{"id":84,"date":"2026-01-20T15:46:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/?post_type=epkb_post_type_1&#038;p=84"},"modified":"2026-01-20T15:48:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:48:01","slug":"canonical-authority-model","status":"publish","type":"epkb_post_type_1","link":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/?epkb_post_type_1=canonical-authority-model","title":{"rendered":"Canonical Authority Model"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>MinistryCentral Europe<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h2><strong>Purpose<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This document defines <strong>where canonical authority resides<\/strong> within MinistryCentral Europe\u2019s content, platform, and documentation ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>It exists to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prevent ambiguity about \u201cwho decides\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Provide a reference point during disagreements or uncertainty<\/li>\n<li>Protect contributors and editors from unintentional overreach<\/li>\n<li>Ensure consistency across documentation, courses, and platforms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is a <strong>normative reference<\/strong>. It does not describe workflows or tasks.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Core Principle<\/strong><\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>Not all content is equal. Authority depends on context, scope, and impact.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Authority is assigned to <strong>roles<\/strong>, not tools.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Levels of Canonical Authority<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>1. System-Level Canonical Authority<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>(Highest authority)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Applies to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Platform architecture<\/li>\n<li>Knowledge base structure<\/li>\n<li>Publishing rules<\/li>\n<li>Governance policies<\/li>\n<li>Canonical documents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Held by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Project Lead<\/li>\n<li>Designated Platform \/ Technical Stewards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Changes affect the entire system<\/li>\n<li>Decisions are binding once approved<\/li>\n<li>Silent changes are not permitted<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Changing KB category structure<\/li>\n<li>Modifying publishing rules<\/li>\n<li>Altering canonical documents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>2. Content-Level Canonical Authority<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>(Editorial authority)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Applies to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Official documentation<\/li>\n<li>Published KB articles<\/li>\n<li>Course-related instructional material<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Held by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Content Editors<\/li>\n<li>Curriculum or Content Leads (within their scope)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Authority is bounded by governance rules<\/li>\n<li>Editors may improve clarity and consistency<\/li>\n<li>Substantive changes must follow review rules<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Editing an onboarding guide<\/li>\n<li>Updating instructional wording<\/li>\n<li>Preparing content for publication<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>3. Contribution-Level Authority<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>(Provisional authority)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Applies to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Drafts<\/li>\n<li>Suggestions<\/li>\n<li>Source material<\/li>\n<li>Instructor submissions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Held by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contributors<\/li>\n<li>Instructors<\/li>\n<li>Subject-matter reviewers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contributions are <strong>non-canonical by default<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Content becomes authoritative only after approval<\/li>\n<li>Contributors are protected from responsibility for final decisions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Drafting lesson outlines<\/li>\n<li>Submitting documentation proposals<\/li>\n<li>Providing feedback or revisions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Tool Neutrality<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Authority is <strong>not determined<\/strong> by the tool used.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Notion does not confer authority<\/li>\n<li>Word documents do not confer authority<\/li>\n<li>Echo KB publication does not create authority on its own, although the Echo KB on the <a href=\"http:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\">help.ministrycentral-europe.org<\/a> site is the FIRST and primary location of authority, followed by Notion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Authority flows from <strong>role and approval<\/strong>, not location.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Conflict Resolution Rule<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When there is uncertainty or disagreement:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Identify the <strong>level of authority<\/strong> involved<\/li>\n<li>Refer to this Canonical Authority Model<\/li>\n<li>Defer to the appropriate role holder<\/li>\n<li>Escalate only when scope exceeds delegated authority<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>No contributor or editor is expected to resolve authority conflicts independently.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Relationship to Other Documents<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This model is referenced by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Content, Platform &amp; Documentation Operations Guide<\/li>\n<li>Documentation Contribution Guide<\/li>\n<li>Content Editor Playbook<\/li>\n<li>Status Lifecycle &amp; Canonical Rules<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If guidance appears to conflict, this document takes precedence.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.notion.so\/Status-Lifecycle-Canonical-Rules-2ed7ebc9682b80a2955bf622922abf11?pvs=21\"><strong>Status<\/strong> Lifecycle &amp; Canonical Rules<\/a> document defines <strong>when<\/strong> content transitions into canonical residence within Echo KB.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Authority is intentional, not implicit<\/li>\n<li>Roles define decisions, not tools<\/li>\n<li>Canonical content is protected by design<\/li>\n<li>Contributors are invited, not burdened<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This model exists to enable collaboration <strong>without confusion or risk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- notionvc: af0de79e-591f-4a5f-99a1-cb7c7e57712e --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MinistryCentral Europe Purpose This document defines where canonical authority resides within MinistryCentral Europe\u2019s content, platform, and documentation ecosystem. It exists [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"epkb_post_type_1_category":[3],"epkb_post_type_1_tag":[],"class_list":["post-84","epkb_post_type_1","type-epkb_post_type_1","status-publish","hentry","epkb_post_type_1_category-ops_contrib"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/epkb_post_type_1\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/epkb_post_type_1"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/epkb_post_type_1"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/epkb_post_type_1\/84\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85,"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/epkb_post_type_1\/84\/revisions\/85"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"epkb_post_type_1_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fepkb_post_type_1_category&post=84"},{"taxonomy":"epkb_post_type_1_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.ministrycentral-europe.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fepkb_post_type_1_tag&post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}