# Governance

CiviForm is free, open-source software that was built by the City of Seattle with support from Google.org Fellows. It is developed and maintained by its community of users and contributors, including civic entities, Google.org Fellows, and Exygy. Each government deploys and manages their own instance of CiviForm using the shared codebase. Participants in the CiviForm project are expected to abide by the shared Code of Conduct. Through the collective development and maintenance of best-in-class software, CiviForm aims to expand access to government services to those who need them most.

The following docs describe the processes and principles by which CiviForm is collectively developed and maintained:

* [Roles, Committees, & Responsibilities](https://docs.civiform.us/governance-and-management/governance/roles-committees-and-responsibilities)
* [Governance Processes](https://docs.civiform.us/governance-and-management/governance/governance-processes)
* [Development Principles](https://docs.civiform.us/governance-and-management/governance/development-principles)
* [Communication Guidelines](https://docs.civiform.us/governance-and-management/governance/communication)


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.civiform.us/governance-and-management/governance.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.