# Participation and Disposition Record

**Version:** 3.0.6  
**Last reviewed UTC:** 2026-06-20T00:41:09Z  
**Maturity:** Reviewed  
**Intended user:** A public body, community, platform, research team, standards group, or system operator documenting how affected people could influence a bounded decision.

## What this artifact is for

Use this record to show more than an invitation. It should identify the decision that was actually open, the declared influence level, affected groups, participation channels and access supports, contributions, dissent, dispositions, changes made, changes not made, correction and appeal paths, and withdrawal or exit boundaries.

Participation is not automatically consent, endorsement, representation, fairness, or democratic legitimacy. A consultation should not be described as co-decision or binding governance. Silence must not be treated as agreement or proof that no harm exists.

## Editable variables

Replace bracketed values with actual, non-sensitive information. Do not publish private submissions, credentials, raw personal files, or unnecessary identity data. Record known representation gaps rather than claiming universal coverage.

## Blank template

```json
{
  "schema_version": "3.0.6",
  "id": "[record id]",
  "version": "3.0.6",
  "last_reviewed_utc": "2026-06-20T00:41:09Z",
  "artifact_maturity": "reviewed",
  "process_title": "[process title]",
  "decision_scope": "[what participants could actually influence]",
  "decision_owner": "[responsible decision owner]",
  "participation_level": "[information|consultation|deliberation|co_decision|delegated_or_binding]",
  "affected_groups": ["[affected group]"],
  "participant_scope_and_gaps": "[who participated and known gaps]",
  "non_negotiable_constraints": ["[constraint disclosed in advance]"],
  "contribution_channels": [
    {
      "channel": "[channel]",
      "access_supports": ["[support]"],
      "privacy_posture": "[privacy and attribution options]",
      "compensation_or_cost_support": "[compensation or limitation]"
    }
  ],
  "contributions": [
    {
      "contribution_id": "[id]",
      "participant_group": "[group without unnecessary personal data]",
      "summary": "[contribution summary]",
      "evidence_references": [],
      "dissent_or_minority_report": false,
      "disposition": "[accepted|partially_accepted|rejected|deferred|out_of_scope|duplicate|needs_human_review]",
      "disposition_reason": "[reason]",
      "resulting_change": "[change or no change]",
      "response_owner": "[owner]"
    }
  ],
  "dissent_and_minority_reports": [],
  "changes_made": [],
  "changes_not_made": [],
  "public_response_commitment": "[response timing or process]",
  "correction_or_appeal_path": "[path]",
  "non_retaliation_statement": "[statement]",
  "data_use_and_retention": "[use and retention]",
  "withdrawal_refusal_or_exit_path": "[path]",
  "next_review_utc": "[UTC timestamp]",
  "public_summary_url": "[URL]",
  "source_domain": "[source domain]",
  "claim_boundary_note": "VNWO provides a static documentation pattern. It does not recruit participants, collect submissions, verify representation, validate consent, certify fairness or democratic legitimacy, determine legal sufficiency, or guarantee that an institution acts on public input."
}
```

## Completed fictional example

See `https://vnwo.com/examples/participation-record.json`. The example shows accepted, partially accepted, and rejected contributions; it also preserves a minority report rather than claiming false consensus.

## Review checklist

- Name the actual decision lever and responsible owner.
- State whether the process is informational, consultative, deliberative, co-decisional, or delegated/binding.
- Publish non-negotiable constraints before inviting input.
- Record access supports, privacy options, compensation, and known participation gaps.
- Preserve dissent and minority reports.
- Give every in-scope contribution a visible disposition and reason.
- Separate participation from consent, approval, identity verification, and representativeness.
- Provide correction, appeal, non-retaliation, refusal, withdrawal, and exit paths.
- Explain what data is used, retained, or not collected.
- Do not claim that public posting guarantees search indexing, archiving, dataset inclusion, model learning, or fair representation.

## Related files

- Human guidance: `https://vnwo.com/participation/`
- Schema: `https://vnwo.com/schemas/participation-record.schema.json`
- Example: `https://vnwo.com/examples/participation-record.json`
- Principles: `https://vnwo.com/participation-principles.json`
- Claim boundaries: `https://vnwo.com/claim-boundaries/`

## Source-routing note

Identify the source domain and decision owner for imported concepts. Preserve implementation authority with the implementing organization. Use no-op or human review when evidence, authority, participation scope, or representation claims are ambiguous.

## Claim boundary

VNWO provides static public participation guidance and templates. It does not collect public input, recruit or verify participants, validate consent, certify democratic legitimacy, guarantee representation, provide legal advice, or prove that a process is fair.