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title Governance Overview
artifact_type template
status public
visibility public
classification public
owner {{OWNER_NAME}}
review_cadence quarterly
applies_to repository governance surfaces
source_basis GitHub Docs community governance guidance
source_manifests
governance__github_docs.md
alignment_mode direct-adaptation
updated 2026-03-30

Purpose

Describe how {{REPOSITORY_NAME}} is governed: who decides, how decisions are made, how changes are proposed and reviewed, and how the governance model evolves. Replace all {{PLACEHOLDER}} values before publishing.

Scope and Governance Model

Field Value
Repository {{REPOSITORY_NAME}}
Governance model {{GOVERNANCE_MODEL}} (e.g., maintainer-led / BDFL / committee / open)
Primary audience {{PRIMARY_AUDIENCE}}
Downstream consumers {{DOWNSTREAM_REPOS}}
Instantiation method Selective — consult the classification grid before copying artifacts

Model description: {{GOVERNANCE_MODEL_DESCRIPTION}}

Decision Rights and Ownership

Decision Type Decision Authority Consultation Required Record
New artifact creation {{ARTIFACT_CREATION_AUTHORITY}} {{GOVERNANCE_TEAM}} ADR or decision log
Artifact deprecation {{DEPRECATION_AUTHORITY}} Downstream consumer notification Decision log
Validator rule change {{VALIDATOR_AUTHORITY}} All contributors Changelog + PR
Frontmatter schema change {{SCHEMA_AUTHORITY}} {{GOVERNANCE_TEAM}} ADR + schema version bump
Policy changes {{POLICY_AUTHORITY}} {{STAKEHOLDERS}} Decision log + PR
Emergency patch {{EMERGENCY_AUTHORITY}} Retroactive notification Post-hoc decision log entry

Maintainers: {{MAINTAINER_LIST}}

Governance team: {{GOVERNANCE_TEAM}}

Review Cadence and Change Process

Artifact Type Review Cadence Trigger Owner
Policies {{POLICY_REVIEW_CADENCE}} Cadence or material change {{POLICY_OWNER}}
Standards {{STANDARDS_REVIEW_CADENCE}} Cadence or framework update {{STANDARDS_OWNER}}
Templates {{TEMPLATE_REVIEW_CADENCE}} Cadence or consumer feedback {{TEMPLATE_OWNER}}
Workflows / scripts {{AUTOMATION_REVIEW_CADENCE}} Cadence or CI failure {{AUTOMATION_OWNER}}
Governance docs (this file) {{GOVERNANCE_DOCS_CADENCE}} Cadence or structural change {{GOVERNANCE_TEAM}}

Change Process

  1. Propose via issue using the appropriate intake form.
  2. Draft the change in a feature branch.
  3. Run python3 scripts/validate_governance_artifacts.py — must pass before opening PR.
  4. Open PR using .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md with scope (instance / artifact library / both).
  5. Await {{MIN_REVIEWERS}} approvals and CI gate pass.
  6. Merge — maintainer records decision in decision_log.md for structural changes.

Public versus Private Material

Classification Location Access Instantiation
public artifacts/ root, public templates Anyone Open to downstream repos
public-redacted artifacts/ with redacted fields Read-only for external Requires org membership for full detail
private .private/ Internal only Not for downstream instantiation

Rules:

  • .private/ contents MUST NOT appear in any public artifact.
  • public-redacted artifacts MUST document which fields are redacted and why.
  • Classification downgrades (private → public) require {{DOWNGRADE_AUTHORITY}} approval.

Validation and Publication Rules

Rule Enforcement
All Markdown artifacts must pass validate_governance_artifacts.py CI gate (PR merge block)
All artifacts must include ## Source Attribution Validator check
All frontmatter must include 11 required keys Validator check
README catalog must have 103 rows with valid canonical links Validator check
GitHub-native files must include Source Attribution comment Validator check
Artifact path must be artifacts/<dimension>/<artifact-type>/ Validator check

Publication checklist before any merge:

  • Validation: python3 scripts/validate_governance_artifacts.py exits 0
  • Classification confirmed and label applied
  • Source Attribution updated with correct reviewed-on date
  • Downstream impact assessed and documented in PR

Governance Evolution

Changes to this governance model follow the same change process above with heightened scrutiny:

  • Requires {{GOVERNANCE_CHANGE_APPROVERS}} approvals.
  • Must be recorded in decision_log.md as an accepted decision.
  • Notification to {{DOWNSTREAM_REPOS}} must be sent within {{NOTIFICATION_SLA}}.

Source Attribution

  • Source manifests: governance__github_docs.md
  • Primary source basis: GitHub Docs community governance guidance
  • Alignment mode: direct-adaptation
  • Reviewed on: 2026-03-30