Create a strategy and goals section in our meta/ repository

[choldgraf]

Context

Currently we have a number of different projects split across dozens of repositories. These are all run semi-independently - some growing in-tandem with one another, and others moving off in new directions.

There is a method to the madness here, and many folks on the team + the project's PIs have had informal conversations about where the project is generally heading (e.g., MyST as a standalone spec+project, exploring javascript implementations, our near-term goals for Jupyter Book functionality, governance and organizational improvements, etc). However, there is not a "source of truth" for this plan, and we don't have a public space where others can learn about it. This is especially important for external stakeholders that want to learn about the goals of the organization, but are not going to dig through issues and pull requests to figure it out.

Note: we do have an Our technical goals section but these are fairly specific and feature-focused, and also need to be updated.

Proposal

I propose that we create a page in executablebooks.org that is called something like Strategy and Goals. This page would create the high-level goals for the organization and our strategic objectives to accomplish those goals. This would not change often, and much of the more dynamic decisions would happen across all of the various repositories etc.

For now, we should try to come to consensus on this language as a team, and at the least we need buy-in from the project's Principle Investigators. Once we determine the governing structure of the organization, there will need to be some organizing body that approves these kinds of policy.

Things this page could answer

• What is the long-term vision for the organization and the mission it wants to accomplish?
• Where is the project excited about investing time and energy in the coming several months?
• What should the project actively seek funding to work on?
• Where is design- and strategy-level contribution from the community most-welcome?
• What are the most important strategic objectives for the project to tackle next?

Examples of pages in other orgs

• Large multi-project organizations
  • Rust governance page lists roadmaps process w/ links (thx @chrisjsewell for sharing)
  • I believe Python also uses PEPs to define their governance...not sure about annual roadmap and strategy though. I can't find a public page that easily lists it (thx @chrisjsewell for sharing)
  • scientific-python.org roadmap: https://scientific-python.org/roadmap/
• Project-specific roadmaps
  • XArray roadmap: https://docs.xarray.dev/en/stable/roadmap.html
  • Numpy has a current roadmap page (which is part of their NEP documentation)
  • MNE-python's roadmap page

[chrisjsewell]

Heya, as already mentioned by @rowanc1 (#838 (comment)), we have already discussed strategic documentation in the team meeting (#831 (comment))

For this there is https://github.com/executablebooks/myst-eps, since such pages of high-level policy need a clear provenance of agreement, and a way to reference them etc