Governance
How the standard is governed.
MortarCAPS is an independent not-for-profit. The standard is governed by an independent board, supported by working groups drawn from across the sector, and developed through public draft windows for every major release.
01 Principles
The non-negotiables.
Sector ownership
The standard is held in trust for the sector.
MortarCAPS holds the standard on behalf of the sector. No single vendor — including any single Founding Vendor — can direct the substance of the standard.Public draft windows
No surprises.
Every major release goes through a structured public draft window before adoption — typically five weeks. Anyone in a member institution or licensed partner can submit comments.Versioned & signed
Stable, planned releases.
Releases are versioned (V1, V2.0.1, V2.1, V2.2) with published change logs, deprecation policies, and reference data updates so institutions can plan adoption against a real roadmap.Vendor-funded sustainability
Free for institutions.
Institutions access MCDS free through their peak-body membership. The org is funded by vendor and implementation-partner licence fees, structured to protect neutrality.
02 Conduct
What we expect.
Working groups
Constructive, attributable participation.
Working group contributions are attributable. Confidential pre-release content is shared under reasonable confidentiality obligations during the draft window.Logo & brand usage
Within the published guide.
Use of the MCDS Logo by licensed partners is governed by the brand guide. Misuse is grounds for licence suspension.Conflicts
Declared and managed.
Board members, working group leads, and the executive team declare conflicts of interest and recuse where appropriate.Inclusion
A respectful sector.
We expect respectful engagement at all events, working groups, and forums. Harassment, bad-faith behaviour, or intimidation are grounds for removal.
Want the full constitution?
The MortarCAPS governing constitution and working-group Terms of Reference are available on request.