During the recent Kantara Leadership Retreat, we focused on the question of why Kantara exists (seehttp://kantarainitiative.org/pipermail/lc/2013-August/002348.html for a high level summary out of that retreat).  The idea is that with a clear "why", we can make sure the actions we take truly support the goals of the Kantara Initiative.  The current working DRAFT of Kantara's "why" statement is:  

DRAFT: Kantara exists to define rules of engagement for operators of online services, enabling high-value, privacy-preserving identity and access.

In order to incorporate this concept in to the Innovation side of Kantara, the work groups, we are initiating a Work Group recharter effort.  This will help make sure that the Work Groups are on track with solid deliverables and timelines that support the goal of the organization.  Work Groups can expect to receive more organizational support in terms of marketing to increase group participation and the creation of industry-driving Kantara Recommendations.  For Work Groups that do not recharter, their status will change to that of a Discussion Group, which is considered a much more informal effort. (Please see the Kantara Operating Procedures for a more detailed definition of Work Group and Discussion Group: http://kantarainitiative.org/confluence/x/owVAAg .)

The link to your current charter can be found on your space in the Kantara wiki.  The LC would like to have the updated charters in by September 25.  The LC will discuss and review the charters over the month of October.