World Wide Web Consortium

DEVELOPMENT OF WEB STANDARDS: STANDARDS DEVELOPED BY THE CONSORTIUM ARE ADOPTED VOLUNTARILY. THEY MUST THEREFORE BE OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY. IN ADDITION, THEY MUST MEET REAL WORLD NEEDS, INCLUDING OVERCOMING THE MANY BARRIERS FACED BY DISADVANTAGED MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. WEB STANDARDS MUST BALANCE THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND TECHNOLOGISTS, FOR THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF SERVING ALL OF HUMANITY. FURTHER, BECAUSE THE WEB IS A GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE, THE CONSORTIUM MUST FIND SOLUTIONS THAT ADDRESS A RANGE OF REGIONAL AND CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS. THE CONSORTIUM CONDUCTS ITS WORK IN PUBLIC AND SEEKS WIDE REVIEW ON AN ONGOING BASIS TO HELP ENSURE THAT WIDE-RANGE PERSPECTIVES INFORM CONSENSUS DECISIONS ABOUT FUTURE WEB TECHNOLOGY. IN ADDITION, THE CONSORTIUM'S PROCESS REQUIRES THAT ALL STANDARDS UNDERGO REVIEW BY CHARTERED GROUPS WITH EXPERTISE IN ACCESSIBILITY, INTERNATIONALIZATION, PRIVACY AND SECURITY; THESE GROUPS HELP ENSURE THAT THE STANDARDS MEET THE SOCIAL NEEDS THAT MOTIVATE THE CONSORTIUM'S MISSION. THIS IS KNOWN IN THE CONSORTIUM AS "HORIZONTAL REVIEW," BECAUSE IT IS APPLIED ACROSS STANDARDIZATION ACTIVITIES. APPROXIMATELY 59% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S TIME AND 59% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S OVERALL RESOURCES WILL BE ALLOCATED TO THIS ACTIVITY.RESEARCH: THE CONSORTIUM, WITH PARTNERS AND COLLABORATORS, CONDUCTS RESEARCH INTO NEW TECHNOLOGIES, APPLICATIONS, AND BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO THE WEB. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE FIELD OF WEB PRIVACY, THE CONSORTIUM'S COORDINATION OF STANDARDIZATION WORK IMPROVES SUPPORT FOR USER PRIVACY ON THE WEB AND DEVELOPS GENERAL EXPERTISE IN PRIVACY-BY-DESIGN FOR WEB STANDARDS. APPROXIMATELY 24% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S TIME AND 24% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S OVERALL RESOURCES WILL BE ALLOCATED TO THIS ACTIVITY.EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS/RESOURCES: THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF THE CONSORTIUM'S STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS (INCLUDING THE W3C MEMBERS), THE CONSORTIUM PRODUCES WRITTEN DELIVERABLES THAT INCLUDE STANDARDS, GUIDELINES, AND TOOLS THAT ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR FREE AND HELP WEB DEVELOPERS WORLDWIDE IMPROVE THEIR SITES IN TERMS OF ACCESSIBILITY AND INTERNATIONALIZATION. THE CONSORTIUM'S STANDARDS HAVE BEEN GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, INCLUDING THROUGH REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO ACCESSIBLE WEB SITES, AND WITH AN EMMY AWARD FOR THE CONSORTIUM'S STANDARDS TO MAKE VIDEO CONTENT MORE ACCESSIBLE ON THE WEB WITH TEXT CAPTIONING AND SUBTITLES. APPROXIMATELY 12% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S TIME AND 12% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S OVERALL RESOURCES WILL BE ALLOCATED TO THIS ACTIVITY.EDUCATIONAL COURSES: THE CONSORTIUM DEVELOPS FREE EDUCATIONAL COURSES ("W3Cx") TO INFORM DEVELOPERS ABOUT WEB BEST PRACTICES, INCLUDING WEB ACCESSIBILITY. APPROXIMATELY 5% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S TIME AND 5% OF THE CONSORTIUM'S OVERALL RESOURCES WILL BE ALLOCATED TO THIS ACTIVITY.