Consortium Management and Member Participation Policies Part 3

This blog post is part of a series called Governance of Consortium Blockchains. The series will explore the policies that should be created once a governance body takes form. Read below for the third of this five-part series. 

Consortium Management Policies 

Consortium management policies govern how the consortium is run. Within a policy, meeting times, quorum numbers, and positions are outlined. Here is an example if the consortium is governed by a committee: 

• The committee chair is selected from each participating body once per year on a rotating basis. 
• The committee secretary is selected from each participating body once per year on a rotating basis. The secretary cannot be from the same participating body as the chair. 
• The participating body must choose from its sitting members. 

If there are regulations concerning the workings of the consortium, the policies section is where they would be described.  

It is important to have protocol on policies. There needs to be a clear path to create, amend, or remove a policy. The steps should include presenting the policy change, amendments to the change, and how it is approved. Below is an example of a policy regarding cadence of meetings and term limits: 

• Regular meetings are held quarterly. 
• Emergency meetings need to be called by 2 or more sitting members. 
• Each participating body can have 2 seated members at a time. 
• There are no term limits for seated members. 

Member Participation Policies 

The policies in the member participation section define the roles and responsibilities of the members, as well as any other parties involved. Within these responsibility definition, there is a section on compliance and defining infractions. A framework to remedy those infractions and applying sanctions goes along with this.  

The roles within the consortium are defined clearly, as well as the responsibilities those roles require. If necessary, the remedy and sanction policies can be listed within a separate section. In the aforementioned orange juice example from the second part of this series, the example below lists each member's responsibility within the organization:  

• Each member shall certify that information entered on the chain is true. 
• A grower is the owner of the Orange trees. 
• A shipper is the owner of the means of transport or a company providing transport. 
• Growers shall have the grade of their oranges certified by a third party. 
• Shippers shall have insurance on their loads. 
• Erroneous information entered maliciously on the chain can result in expulsion or fines up to $1000 per infraction.  
• Erroneous information entered inadvertently on the chain can result in fines up to $50 per infraction for repeat offenders. 

The importance of Technical Governance will be discussed in the next post. 

Check out the rest of this series:

Governance of Consortium Blockchain Series Part One

Consortium Membership Policies Part Two

Governance of Consortium Technical Infrastructure Policies Part Four

Governance of Consortium Legal Policies Part Five