The Community Council has delegated LoCo-related governance to the LoCo Council, similar to the recent creation of regional boards for Ubuntu membership. The LoCo Council is responsible for approving new LoCos, re-approving LoCos (more on that below), conflict resolution, resource allocation, mentoring, growth, and highlighting best practices.

The approval process for LoCos has not changed. New teams should continue referring to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoGettingApproved as the reference guide for approval. In the near future, the LoCo Council will be documenting how to bring conflicts in front of the council and how to privately communicate on sensitive issues. The LoCo Council is also working on ways to make it easier for LoCos to request resources, like mailing lists and Canonical-provided hosting.

Approved LoCos will need to be re-approved every year. This is to make sure LoCos have the resources and help needed to continue supporting their area. Re-approval is similar to the initial approval application, simply documenting what the LoCo has done in the previous year and laying out plans for the future. LoCos needing to be re-approved will be contacted by the LoCo Council, and provided a timetable to submit their application. If a LoCo is not ready to be re-approved, the LoCo Council will work with the team to refocus and establish itself again.

Meetings will be held at least once a month. LoCos wanting to be approved or wishing to discuss any issues are welcome to add themselves to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoCouncilAgenda.

The next LoCo Council meeting will be held 04-June-2008, 16:00 UTC.

The Community Council has recently implemented some changes to community governance processes which it believes reflect a significant improvement in one area of community governance: applications for Ubuntu membership.

The Ubuntu project is rapidly expanding and the previous process for approval of new Ubuntu members has been struggling to keep up with the increased participation. The list of pending membership applications was so long that the Community Council cannot focus on other issues. Also, it is often difficult or impossible for potential new members to attend Community Council meetings which do not coincide with their availability in a particular timezone.

As a result three regional membership boards have been created to consider applications from contributors to the project for Ubuntu membership. The boards are:

Americas
Europe, Middle East and Africa
Asia / Oceania

These boards will meet each week at staggered times and days, to ensure that as many candidates as possible have a chance to attend a meeting which fits their schedules. If necessary, candidates from one region may attend a meeting of a board for a different region, if this suits their schedule better.

The Community Council will continue to oversee the process for the first few months of its operation. New members will be reported in the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter.

For more information, and if you are interested in applying for Ubuntu membership, please visit the membership wiki page.

The change will leave the Community Council free to take a more active role in its review of other aspects of the community. The Community Council now meets according to a fixed timetable every two weeks.