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Governance and Stewardship

This document describes the governance model for value sets in this repository.

Current Status

Most value sets in this repository are currently in DRAFT status. This means:

  • They are functional and can be used in downstream applications
  • They have not yet undergone formal review
  • Their structure and content may change
  • Community feedback is welcome and encouraged

Source of Truth Model

Value sets in this repository fall into two categories:

1. Mirrored Value Sets (External Stewardship)

Some value sets are mirrors of authoritative definitions maintained by external organizations. For these, the external organization is the Source of Truth (SoT), and this repository provides a LinkML-compatible representation.

Examples include:

Value Set Steward Source
GO Evidence Codes Gene Ontology Consortium ECO mappings
Phenopackets Enums GA4GH Phenopackets Phenopacket Schema
INSDC Vocabularies Genomic Standards Consortium INSDC controlled vocabularies

For mirrored value sets:

  • Changes to the authoritative source should be reflected here
  • Issues with the underlying definitions should be reported to the steward organization
  • This repository tracks the source and stewards annotations for provenance

2. Community Value Sets (Internal Stewardship)

Some value sets are originated and maintained within this repository. For these, this repository is the Source of Truth.

For community value sets:

  • Stewardship is managed through working groups
  • Changes follow the contribution and review process described below
  • The goal is to mature these to STANDARD status through community review

Maturity Levels

Value sets progress through maturity levels (defined in StandardsMaturityLevel):

Status Description
DRAFT Initial development, may change significantly
WORKING_DRAFT Active work by a working group
COMMITTEE_DRAFT Under formal review
CANDIDATE_RECOMMENDATION Ready for implementation testing
PROPOSED_STANDARD Stable, ready for adoption
STANDARD Approved and published
MATURE_STANDARD Well-established with wide adoption
SUPERSEDED Replaced by a newer version
WITHDRAWN No longer recommended

Stewardship Metadata

Each value set should include stewardship metadata:

enums:
  MyValueSet:
    title: My Value Set
    description: Description of the value set
    status: DRAFT
    contributors:
      - orcid:0000-0000-0000-0000
    instantiates:
      - valuesets_meta:ValueSetEnumDefinitionWithStewardship
    annotations:
      stewards: https://example.org/steward
      publishers: https://example.org/publisher

Stewardship Roles

Following FHIR MetadataResource patterns:

  • Stewards: Organizations responsible for ongoing curation and maintenance
  • Publishers: Organizations responsible for release and distribution
  • Endorsers: Organizations that officially recommend the value set for adoption

Contributing

Proposing New Value Sets

  1. Open an issue describing the value set and its use case
  2. If accepted, submit a PR with the value set in DRAFT status
  3. Include appropriate metadata (title, description, contributors)
  4. Map permissible values to ontology terms where applicable

Becoming a Steward

Stewards are responsible for:

  • Reviewing proposed changes to value sets in their domain
  • Ensuring value sets remain accurate and up-to-date
  • Responding to community feedback and issues
  • Coordinating with external stewards for mirrored value sets

To become a steward or join a working group:

Sign up here (placeholder)

Review Process

For value sets to advance from DRAFT to higher maturity levels:

  1. Working Group Review: Domain experts review the value set
  2. Community Feedback: Open period for community input
  3. Steward Approval: Designated steward(s) approve the advancement
  4. Status Update: PR to update the status field

Governance Bodies

Steering Committee

(To be established)

Responsibilities: - Overall project governance - Resolving disputes - Approving new working groups

Working Groups

Domain-specific working groups are responsible for value sets in their area:

Domain Working Group Status
Bioinformatics TBD Planned
Clinical/Healthcare TBD Planned
Earth Sciences TBD Planned

Contact