Effective date: February 2, 2026
Public Summary
This statement explains how governance, institutional authority, and technical stewardship are separated for IHNYC RC platforms. The IHNYC Resident Council sets resident priorities and community guidance; International House New York (I-House) retains institutional authority and approval rights; and Affective Technologies LLC operates and stewards the tools and underlying software. IP ownership of the platform code stays with Affective Technologies LLC, while resident content and expressions remain with their authors or the relevant rights holders. Data is handled under privacy-first principles and only for agreed purposes.
Scope and purpose
This document provides a clear, public-facing description of roles, authority, and ownership boundaries for the IHNYC Resident Council (IHNYC-RC) platform ecosystem. It does not change legal agreements or I-House policies. Where a conflict exists, formal agreements and institutional policies control.
Entities and authority
- International House New York (I-House): Institutional authority for policies, approvals, and use of the I-House name, reputation, and institutional resources.
- IHNYC Resident Council (IHNYC-RC): Resident governance body that defines community priorities, program goals, and resident-facing guidance.
- Affective Technologies LLC: Independent technical steward and IP owner of the platform tooling and software, responsible for building and operating the systems that support IHNYC-RC.
Important relationship notice. Affective Technologies LLC operates the website and technical backend supporting IHNYC-RC and is not affiliated with IHNYC-RC, I-House, or AVI Foodsystems.
Relationship diagram (Mermaid)
flowchart TB I["I-House<br/>(Institutional Authority)"] -->|policy, approval| RC["IHNYC Resident Council<br/>(Governance Body)"] RC -->|guidance, community, resident voice| AT["Affective Technologies LLC<br/>(Tooling, IP ownership, technical stewards)"]
Table of Roles and IP Boundaries
| Entity | Authority and decision rights | IP/software ownership | Data stewardship | Domains and trademarks | Governance frameworks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-House | Institutional approvals; policy authority; use of institutional name and reputation | No ownership claim to platform code unless contractually assigned | Policy oversight for resident-related data use; may require compliance with institutional standards | Owns I-House trademarks and brand assets; controls institutional naming and endorsement | Recognizes resident governance structures; may require alignment with institutional policies |
| IHNYC-RC | Resident governance priorities; community guidance; program direction | No ownership claim to platform code; may own RC-authored content and governance materials | Access to resident data only as needed for governance and resident services | May use RC name and marks consistent with resident governance; no rights to I-House marks | Owns and maintains RC bylaws, decisions, and governance frameworks |
| Affective Technologies LLC | Technical operations; platform roadmap within governance boundaries | Owns platform tooling, code, and technical IP (unless otherwise assigned) | Acts as technical steward; handles data under privacy-first policies and documented purposes | Manages platform domains and technical identity as steward; retains Affective marks | Implements governance requirements in software; does not own RC governance frameworks |
Ownership and rights by category
- Domains and hosting: Administered by Affective Technologies LLC as technical steward for IHNYC-RC platforms, subject to IHNYC-RC guidance and I-House policy approvals.
- Software and tooling: Owned and maintained by Affective Technologies LLC unless explicitly assigned otherwise in writing.
- Data and records: Handled by Affective Technologies LLC under privacy-first policies and limited to agreed purposes (see privacy-policy). IHNYC-RC may access resident-facing data only for governance and program delivery. I-House may require compliance with institutional standards.
- Resident content and personal expression: Remains the property of its authors or rights holders. The platform receives only the limited rights needed to publish or distribute that content.
- Trademarks and names: I-House trademarks and institutional branding remain with I-House. IHNYC-RC name and identity remain with the Resident Council. Affective Technologies LLC retains its own trademarks and branding.
- Governance frameworks: IHNYC-RC owns its internal governance documents, procedures, and decisions, subject to I-House policy constraints.
Ethical, privacy-first principles
- Data minimization: Collect only what is necessary to operate resident services.
- Purpose limitation: Use data only for resident governance, program delivery, and system integrity.
- Least privilege: Limit access to data and admin capabilities to the smallest necessary scope.
- Transparency: Publicly document data flows and governance boundaries.
- Resident-first stewardship: Systems are designed to serve resident needs and trust.
Stewardship barriers and change control
- Separation of roles: Governance (IHNYC-RC), institutional authority (I-House), and technical operations (Affective Technologies LLC) remain distinct.
- No unilateral escalation: Platform changes that affect resident governance or institutional policy require review by the appropriate body.
- Documented approvals: Sensitive changes (data use, domain changes, public policy impact) require explicit approval and written record.
- Auditability: Security and operational logs are retained to support accountability and incident response.
Change approval matrix
| Change type | Examples | Approval needed |
|---|---|---|
| Routine technical maintenance | Bug fixes, performance improvements, dependency updates with no policy/data impact | Affective Technologies LLC |
| Resident governance impact | Voting flows, election rules, resident decision processes, governance content | IHNYC-RC |
| Institutional policy or branding impact | I-House name/branding usage, institutional policy statements | I-House |
| Data use or access changes | New data collection, expanded access, data sharing | IHNYC-RC + Affective Technologies LLC; I-House if policy-related |
| Domain or public-facing identity | Domain changes, URL structure tied to branding | Affective Technologies LLC + IHNYC-RC; I-House if institutional branding |
| Public policy or legal terms | Terms, privacy policy, governance statements | Affective Technologies LLC + IHNYC-RC; I-House if institutional policy impact |
Escalation paths
- Resident governance questions: IHNYC-RC leadership.
- Institutional policy or branding questions: I-House leadership.
- Technical operations or platform incidents: Affective Technologies LLC.
Notes
This statement is intended to clarify governance boundaries and reinforce ethical stewardship. It does not create a partnership, agency, or employment relationship between any of the entities listed above.