[New Feature]: Finalize GOVERNANCE.md

[riverma]

Checked for duplicates

• Yes - I've already checked

Alternatives considered

• Yes - and alternatives don't suffice

Related problems

Our current governance document is in place but needs finalization to provide clear guidance for contributors.

Describe the feature request

We need to finalize our GOVERNANCE.md document to clearly document the project's governance process. This should include:

• Review and finalize the existing roles and responsibilities
• Clarify the decision-making process
• Document how contributors can progress through roles
• Ensure alignment with CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md and CODE_OF_COLLAB.md
• Get feedback from current contributors before finalizing

A complete governance document will help set clear expectations for all participants and make the project more welcoming to new contributors.

[riverma]

Discussion between @c-h-david and @riverma per CODE_OF_COLLAB.md to upgrade SLIM reference to CODE_OF_COLLAB with:

• Badge
• Fix YAML rendering errors
• More specific directions on where to place file
• Authorship

[riverma]

Suggestion from @riverma:

• In README, add explicit reference to LICENSE type in LICENSE section
• Add CITATION.cff for repository

[c-h-david]

@riverma: our conversation this morning sent me on a writing adventure... Putting the outcome here as a conversation starter. I tried to tie this in to the GOVERNANCE.md, perhaps as part of the CODE_OF_COLLAB.md but I feel like there is some duplication there.

Collaborators

We consider everyone using RAPID to be collaborators – members of the RAPID
community. We aim for all collaborators to benefit from the software and thrive
while doing so.

Collaboration matrix

Collaborator	Cite	Send news	Joint Pubs	Joint proposals	Maintain
Independent user	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Guided user	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
Champion	✅	✅	🤷💬🤝	🤷💬🤝	❌
Core Team	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

Independent user

Independent users prefer to work with RAPID on their own, using it as an
off-the-shelf tool. This category suits those comfortable relying on existing
documentation without our direct support. Please enjoy RAPID! Just be sure to
cite it in any publications (papers, talks, software, etc.) using the
CITATION.cff
file, and share highlights like presentations, publications, or media coverage.
You’re not expected to involve us in your proposals or publications. This group
aligns with the User role in our
GOVERNANCE.md.

Guided user

Guided users chose RAPID for their specific application and may require our
help with design, execution, analysis, or troubleshooting. In these cases, we
appreciate the opportunity to contribute to publications resulting from this
collaboration. We’ll ensure RAPID is used and cited appropriately, and our
awareness of your work will naturally follow from our involvement. You’ve
likely secured your own funding or received a letter of support from us; formal
collaboration on proposals isn’t expected at this stage. If RAPID becomes a
regular part of your work, we can revisit joint proposals. This group also
falls under the User role in our
GOVERNANCE.md.

Champion

Champions are individuals or team leads who have integrated RAPID into their
regular workflows. You likely know us, and we know you. We’re deeply grateful
for your advocacy, outreach, and use of RAPID to advance scientific impact. At
this point, you already know how to use and cite RAPID independently. We value
your autonomy and love hearing your success stories. You’re always welcome to
involve us in milestone publications or proposals, though it’s not required for
incremental work. What matters most here is open, candid conversations about
publications so we reach an understanding. If your proposals make significant
use of RAPID, please consider including us – along with appropriate budget — so
we can sustainably support your efforts. Champions align with the
Stakeholder role in our
GOVERNANCE.md
and may be invited to serve as Advisors.

Core team

The core team consists of active contributors to the RAPID codebase. We may
work in close proximity — sharing hallways or meeting regularly, whether in
person or virtually — on RAPID’s design, architecture, features, maintenance,
and long-term evolution. Core team members are routinely involved in a variety
of activities: commit code, develop documentation, submit pull requests, engage
with users, and manage GitHub issues. We also co-author papers and collaborate
on funding proposals. This group includes the Contributor, Committer,
and Manager roles defined in our
GOVERNANCE.md.

[riverma]

@c-h-david - this is brilliant! I really like the clarity of having a separate collaborative options table with descriptions describing the ways people can collaborate with the project. Thanks so much for brainstorming this and putting the table together! Let's chat a bit more about this. In the meantime, I tried my hand at taking your idea and trying to use more general role names / icons to make it a bit simpler, in terms of roles I've seen out in the OSS world. Let me know what you think.

Collaborative Roles

Engagement Level	Citation Requirements	Community Updates	Publication Collaboration	Funding Collaboration	Code Maintenance
User	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Supported User	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
Champion	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Maintainer	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

User

Users prefer to work with RAPID on their own, using it as an off-the-shelf tool.
This category suits those comfortable relying on existing documentation without
our direct support. Please enjoy RAPID! Just be sure to cite it in any publications
(papers, talks, software, etc.) using the CITATION.cff file, and share highlights
like presentations, publications, or media coverage. You're not expected to involve
us in your proposals or publications. This group aligns with the User role in our
GOVERNANCE.md.

Supported User

Supported Users choose RAPID for their specific application and may require our
help with design, execution, analysis, or troubleshooting. In these cases, we
appreciate the opportunity to contribute to publications resulting from this
collaboration. We'll ensure RAPID is used and cited appropriately, and our
awareness of your work will naturally follow from our involvement. You've
likely secured your own funding or received a letter of support from us; formal
collaboration on proposals isn't expected at this stage. Publication collaboration
is welcome, but code maintenance is not part of this engagement level. This group also
falls under the User role in our GOVERNANCE.md.

Champion

Champions are individuals or team leads who have integrated RAPID into their
regular workflows. You likely know us, and we know you. We're deeply grateful
for your advocacy, outreach, and use of RAPID to advance scientific impact. At
this point, you already know how to use and cite RAPID independently. We value
your autonomy and love hearing your success stories. As an Advocate, we expect
collaboration on both publications and funding proposals that significantly
involve RAPID. If your proposals make significant use of RAPID, please consider
including us – along with appropriate budget — so we can sustainably support your
efforts. Advocates typically do not participate in code maintenance. Advocates align
with the Stakeholder role in our GOVERNANCE.md and may be invited to serve as Advisors.

Maintainer

The Maintainer team consists of active contributors to the RAPID codebase. We may
work in close proximity — sharing hallways or meeting regularly, whether in
person or virtually — on RAPID's design, architecture, features, maintenance,
and long-term evolution. Maintainers are expected to participate in all aspects of the
project: citation requirements, community updates, publication collaboration, funding
collaboration, and code maintenance. Maintainers are routinely involved in a variety
of activities: commit code, develop documentation, submit pull requests, engage
with users, and manage GitHub issues. We also co-author papers and collaborate
on funding proposals. This group includes the Contributor, Committer,
and Manager roles defined in our GOVERNANCE.md.

[riverma]

One other idea way we could also communicate this information is by way of "engagement levels" akin to sponsorship. Something like:

Engagement Matrix

Engagement Level	Citation Requirements	Community Updates	Publication Collaboration	Funding Collaboration	Code Maintenance
🟤 Copper	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
🥉 Bronze	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
🥈 Silver	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
🥇 Gold	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

🟤 Copper

Coppers prefer to work with RAPID on their own, using it as an off-the-shelf tool.
This category suits those comfortable relying on existing documentation without
our direct support. Please enjoy RAPID! Just be sure to cite it in any publications
(papers, talks, software, etc.) using the CITATION.cff file, and share highlights
like presentations, publications, or media coverage. You're not expected to involve
us in your proposals or publications. This group aligns with the User role in our
GOVERNANCE.md.

🥉 Bronze

Bronzes choose RAPID for their specific application and may require our
help with design, execution, analysis, or troubleshooting. In these cases, we
appreciate the opportunity to contribute to publications resulting from this
collaboration. We'll ensure RAPID is used and cited appropriately, and our
awareness of your work will naturally follow from our involvement. You've
likely secured your own funding or received a letter of support from us; formal
collaboration on proposals isn't expected at this stage. Publication collaboration
is welcome, but code maintenance is not part of this engagement level. This group also
falls under the User role in our GOVERNANCE.md.

🥈 Silver

Silvers are individuals or team leads who have integrated RAPID into their
regular workflows. You likely know us, and we know you. We're deeply grateful
for your advocacy, outreach, and use of RAPID to advance scientific impact. At
this point, you already know how to use and cite RAPID independently. We value
your autonomy and love hearing your success stories. As a Silver Advocate, we expect
collaboration on both publications and funding proposals that significantly
involve RAPID. If your proposals make significant use of RAPID, please consider
including us – along with appropriate budget — so we can sustainably support your
efforts. Silvers typically do not participate in code maintenance. Silvers align
with the Stakeholder role in our GOVERNANCE.md and may be invited to serve as Advisors.

🥇 Gold

The Golds consists of active contributors to the RAPID codebase. We may
work in close proximity — sharing hallways or meeting regularly, whether in
person or virtually — on RAPID's design, architecture, features, maintenance,
and long-term evolution. Golds are expected to participate in all aspects of the
project: citation requirements, community updates, publication collaboration, funding
collaboration, and code maintenance. Golds are routinely involved in a variety
of activities: commit code, develop documentation, submit pull requests, engage
with users, and manage GitHub issues. We also co-author papers and collaborate
on funding proposals. This group includes the Contributor, Committer,
and Manager roles defined in our GOVERNANCE.md.

[c-h-david]

@riverma, I accepted your PR, reworked some of my preferred names and sentences and linted the file. I also added a badge in the README.md. Check it out! Can you make a suggestion for a CITATION.cff file? I'd like to suggest folks to cite both https://doi.org/10.1175/2011JHM1345.1 and https://doi.org/10.1002/2015EA000142 to start with. I'll add a DOI for RAPID2 when we do the initial release.

[riverma]

@c-h-david - we're finalizing the CITATION.cff best practice guide in SLIM (PR), will have that available as a PR for RAPID2 hopefully this week. Please stay tuned for that.