Governance

Open by Design
Accountable by Default

ODA is governed transparently — every implementation standard, decision, and Working Group output is available and accessible to members and non-members. No closed-door decisions.

Organizational Structure

How ODA is Organized

Board of Directors

The Board sets ODA’s direction and is accountable for the Alliance as a whole. It does not write specifications — that work belongs to the Working Groups — but it decides what the Alliance commits to, funds, and stands behind.

Strategic direction — Sets the long-term vision and mission, and approves the annual roadmap that determines which device barriers the Alliance takes on next.

Chartering — Ratifies Working Group and Committee charters, defining each group’s scope, deliverables, and voting rules before work begins.

Standards oversight — Approves specification releases and the rules governing the ODA Enabled certification program, so the designation carries consistent meaning.

Finances and membership — Approves the budget and membership tiers, and oversees the resources that keep ODA output free and publicly available.

Ecosystem stewardship — Holds the final vote on bylaw changes and represents the Alliance to standards bodies, regulators, and the wider industry.

Committees

Committees provide cross-cutting governance between the Board and the Working Groups.

Technical Steering Committee — Governance over the roadmap, specification releases, cross-working-group alignment, and technical arbitration.

Device Ecosystem Committee — Direct engagement with the organizations that actually implement ODA specifications — device OEMs, ODMs, chipset and platform vendors — carrying ratified requirements into their product roadmaps and onboarding compliant devices into the ODA Enabled program.

Marketing & Communications Committee — Drives market awareness, governs ecosystem messaging, and manages the brand guidelines for certified devices, alongside PR, events, and commercial adoption.

Working Groups

Working Groups drive ODA’s technical output. Each group operates under a Board-approved charter defining its scope, deliverables, and voting rules. Membership is open to all ODA members, and chairs are elected annually.

Enterprise Requirements & Use Cases — the demand-side voice of the Open Device Alliance.

Device Capabilities & Specifications — the core technical specification body of the Open Device Alliance.

Test & Certification — the validation and quality assurance arm of the Open Device Alliance.

Task Groups

Task Groups are formed within Working Groups to tackle a single deliverable — a use case framework, an implementation standard, or a test specification. They are time-bound and output-focused, and dissolve once their deliverable is ratified by the parent Working Group. Every Task Group moves through four stages:

CandidateA documented deployment barrier accepted into the backlog, not yet scoped.

DefinedScope and deliverables agreed, awaiting charter approval.

ActiveChartered and drafting, with members actively contributing.

CompletedDeliverable ratified and published; the Task Group dissolves.

Decision-Making & Voting

How Decisions Get Made

Proposal Submitted

Any member can submit a proposal — a new feature requirement, a test criteria change, a policy position — to the relevant Working Group. Proposals are logged, assigned, and distributed to group members.

Working Group Review

The Working Group reviews the proposal over a defined comment period. Members can endorse, amend, or object. The chair facilitates discussion and ensures all perspectives are recorded in the session notes.

Working Group Vote

Following the comment period, eligible members vote. New Task Groups are formed as needed to facilitate newly ratified Working Group proposals.

Board Ratification

Proposals that pass Working Group vote are submitted to the Board for ratification. The Board may ratify, return for revision, or escalate to a full membership vote for major standard changes.

Published & Effective

Ratified decisions are published to the ODA document library with full version history. All members are notified and the change is reflected in applicable certification criteria on the effective date.

Open by DesignAccountable by Default

How ODA is Organized

How Decisions Get Made

Foundational Documents

Open by Design
Accountable by Default