Why it exists
ALiF is currently stewarded by a single core research team, which holds decision authority over the Standard, its companion documents, endorsements and the ecosystem architecture. That suits an early stage of development but will not scale as ALiF is adopted in more places. The Architecture Document therefore sets clear conditions for moving to multi-stakeholder governance.
When it is set up
- Trigger. When two or more jurisdictions have formally adopted the ALiF Standard, a Governance Advisory Council must be established within 12 months of the second adoption. Adoptions are counted from the Adoption Register.
- Fallback. If no second jurisdiction has adopted by February 2027, the core team will set up an informal international advisory board to give guidance and build the governance infrastructure in advance.
Composition
- the core research team;
- one seat for each adopting jurisdiction;
- domain experts from health professions education and from higher education;
- a specialist in assessment and measurement;
- an external expert in standards development.
Role
The Council is advisory. Decision authority stays with the core team until the Council’s terms of reference are formally ratified; those terms may then share or delegate authority.
Once it exists, the Council will:
- give input on the Standard, with formal consultation during major version reviews;
- help assess whether conditions justify a major review;
- take part in approving major versions;
- be consulted on changes to the four-layer architecture, the endorsement tiers or the governance model;
- support a formal appeals process for disputes about alignment, endorsement or how the Standard evolves.
Status
Planned. No council has been formed yet, and the fallback date of February 2027 has not yet arrived.