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📝 docs(council): Rewrite Community Architect charter #253

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include::ROOT:partial$attributes.adoc[]
= Fedora Community Architect (FCA)
Remy DeCausemaker; Brian Exelbierd; Marie Nordin; Justin Wheeler; Shaun McCance
v5.0, 2026-07-29
:page-aliases: fcaic.adoc
:description: The Fedora Community Architect (FCA) is responsible for Fedora Council governance, budget and financial stewardship, the Flock contributor conference, and upstream/downstream ecosystem engagement including CentOS.
The _Fedora Community Architect_ (FCA) is employed full-time by Red Hat to lead initiatives that grow the Fedora user and developer communities.
They also help make Red Hat and Fedora interactions more transparent and open.
The Fedora community budget comes to us through the Red Hat Open Source Program Office (OSPO).
This position facilitates decision-making on how to best focus that to meet our community's goals and objectives.
The FCA supports the xref:fpl.adoc[Project Leader] with all things "community" and works directly with the Fedora Leadership to help bring more Heat and Light to the project.
The FCA is appointed to the Community Architect seat on the xref:index.adoc[{team_name}], Fedora’s top-level community leadership and governance body.
The {team_name} is responsible for stewardship of the Fedora Project as a whole, and supports the health and growth of the Fedora community.
{description}
The FCA holds one of three permanent Red Hat seats on the Fedora Council and serves as the primary steward of the institutional relationships, governance authority, and financial accountability that keep Fedora functioning as an open, sustainable project.
The breadth of this role is intentional: the FCA operates across community governance, financial stewardship, event leadership, and ecosystem management simultaneously, with a formal governance seat on the Fedora Council at the center of it.
[[current]]
@ -28,66 +26,110 @@ You can read more about his participation and history in Fedora https://jwheel.o
[[roles]]
== Roles and Responsibilities ==
== Roles and Responsibilities
[[roles-council]]
=== {team_name} ===
The Fedora Community Architect has the following key responsibilities:
* Work with other {team_name} members to identify the short, medium, and long term goals of the Fedora community and to organize and enable the project to best achieve them
* Primary {team_name} member with responsibility for the development of the annual Fedora community budget
* Participate in decision-making about use of trademarks, project structure, community disputes or complaints, and other such issues
[[roles-governance]]
=== Fedora Council and Governance
[[roles-special]]
=== Special Initiatives ===
* Design and spearhead special initiatives to grow user and contributor bases
[[roles-metrics]]
=== Metrics ===
* Implement metrics for community engagement, participation, and satisfaction; create and execute projects to improve those metrics; report regularly on progress and adjust approach as needed
[[roles-opportunities]]
=== Opportunities ===
* Identify opportunities to engage new contributors and community members; align project around supporting those opportunities
[[roles-community-liaison]]
=== Liaise between Red Hat and FOSS Community ===
* Communicate community needs to Red Hat and participate in regular meetings with internal Red Hat stakeholders; align Red Hat participation in Fedora beyond platform engineering
* Represent Red Hat’s stake in Fedora community success
* Improve on-boarding materials and presentation of Fedora to new Red Hat hires; develop standardized materials on Fedora which can be used at Red Hat globally.
* Hold the FCA seat on the {team_name}, participating in decisions on project structure, trademarks, strategy, and conflict resolution.
* Maintain documentation related to {team_name} governance, policies, and procedures, coordinating the creation, revision, and publication of Council documents with Council members and the community, in close consultation with the xref:foa.adoc[Fedora Operations Architect].
* Chair the xref:project:code-of-conduct:committee.adoc[Code of Conduct Committee], coordinating and convening its regular meetings and ensuring timely follow-up on cases submitted to the CoC Committee.
* Serve as the Code of Conduct Committee's secretary and documentarian, maintaining its charter, membership records, and case documentation.
* Coordinate the publication of official CoC Committee responses and annual transparency reports.
[[roles-budget]]
=== Budget ===
=== Budget Management
The Fedora Community Architect works with the {team_name} and Red Hat Open Source Program Office (OSPO) to determine the annual Fedora Budget.
* Serve as the permanent Chair of the Fedora Mindshare Committee, the primary body for reviewing and approving community funding proposals.
* Analyze previous fiscal year spending and event impact to inform future budget strategy.
* Lead the annual budget planning process, gathering requirements from the Fedora Council and community stakeholders.
* Develop the annual budget proposal, creating forecasts based on strategic priorities and anticipated event costs.
* Negotiate the final budget with OSAIPO leadership, aligning community needs with corporate financial realities.
* Oversee the public processes for event funding requests and other community initiatives throughout the year.
* Maintain accurate accounting of all expenditures, providing regular financial reports to both the Fedora community and OSAIPO.
* Ensure that budget is published and tracked transparently, with a public page indicating how each year’s budget is earmarked and its current state.
[[roles-flock]]
=== Flock Contributor Conference
[[roles-events]]
=== Fedora Event Planning and Participation ===
* Analyze post-event feedback and survey data to set strategic goals for the next conference.
* Lead the venue selection and negotiation process based on community needs and logistical requirements.
* Assemble and lead the Flock organizing committee, defining clear roles and responsibilities.
* Serve as the overall project manager for the conference, ensuring all functions remain synchronized and on schedule.
* Curate a conference program that addresses key project challenges, showcases innovation, and creates a welcoming environment for all contributors.
Participate in planning and organizing Fedora’s Flagship events each year, including:
[[roles-centos]]
=== CentOS Ecosystem
* Flock, Nest, & Hatch
* Release Parties
* Fedora contributor hackfests
* Represent Fedora's interests within the CentOS project, engaging with the CentOS Board on governance, elections, and community transitions.
* Serve as a bridge between the Fedora and CentOS communities, sharing lessons, tooling, and processes across the upstream/downstream relationship.
* Assist with CentOS Connect, the project's annual contributor conference, ensuring a strong Fedora presence.
* Advocate for CentOS Stream partners and users, surfacing their needs and feedback to the Fedora community and to Red Hat engineering.
* Support open, transparent communication between CentOS Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and the Fedora partner ecosystem.
The Fedora Community Architect also represents Fedora at other major industry conferences and hackathons such as:
* All Things Open
* DevConf CZ, IN, US
* FOSDEM
* PyCon (and Sprints)
* LibrePlanet
* Red Hat Summit
[[decision-making]]
== Decision-Making
[[roles-communications]]
=== Communications ===
The Fedora Community Architect (FCA) is an employee of Red Hat, LLC, and Red Hat is the primary financial sponsor of the Fedora Project.
The FCA has professional goals and responsibilities within Red Hat's Open Source & AI Program Office (OSAIPO), which employs the FCA and allocates the annual Fedora community budget that the FCA stewards.
Stewarding that allocation on the Fedora Project's behalf is a key aspect of the FCA's job.
This sponsorship relationship is a bias the FCA must remain aware of and transparent about.
The Fedora Community Architect provides and facilitates regular communications to Fedora Magazine, the Fedora Community Blog, and other mass communication channels to talk about community goals/progress and general community boosting.
Despite that sponsorship, the FCA is empowered to act as a fiduciary for the Fedora Project: a role of trust in which governance, budget, and stewardship decisions are made in the best interest of the Fedora Project and its global community, not merely in the interest of Red Hat.
This distinction is what makes the role legitimate to a volunteer-driven community — the resources under the FCA's stewardship belong to Red Hat, but their use on Fedora's behalf does not.
In practice, this means acting as a bridge between Red Hat's interests and the broader community's needs: advocating for the community's perspective within Red Hat, and communicating Red Hat's context back to the community.
The FCA's primary objective, in every case, is to ensure the long-term health and success of the Fedora Project and its global community.
Decisions are made through the following collaborative processes:
* Decisions related to budget allocation and official project documentation are made with the xref:council::index.adoc[{team_name}].
* Decisions related to Flock planning are made in collaboration with the Flock organizing team and relevant community stakeholders.
The FCA also maintains a close, ongoing working relationship with the xref:fpl.adoc[Fedora Project Leader] and the xref:foa.adoc[Fedora Operations Architect], the Council's other two staff roles.
Together, these three roles handle the daily work of Council governance, and their close coordination on budget, technical change, and community strategy is what keeps the {team_name} responsive to the community it serves.
[[guiding-principles]]
=== Guiding Principles
The FCA's core responsibilities provide a framework for day-to-day decisions.
However, situations will arise where these responsibilities conflict, or where the best path forward is unclear.
In these moments, the FCA must navigate the complexity by relying on a deeper set of principles.
This is a role of significant influence and trust within the community.
That influence should be used intentionally and with care.
The FCA has a fundamental responsibility to the community of contributors and the long-term health of the Fedora Project.
When faced with a difficult choice, the FCA should use Fedora's xref:project::index.adoc#_what_is_fedora_all_about[Four Foundations] (Freedom, Friends, Features, and First) as the primary framework for their reasoning.
These are the core values of the project and should consistently inform the FCA's judgment.
[[communication]]
== Communication
The Fedora Community Architect (FCA) acts as a central communication hub for the project.
The FCA is responsible for maintaining strong lines of communication with key stakeholder groups and the community at large.
*Serve as a liaison to key stakeholder teams:*
* *Fedora Council*:
Report on the status of key responsibilities and provide context for community needs.
* *Mindshare Committee*:
Lead budget discussions and guide outreach strategy.
* *Code of Conduct Committee*:
Coordinate CoC Committee meetings, ensure timely follow-up on submitted cases, and maintain CoC Committee documentation.
* *Flock Organizing Team*:
Coordinate conference logistics and programming for Flock.
* *CentOS Board*:
Represent Fedora's interests in CentOS governance, elections, and community transitions.
* *CentOS Connect Organizing Team*:
Assist with conference logistics and programming for CentOS Connect.
*Communicate regularly and transparently with the broader community:*
* Proactively share updates and progress related to the FCA's core responsibilities.
* Utilize various channels, including the Fedora Community Blog, Fedora Discussion, and Matrix, to reach different audiences.
* Create structured opportunities for community participation and feedback on relevant topics.
[[previous]]
@ -103,7 +145,7 @@ link:{url_wiki}/User:Decause[Remy DeCausemaker]::
February 2015 – June 2016 (_Fedora Linux 22 to 24_)
[[previous-titles]]
=== What about FCAIC and FCL?
=== Why so many titles?
The title of this role evolved and changed over the years since its inception in February 2015.
The creation of the role was largely envisioned and advocated for by xref:fpl.adoc#previous[Robyn Bergeron], then the Fedora Project Leader.
@ -117,12 +159,18 @@ Later, in October 2016, the role title was changed to *Fedora Community Action &
This title was lengthier but better captured what community engagement means in a large, globally-distributed community like Fedora.
Over time, more projects, organizations, and companies working on Free & Open Source Software (FOSS) introduced new roles in community management and leadership.
However, community work does not have an industry-accepted job ladder, as is more common with software engineering.
Red Hat eventually settled on the title of _community architect_ for community work in its pioneering Open Source communities.
Red Hat eventually settled on the title of _community architect_ for a career path in community management in its pioneering Open Source communities.
Fast forward to 2023.
The landscape has changed and evolved!
So, it was the ideal time to reflect on the title for this role.
The title was changed in January 2023 to *Fedora Community Architect* (FCA).
Ultimately, the goal of changing the name was to better describe the role and what the FCA does in Fedora.
The lengthy "FCAIC" title usually came with an explanation to others unfamiliar with Fedora and our community culture.
FCA is also a handy shortening of the longer FCAIC acronym too!
The title was changed in January 2023 to *Fedora Community Architect* (FCA) to reflect the changing landscape.
Ultimately, the goal of changing the name then was to better describe the role and what the FCA did in Fedora.
The lengthy "FCAIC" title often came with an explanation to others unfamiliar with Fedora and our unique community culture.
FCA was also a handy shortening of the longer FCAIC acronym too!
[[role-changes-2026]]
=== 2026 role changes
In 2026, this charter was substantially rewritten to describe the FCA's actual scope of work, rather than the broader "community manager" framing it had carried since the role's earliest days.
<<roles,_Roles and Responsibilities_>> was reorganized around four concrete areas — <<roles-governance,_Council governance_>>, <<roles-budget,_budget and fiduciary stewardship_>>, the <<roles-flock,_Flock conference_>>, and <<roles-centos,_CentOS ecosystem_>> — with CentOS added as a newly explicit responsibility, reflecting the deepening relationship between Fedora and its sibling project.
The _Community Initiative Support_ and _Collaboration with Community Ops_ sections were removed — the former because the Fedora Council paused the Community Initiatives program, and the latter because supporting Community Ops was never a distinct, formal responsibility of the role.
<<decision-making,_Decision-Making_>> was expanded to state plainly that the FCA, while a Red Hat employee, is a fiduciary for the Fedora Project: the community budget belongs to Red Hat, but its stewardship serves Fedora.
The FCA's ongoing working relationship with the Fedora Project Leader and Fedora Operations Architect was documented for the first time, and the stakeholder list in <<communication,_Communication_>> was tightened to reflect only the relationships tied to a formal responsibility.