

ETSI Observers and Guests are 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 TB
• vote or have the possibility to take part in any decision-making process
• subscribe to a TB mailing list or receive any working document, either during the meeting itself or between meetings or hold any leadership position.

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References: ETSI RoP Articles 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.3 and 1.5, ETSI TWPs Clauses 1.4 and 1.8.1.

TB/SC membership list

Each TB/SC has an email exploder list to be used for discussion, dissemination and/or collection of information and for decision-making purposes outside of TB/SC meetings. Only delegates subscribed to the TB/SC membership list with their EOL account email address are considered members of the TB/SC.

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

Email exploder lists are also maintained for WGs (Working Groups), TGs (Task Groups) and SCs.

Authorised Guests attending a TB/SC meeting shall not be subscribed to the membership list.

A representative of an ETSI Partner organisation where ETSI has a signed partnership agreement may be subscribed according to the rules of the relevant agreement.

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References: ETSI TWPs Clauses 1.5.4 and 1.5.5

Industry Specification Group meetings

Representatives of an ETSI Full or Associate member, an ETSI Full or Associate Applicant member and an ETSI Partner are authorised to attend ISG meetings.

Representatives of a non-ETSI member (known as ISG Participant) may attend ISG meetings providing ETSI is in receipt of the signed relevant ISG Participant Agreement. Meeting fees are stipulated in the relevant ISG Participant Agreement and shall be paid prior to attendance of a meeting.

ETSI Observer members 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.

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

For a Guest to attend an ISG meeting on an exceptional and temporary basis, if invited or authorised by the ISG Chair.

ISG Participants, Counsellors and Guests shall not vote, support new work items or hold an ISG leadership position. An ISG Participant may hold a Rapporteur position or a WG Vice-Chair position.

References: ETSI TWPs Clause 3.4 to 3.4.7, 3.7.2

List of ISG members and Participants

Each ISG has a list of its Members, Participants and Counsellors that is available on the portal General Information page.

ETSI member organisations are automatically added to this list upon registration to the relative ISG meeting.

ISG Participant organisations are added to this list following the signature of the relevant ISG Participant Agreement. European Commission Counsellors are added upon request.

References: ETSI TWPs Clause 3.5.4, 3.5.5.

Software Development Group meetings

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

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.

References: ETSI RoP Articles 1.2.2 to 1.2.4, 1.3 & 1.5; TWPs clause 7.

Meeting responsibilities: preparation, participation, reporting

Introduction

A Technical Group (TG) has the freedom to organise its work according to the needs of the members providing it complies with the ETSI Directives.

For a TG decision-making meeting (e.g. a plenary), the agenda shall be available at least 30 days beforehand.

The ETSI Directives do not make a distinction between different meeting types, although the term “plenary” is used by ETSI TCs, ISGs and SCs.

The ETSI portal Meeting application offers various types of meetings e.g., Plenary, Working Group, Rapporteur, Resolution etc.

The principles of decision-making are based on consensus or vote.

A Technical Group has the right to decide on:

• number of WGs
• frequency of meetings
• organisation of rapporteur’s meetings
• deadlines for submitting meeting agenda (other than TG decision-making meeting) and other documents for meetings
• the way WGs and Rapporteur groups report to the TC/ISG/SC meeting, etc.

A non-decision-making meeting of a Technical Group can be used to collect a snapshot of opinions of ETSI members and ISG Participants on a given item or topic.

References: ETSI TWPs Clauses 1.1, 1.3.7, 1.7.1, 3.1 and 3.3.7.

Before a Technical Group meeting

The Chair shall ensure that the meeting invitation with all necessary logistical information and the draft meeting agenda will be available on the ETSI portal and that the TC/ISG/SC membership is notified at least thirty (30) days before a decision-making meeting.

NOTE: The draft agenda for the first meeting of a new TC, SC or an ISG kick-off meeting is announced in a Collective Letter by the Secretariat, with at least thirty (30) days’ notice. It is the responsibility of the ETSI Secretariat or the Chair to disseminate the meeting invitation.

Items for decision shall be included in the agenda such as:

• New Work Item (NWI) proposals and draft deliverables for approval
• Any topics in which voting will be required
• The received Chair/Vice-Chair/WG Chair candidatures and the call for candidate’s contribution.

The following items should also be considered for addition to the agenda, if relevant:

• Contribution deadline
• Meeting contributions uploaded (in agenda revisions)
• Liaisons statements
• Logistical information
• Future meeting schedule.

References: ETSI TWPs Clauses 1.5, 1.7.

During a Technical Group meeting

During a TG meeting, the Chair has the following responsibilities:

• Open the meeting, welcome the delegates, announce any guests or observers
• Make a call for IPR and a reminder of applicable anti-trust and competition laws (see Section 4 of the present guide for further details)
• Remind delegates of the Code of Conduct for ETSI Members
• Ensure a meeting secretary volunteers to draft the meeting report
• Present the agenda and seek its approval
• Report on the TC/SC//ISG work programme status, and make sure it is updated as appropriate
• Endeavour to reach consensus on all issues
• Launch, run, and evaluate the results of planned vote(s) (if any)
• Ensure that all decisions and actions are recorded in the meeting report
• Ensure that all decisions taken by Remote Consensus since the last meeting are recorded in the meeting report
• Invite Rapporteurs and Liaison Officers to present their activities since the last meeting
• Invite WG Chair(s) (if relevant) to present their Progress reports
• Ensure the presence of each attendee is correctly recorded on the portal.

References: ETSI TWPs 1.7, ETSI RoP Article 11 and ETSI IPR Guide, Clauses 2.3.2 to 2.3.4.

After a Technical Group meeting

Following each meeting a report should be provided within 30 days and shall include:

• decisions, including the election of officials, approved or withdrawn deliverables, and change request decisions
• actions
• key discussion points
• organisational changes to the structure of the TG
• call for IPR disclosures
• the dates and venues of forthcoming meetings
• Attendee list as an Annex or hyperlink.

If the meeting report is not available within 15 days after the end of the meeting, the Chair is required to provide a list detailing the key decisions and topics.

The full meeting report should be provided within 30 days and requires the approval of the Technical Group.

The Chair is also invited - for purposes of transparency - to update the status of Contributions on the portal.

References: ETSI IPR Guide Clauses 2.3.2 to 2.3.5, ETSI TWPs 1.9.

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.

European Standards and European standardisation deliverables in response to Standardisation Requests (SReqs)

ETSI may elaborate European Standards and European standardisation deliverables (TR, TS, ES or hEN) in response to SReqs to support the European legislation or policies, in accordance with the amended Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012, which is related to Regulation (EU) 2022/2480.

The relevant ETSI Technical Group will engage with the National Standardisation Body Group (NSBG), the National Standardisation Organisation Group (NSOG) and the Annex III organisations throughout the Standardisation Request deliverables Approval Process (SRdAP).

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 NSBs take all the decisions by vote on the acceptance of SReqs (not the TG).

The TC or SC proposes Work Item(s) identified for a Standardisation Request (WISR), once registered by the TC or SC, and the NSB members vote on the adoption or rejection of each WISR.

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 RoP Articles 20 & 21, ETSI TWPs 2.2.2, Annexes A.5 and J.

ENAP (EN Approval Procedure)

This section only applies for ENs (European Standards) that are not related to a Standardisation Request. ETSI may elaborate European Standards (ENs) on a proposal from at least four (4) Full and/or Associate members.

These ENs shall be adopted by the eligible National Standards Organisations (NSO) through a Public Enquiry and at least one Weighted National Voting procedure performed in a combined procedure by the eligible members of the National Standards Organizations Group (NSOG).

Participation in the ENAP shall be restricted to the Annex III Organisations and to the NSO Group (NSOG).

References: ETSI RoP Article 13, ETSI TWPs Clauses 2.2 to 2.2.1.3.

ENAP Resolution meetings

The Chair shall:

• Schedule a Resolution meeting when the final draft EN has been submitted to the combined Public Enquiry/Weighted National Voting procedure; it should take place within thirty (30) days after its closure
• Send the invitation to the TB membership list at least thirty (30) days before the meeting
• Cancel the Resolution meeting if no comments are received during the Public Enquiry or if only editorial comments are received and the vote is successful.

References: ETSI RoP Article 13, ETSI TWPs Clauses 2.2.1.1.1 to 2.2.1.1.3, Annexes A.5, J and T.

Responsibilities of the Chair on IPR, Antitrust Compliance and Confidentiality

General

One of the primary duties of the Chair is to take care that the ETSI Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance are strictly observed.

The Chair has a duty to remind the TB/SC/ISG members of their obligations to submit IPR disclosures.

Responsibilities of the Chair on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

At the beginning of a TB/SC/ISG meeting, the Chair shall perform the “Call for IPRs”. An example of a formal call for IPRs, as below:

“The attention of the members of this Technical Body is drawn to the fact that ETSI members shall use reasonable endeavours under Clause 4.1 of the ETSI IPR Policy, Annex 6 of the Rules of Procedure, to inform ETSI of Essential IPRs in a timely fashion. This section covers the obligation to notify its own IPRs but also other companies’ IPRs.

The members take note that they are hereby invited:

·      to investigate in their company whether their company does own IPRs which are, or are likely to become Essential in respect of the work of the Technical Body,

·      to notify to the ETSI Director-General all potential IPRs that their company may own, by means of the IPR Information Statement and the Licensing Declaration forms through the ETSI IPR online database application at https://ipr.etsi.org. Only under exceptional circumstances and if instructed by the ETSI Secretariat, paper declarations may be allowed using the forms provided by the ETSI Secretariat.

Members are encouraged to make general IPR undertakings/declarations that they will make licenses available for all their IPRs under FRAND terms and conditions related to a specific standardization area and then, as soon as feasible, provide (or refine) detailed disclosures”.

The Call for IPRs serves as a reminder of the obligations of TB/SC/ISG members in the disclosure of Essential IPRs in a timely fashion.

Throughout the standardisation process, the Chair shall take the actions as laid down in the sections of the Guide on IPRs, to facilitate the identification of Essential IPRs.

During the meeting a short reminder call for IPR disclosures should be made on:

• the formal submission of a technical solution
• the completion of the first stable draft of the standard
• Working Group approval of a draft standard
• TB/ISG approval of a draft standard.

The meeting report shall clearly state that an IPR call, and any IPR reminders, has been made as well as any responses. If no responses were given, then also this should be recorded.

The Chair shall inform the ETSI Legal Director of the existence of any Essential or potentially Essential IPR.

References: Guide on Intellectual Property Rights, Clauses 2.3, 2.3.2-2.3.4.

Trade names and trademarks

The use of trade names and/or trademarks that are asserted and/or registered by their owners for designating particular products or services should be avoided in ETSI deliverables. Instead a corresponding standard should be used or a correct designation or a generic description should be given.

If, in exceptional circumstances, the use of trademarks/trade names cannot be avoided, the recommendations given on editHelp! website in the "Use and reproduction of text, signs and material legally protected" section should be followed.

References: ETSI Directives/Drafting Rules Clause 4.2.

Copyrights in ETSI Deliverables

If, in exceptional circumstances, the use of copyrighted third-party material (text/figures) cannot be avoided, reproduction in ETSI deliverables requires the author’s authorisation and the copyrighted material shall be indicated by the symbol © and with proper acknowledgment of its owner.

The Chair should instruct the Rapporteur to obtain the author’s authorisation using the template available from the editHelp web page.

References: Guide on Intellectual Property Rights, Clause 2.3.5, ETSI Directives/Drafting Rules, Clauses 4.1 & 4.3.

Responsibilities of the Chair on Antitrust Compliance

The Chair should take care that the ETSI Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance are strictly observed, as per the Anti-trust and competition Statement at the beginning of a TB/SC/ISG meeting:

“The attention of the members of this Technical Body/ISG is drawn to the fact that ETSI activities are subject to all applicable antitrust and competition laws and that compliance with said laws is therefore required of any participant of this meeting including the Chair and Vice Chair(s). The leadership shall conduct the present meeting with impartiality. In case of questions, it is recommended that you contact your legal counsel”.

The Chair shall not allow any discussion on commercial issues, in particular but not limited to, discussions on details of specific licensing terms and conditions, and any subject matter prohibited by competition law. It includes any discussions, communications or any other exchange of information, inside or outside of all ETSI meetings (e.g. informal discussions, social gatherings, corridor talks).

References: Guide on Intellectual Property Rights, Clause 2.3, Guidelines for Antitrust Compliance Clause C.4.1.

Responsibilities of the Chair on Confidentiality

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.

Confidential information that has been incorporated in a Standard or Technical Specification shall be regarded as non-confidential from the moment of publication.

Should the Chair become aware that confidential information has been disclosed in breach of a confidential disclosure agreement to which ETSI is a party, the Chair shall immediately inform the Secretariat.

Identification and disclosure of essential IPR	Guide on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), Clause 2.3 Technical Body Chair Duties
Call or IPR disclosures	Make call for IPRs in TB meetings Guide on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), Clause 2.3.2 When and How? Notification of essential IPR and licensing declarations, Clause 2.3.3
Notification of essential IPR and licensing declarations	Annex 6 of the ETSI Rules of Procedure. Record and report information on IPRs, Clause 2.3.4
Copyrights in ETSI Deliverables	https://portal.etsi.org/Services/editHelp/To-help-you-in-your-work/Use-and-reproduction-of-text-signs-and-material-legally-protected/Copyrights
Chair’s Responsibilities on Confidentiality	ETSI IPR Policy – Annex 6; Clause 10

Decision Making and Voting

Consensus and consensus-making

Formal standardisation is a process which is open to any individual or organisation (member/participant/counsellor), and its results are produced in consensus with all interested parties.  

Formal standardisation is inspired by international directives on standardisation, and is based on six principles for the development of international standards:  

• transparency,  
• openness,  
• impartiality and consensus,  

• effectiveness and relevance,  
• coherence, and  
• development dimension.  

Within Europe, Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 – “the Standardisation Regulation” - places an added emphasis on facilitating the participation of all stakeholders in the standardisation process.

Standards are, therefore, products of negotiation among all involved (and relevant) stakeholders, aimed at establishing a general agreement and the absence of sustained opposition.

With respect to the consensus-making process in ETSI, the Chair shall apply the definition of consensus: A general agreement, characterised by the absence of sustained opposition to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interest and by a process that involves seeking to take into account the views of all parties concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments. NOTE: Consensus need not imply unanimity.

A Technical Group shall endeavour to reach consensus on all issues both during a meeting, and/or in between meetings via the Remote Consensus portal application.

The Chair (or Vice-chair or Rapporteur) should aim to facilitate the discussion in an independent manner, considering:

• The objective is to obtain the largest consensus possible on the content of the standard and resolve potential conflicts.

• Reaching consensus may take time, taking into account there are different stakeholders represented in a TG.
• Different knowledge domains and backgrounds across committees may imply different "languages and cultures".
• In the case of sustained opposition, this opposition shall be made known before approval (verbally or in writing) and shall be recorded in the meeting report(s).

If consensus cannot be achieved, the Chair may decide to take a vote which may be performed by a secret ballot either during a meeting or in between meetings. Before the vote, the TB/ISG/SDG/SC Chair shall provide a clear definition of the issues (e.g., TB/ISG/SC approval of a draft before publication).

Contributions for Decision by Consensus in between meetings shall use the ETSI Remote Consensus tool. Those contributions shall be available at least seven (7) calendar days before the Remote Consensus starts and the minimum duration of the Remote Consensus is at seven (7) days. The Technical Group is to be informed of the results of the Decision within seven (7) calendar days and recorded in the meeting report of the following meeting.

The definition of consensus shall be applied: A general agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interest and by a process that involves seeking to take into account the views of all parties concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments. NOTE: Consensus need not imply unanimity.

A Technical Group shall endeavour to reach consensus on all issues both during a meeting and/or in between meetings via the Remote Consensus portal application.

The Chair (or Vice-chair or Rapporteur) should aim to facilitate the discussion in an independent manner, considering:

• The objective is to obtain the largest consensus possible on the content of the standard and resolve potential conflicts.

• Reaching consensus may take time, taking into account there are different stakeholders represented in a committee

• Contributions for Decision by Remote Consensus in between meetings are to be available at least seven (7) calendar days before the start of the consultation period and the minimum duration of the remote consensus is at least (7) seven days. The Technical Group is to be informed of the results of the Decision within seven (7) calendar days and recorded in the meeting report of the following meeting.
• Different knowledge domains and backgrounds across committees may imply different "languages and cultures".

• In the case of sustained opposition, this opposition shall be made known before approval (verbally or in writing) and shall be recorded in the meeting report(s).

If consensus cannot be achieved, the Chair can decide to take a vote which may be performed by a secret ballot either during a meeting or in between meetings. Before the vote, the TB/ISG/SC Chair shall provide a clear definition of the issues (e.g., TB/ISG/SC approval of a draft before publication).

References: ETSI TWPs, 1.7, 3.7.7 and RoP Annex 1.

Technical Group vote during a meeting

• Electronic voting is recommended.
• A vote shall be announced to the membership list at least 30 calendar days before the start of the voting period.
• Only members who have registered to the meeting and are present (physically or remotely connected) may vote. For a TC, weighted voting applies.
• All ISG Members are eligible to vote after the kick-off period. ISG voting rules are detailed in the ISG ToR Annex or in the ETSI Directives.
• Voting by proxy is not permitted.
• A Proposal shall be deemed approved if seventy-one percent (71%) of the votes cast are in favour. If a 71% is not achieved the vote shall be re-calculated using the votes of Full members only.
• In the case of an ISG, only Founding Members (as identified in Annex 2 of the ISG agreement) are eligible to vote during the kick-off period. Thereafter, all ISG Members are eligible to vote.
• ISGs may have specific voting rules, as defined in the ISG Member agreement (e.g., non-weighted vote, simple majority voting, voting based on presence to previous ISG meetings).
• Voting by proxy is not permitted.
• The result of the vote shall be recorded in the meeting report.

References: ETSI TWPs Clauses 1.5.4, 1.7.1, 1.7.1.1, 3.7.1-3.7.5.

Technical Group vote by correspondence in between meetings

• Electronic voting shall be used.
• Only delegates subscribed to the TB/ISG/SC membership list with their EOL account email address will be considered members of the Technical Group.
• The contribution submitted to the vote shall be announced to the membership list at least seven (7) calendar days before the start of the voting period.
• The voting period shall be at least two (2) calendar days.
• Only members who have registered to the meeting and are connected online may vote. For a TC, weighted voting applies.
• All ISG Members are eligible to vote after the kick-off period. ISG voting rules are detailed in the ISG ToR Annex or in the ETSI Directives.
• A proposal shall be deemed approved if seventy-one percent (71%) of the votes cast are in favour. If a 71% is not achieved the vote shall be re-calculated using the votes of Full members only. The rule may be different for ISGs, to be checked in the ISG ToR Annex or in the ETSI Directives.
• The Technical Group has to be informed of the results of the vote within seven (7) calendar days and recorded in the meeting report of the following meeting.
• The result of the vote shall be disseminated by the Chair to the membership list within seven (7) calendar days and recorded as a decision taken by correspondence in the report of the following meeting.

References: ETSI TWPs, Clauses 1.5.5, 1.7.1.2, 1.7.1.3, 3.5.5, 3.7.1 to 3.7.4, 3.7.6 

Appointment for the position of Chair/Vice-Chair or WG Chair

General

In the case where there is more than one candidate for the position of a Chair/Vice-Chair/WG Chair position, a secret ballot shall be used.

If no candidate is elected after a first vote, a second or third ballot may be required.

In the case there is only one candidate for a Chair/Vice-Chair/WG Chair position, appointment by consensus is required which can take place during a meeting, or in between meetings using the Remote Consensus tool.

The procedures for the election of a TB/SC Chair/Vice-Chair/WG Chair described in TWPs, Clauses 1.3.1.1 and 1.3.1.2 shall apply.

The procedures for the election of an ISG Chair/Vice-Chair/WG Chair described in TWPs, Clauses 3.3.1.1 and 3.3.1.2 shall apply.

The Chair of an ISG shall be a delegate of an ISG Member organisation with the status of Full or Associate member.

The procedures for the election of an SDG Chair/Vice-Chair/WG Chair described in TWPs, Clauses 7.3.2.1 and 7.3.2.2 shall apply.

External cooperation with ETSI Partners

Overview of partnership agreements

When there is a need for the establishment of a partnership agreement, the Technical Group is advised to consult the ETSI partnership policy framework and the Partnership Engagement Process (PEP). The Chair will be accompanied by the ETSI Secretariat in the establishment process.

The Chair should be aware of all relevant partnership engagements with other organisations and the Technical Group abides by the partnership engagements.

There are three different types of partnership agreements depending on partnership engagement:

Engagement	Main Focus	ETSI TWPs Clauses	Examples, comments
Type 1 Letter of Intent (LoI)	Initial contact, get to know each other.	1.8.1.1.1
Type 2 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) [Partner shall be a legal entity] | - Political - Marketing - Technical		1.8.1.1.2
Type 3 Co-operation Agreement (CA) [Partner shall be a legal entity and an IPR Policy Check performed to determine the compatibility of the Partner’s IPR Policy with ETSI’s]	- Political - Marketing - Technical	1.8.1.1.3	ESOs. A synthetic view of each mode is in TWPs, P Annex 3. (https://portal.etsi.org/Resources/ETSI-Directives) - [PAS Process Guide](https://etsi.org/images/files/ETSI_PAS_Process_Guide.pdf) - [PAS brochure](https://www.etsi.org/images/files/Brochures/ETSI-Brochure-PAS.pdf) - ETSI web page regarding PAS – see Section 6.2.2 of this guide.
	Supplements	1.8.1.2
	Materials Supplement - Incorporation of published text and graphics from the other party into a document.	1.8.1.2.1
	Working Supplement - Joint production of documents.	1.8.1.2.2
	PAS Supplement - Adoption of identified Partner’s PASs into ETSI TR(s) or TS(s).	1.8.1.2.3

ETSI Cooperation Agreements and Supplements

General Information

Only a Cooperation Agreement can include a PAS (Publicly Available Specification) Supplement, a Working Supplement or a Materials Supplement for the following purposes:

• PAS Supplement enables the ETSI Partner to submit its publicly available specifications to ETSI for adoption into an ETSI TR or TS.
• Working Supplement allows for the creation of a joint document.
• Materials Supplement allows for incorporation of text and graphics from the ETSI Partner into an ETSI document.

PAS (Publicly Available Specification) Process

An ETSI Partner who has signed a Cooperation Agreement and a PAS Supplement can submit its publicly available specifications to ETSI.

The ETSI Partner submits the specification and the PAS work item form to the Board which allocates them to a Technical Group, in coordination with the OCG. The Technical Group shall create the corresponding PAS Work Item immediately after the Board allocation decision, before starting any work.

The Technical Group will conduct the PAS review and will approve the PAS as a TR or TS following the normal ETSI approval procedure.

A PAS Process Guide is available for download describing the process and its benefits.

Participation of an ETSI Partner representative in ETSI meetings

Partnership agreements may allow for cooperative interworking between ETSI Technical Groups and the Partner, and the attendance of a Partner representative per meeting. This attendance rule also applies to ETSI’s participation in the Partner organisation. This has to be carefully checked for each agreement.

The ETSI Partnership portfolio is available for consultation.

Detailed information on Basic Co-operation Agreement between CEN, CENELEC and ETSI and the description of the 5 modes of cooperation is available in the TWPs, Annex P.

Full overview of the ETSI Partnership Engagements can be found in the TWPs, Annex R.

List of Partnerships agreements.

Description of the Partnership Engagement Process.

Liaison Statements when there is no Partnership Agreement

Exchange of liaison statements between ETSI Technical Groups and external bodies are to be encouraged as a first step.

If such liaisons reach the point where the two bodies concerned are going to exchange technical documents, then the need for a formal Partnership Agreement should be investigated.

A joint meeting with an organisation that has no Partnership Agreement with ETSI

An ETSI Technical Group (TG) can hold joint meetings with an organisation that has no Partnership Agreement with ETSI. This may happen when the ETSI TG and the other organisation identify a potential future collaboration, before the need for a formal partnership.

The joint meeting may contain technical discussions, but shall not be used for the approval of drafts or decisions aiming at modifying drafts. No TG working draft can be discussed unless it is publicly available. Therefore, a set of basic rules and principles must be followed to comply with the ETSI TWPs and to remain in a safe zone from the legal standpoint.

• This type of meeting is called an Open session described above, more details can be found at https://portal.etsi.org/TB-SiteMap/OCG/TG-Open-Sessions.

Cooperation between ETSI Technical Groups

An ETSI Chair should pay special attention to the rules for cooperation between TBs, SCs and ISGs as detailed in the table below:

Cooperation between TBs and ISGs	Type of cooperation
Between TBs/SCs	- Liaison officer - Liaison statement - Joint meeting(s)
TBs/SCs with ISGs Between ISGs	- Liaison officer from one ISG or TB/SC can attend another ISG meeting only if his/her organisation signed the ISG agreement - Liaison statements - Joint meeting – see Section 6.3.3 above (meetings with non-Partners)

ETSI Chair’s Responsibilities – Operational Coordination Group (OCG)

General

The OCG:

• Acts as a focal point and a forum for co-ordination of and between the Technical Committees (TCs), ETSI Projects (EPs), ISGs, SCs, Coordination Groups (CGs) and the ETSI Secretariat.
• Provides an opportunity for Chairs and ETSI representatives to CGs initiated by external bodies to exchange information and experiences, to discuss any issues prior to formal resolution of substantial objections in the Board and respond to Board requests for information.
• Makes recommendations to the Board on the allocation of resources for STFs and on the proposed technical testing roadmap and priorities for TTFs.

The OCG is also involved in the endorsement of MoU’s, Cooperation Agreements, and the processing of PAS Supplements.

It shall resolve, as far as possible, any duplication of effort or conflict of technical views between the TBs/ISGs to reinforce co-operation between the Technical Organisation, the ISGs and the CGs.

A TB/ISG Chair will be periodically requested to report to the OCG on the progress, issues and topics for decision.

The Chair’s role in the OCG

OCG meetings are open to Technical Group Chairs, and meetings are called as required to fulfil the duties as mentioned above.

Periodically (typically every two years), each TB, SC, EP and ISG Chair is required to present progress reports to the Board meeting.

STF/TTF Management and Chair’s responsibilities

General

An active contribution of the Technical Group Chair is required in the phases listed below:

Drafting the Terms of Reference

The Chair makes sure that a new Special Task Force or Testing Task Force (STF/TTF) proposal, including the related Work Items, is supported by at least four (4) ETSI members and approved by the Reference Body, irrespective of the funding source.

STF/TTF Work plan

The work plan included in the STF/TTF Terms of Reference (ToR) is established by the Reference Body Chair, in consultation with the ETSI Secretariat, and contains the following elements:

• latest schedule for the availability of the base documents
• milestones and reporting schedule
• deliverables schedule
• tasks and resources assigned to the service providers
• provisional travel plan for the participation of service providers’ personnel to meetings and events.

Submission of STF/TTF proposal

Submission of STF proposal funded by ETSI

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.

Submission of STF proposal funded by EC/EFTA

Since April 2021, the EC changed the process for STF proposals funded by EC/EFTA and established a new Agency called the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA).

The STF proposals are first assessed by EC (DG GROW and/or any relevant DG). To be eligible for EC/EFTA funding, the STF proposals shall:

• be linked to a Commission priority, Commission strategy, EU legislation or other documents (e.g., the ICT Rolling Plan or the Annual Union Work Programme); and
• meet the Single Market Programme (SMP) objectives; and
• state the expected deliverables/outcomes; and
• mention the objective and verifiable criteria that will allow the EC to assess that the above deliverables/outcomes have been effectively fulfilled.

If the above criteria are met, EISMEA then evaluates the STF proposals with the following criteria:

• Relevance
• Quality — Project design and implementation
• Quality — Project team and cooperation arrangements
• Impact.

For each criterion there is a threshold, and each threshold shall be met to receive a positive assessment from EISMEA.

Submission of TTF proposal

The Technical Group Chair is to liaise with the CTI Director at each step of TTF proposal submission.

The initial TTF ToR should be sent to the CTI Director before the date indicated in the TTF Process Calendar, so it can be incorporated into the following year’s Technical Roadmap.

The Technical Group Chair is to present and defend the work behind the TTF proposal at the September Board/OCG meeting.

Recruitment of the experts

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

The STF/TTF Manager (ETSI Secretariat) and the Chair should assess the applications and draw up a short list of candidates.

To avoid a conflict of interest in the selection of service providers, the Reference Body Chair/Vice-Chair(s) and the Chair of the Working Group directly concerned by the STF/ TTF activity and who belong to an organisation that has an interest in applying for selection as a service provider to a funded STF/TTF, shall declare this to the Board and subsequently be excluded from all discussions and decisions related to the selection of the service providers.

Preparatory Meeting (Experts’ interview)

The Technical Group Chair should attend the preparatory meeting with the selected experts, appoint the STF/TTF Leader, and decide on the draft Work Plan and allocation of resources. This should be done in coordination with the ETSI STF/TTF Manager & Technical Officer and, in the case of a TTF, the CTI Director.

Monitoring STF/TTF progress

The Chair is expected to provide technical guidance. The STF/TTF leader is appointed by the Director-General in consultation with the relevant TB/ISG Chair. The STF/TTF leader acts as the interface with the Director-General for management of the STF/TTF, with the service provider(s) for coordination of the project and with the TB/ISG/SC Chair for technical control. It is recommended that a Steering Group (SG) is set up. It is essential to ensure the timely approval of the STF/TTF deliverables by the TB/ISG/SC.

STF/TTF Reporting

The Chair approves the STF/TTF Progress Reports which confirm the achievement of the intermediate milestones against which the experts’ companies will be paid by ETSI Director-General.

Whenever possible, the reports should be reviewed and endorsed by members of relevant TB/ISG/SC, before the approval by the TB/ISG/SC Chair.

Closing the STF/TTF

Upon completion of the STF/TTF work, the Technical Group Chair shall ensure that feedback is provided to the Director- General on the STF/TTF work.

EC cooperation

The ETSI Director-General (or a nominated substitute) represents ETSI within the relevant committees of the EC and EFTA concerning advisory or regulatory standardization issues.

The TB/ISG Chair should be aware of all the relevant liaisons between ETSI and the EC.

The TB/ISG Chair should also consider/verify relevant contributions of the TB/ISG to EC/EFTA Annual Union Work Programme (AUWP), the Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation and any other EU policy.

The main goal of contribution to AUWP is to indicate what needs to be mandated by the EC for ESOs (AUWP targets ESOs only). AUWP is adopted after having conducted EC consultation with relevant stakeholders: ESOs, Member States and Annex III organisations (see Regulation 1025/2012). In many cases, a pre-condition for a Standardisation Request is an item in the AUWP. On the other hand, AUWP is not binding for the EC.

Standardisation actions identified in Rolling plan for ICT Standardisation are complementary to other instruments, in particular the Annual Union Work Programme (AUWP).

Normally, it is for the ETSI Secretariat to coordinate the response to the AUWP, the Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation and any other EU policy. Information is shared among the ETSI members through the ETSI OCG and relevant ETSI BOARD meetings.

References:
- AUWP - https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/european-standards/notification-system_en
- Rolling plan for ICT standardisation - https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/rolling-plan-ict-standardisation/

ETSI working tools

Most of ETSI’s work is carried out by electronic means - by email exploder lists and via the ETSI portal.

Guidance is available from the portal wiki help pages including FAQs.

• An ETSI on-line (EOL) account is required to access most areas such as the ETSI portal.
• 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. The consultation of comments and/or results of votes on such documents is also possible.

ETSI Secretariat Contacts

The table below provides an overview of Secretariat teams available.

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/events See 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 1 - Abbreviations

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

• AUWP Annual Union Work Programme
• CA Co-operation Agreement
• CG Coordination Group
• CTI Centre for Testing and Interoperability
• EC European Commission
• EDRs ETSI Drafting Rules
• EG ETSI Guide
• EFTA European Free Trade Association
• EISMEA European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
• EN European Standard
• ENAP EN Approval Procedure
• EOL ETSI on-line
• EP ETSI Project
• EPP ETSI Partnership Project
• ES ETSI Standard
• ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute
• EWP ETSI Work Programme
• FRAND Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory
• GA General Assembly
• GR Group Report
• GS Group Specification
• HS Harmonised Standard
• ICT RP ICT Standardisation Rolling Plan
• IPR Intellectual Property Right
• ISG Industry Specification Group
• LOI Letter of Intent
• LS Liaison Statement
• MOU Memorandum of Understanding
• NSBG National Standards Body Group
• NSOG National Standards Organisation Group
• NWI New Work Item
• OCG Operational Co-ordination Group
• PAS Publicly Available Specification
• PEP Partnership Engagement Process
• RoP ETSI Rules of Procedure
• SC Special Committee
• SG Steering Group
• SR Special Report
• SRdAP Standardisation Request deliverables Approval Process
• STF Special Task Force
• TB Technical Body
• TG Task Group
• TC Technical Committee
• ToR Terms of Reference
• TR Technical Report
• TS Technical Specification
• TTF Testing Task Force
• TWPs Technical Working Procedures
• WG Working Group

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