docs: Add GOVERNANCE.md for project governance structure

Created comprehensive governance document for OpenSSF Best Practices
Badge requirement and community transparency.

**Document Scope**:
- **Project Structure**: Single maintainer model with evolution path
- **Roles**: Maintainer, Contributors, Users with clear responsibilities
- **Decision Process**: Standard vs. major changes, security handling
- **Release Process**: SemVer, cadence, comprehensive checklist
- **Code of Conduct**: Principles, expected behavior, enforcement
- **Communication**: GitHub-centric with future expansion plans

**Key Sections**:

1. **Decision-Making Structure**:
   - Current: Single maintainer (Patrick Roebuck, Deep Study AI)
   - Future: Path to core contributors, steering committee
   - Clear authority boundaries

2. **Roles and Responsibilities**:
   - Maintainer: Final approval, releases, security, roadmap
   - Contributors: Anyone can submit PRs, report bugs, suggest features
   - Users: Use under Fair Source 0.9, provide feedback

3. **Decision-Making Process**:
   - Standard changes: 1-7 day review cycle
   - Major changes: RFC with 7-day community input
   - Security: Private reporting, 48-hour response, coordinated disclosure

4. **Release Process**:
   - Semantic Versioning (currently 1.6.1)
   - 9-step checklist including 1,247+ tests, 83%+ coverage
   - Regular cadence: patches as needed, minors every 4-8 weeks

5. **Code of Conduct**:
   - Values: Respectful, constructive, inclusive, professional
   - Clear expected/unacceptable behavior guidelines
   - Maintainer enforcement authority

6. **Roadmap and Planning**:
   - Current: 90% coverage push, OpenSSF badge
   - Near-term: v2.0.0 release, Claude Code partnership
   - Long-term: Silver/Gold badges, enterprise adoption

**OpenSSF Requirement**:
This document satisfies the OpenSSF Best Practices Badge requirement
for documented project governance and decision-making process.

**License Information**:
- Code: Fair Source 0.9 (free for individuals/small teams)
- Docs: CC BY 4.0
- CLA: Implicit in contributions

**Living Document**:
Will be reviewed every 6 months or when contributor base grows
beyond 10 active contributors.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>

Author: GeneAI

GOVERNANCE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+# Governance
+
+This document outlines the governance structure for the Empathy Framework project.
+
+## Project Overview
+
+The **Empathy Framework** is an open-source project providing a five-level maturity model for AI-human collaboration, progressing from reactive responses to anticipatory problem prevention.
+
+- **License**: Fair Source 0.9 (dual licensing: free for individuals/education/small teams, commercial for larger organizations)
+- **Organization**: Deep Study AI, LLC
+- **Repository**: https://github.com/Smart-AI-Memory/empathy
+- **Documentation**: https://github.com/Smart-AI-Memory/empathy/tree/main/docs
+
+## Decision-Making Structure
+
+### Single Maintainer Model
+
+The Empathy Framework currently operates under a **single maintainer model** for rapid development and clear decision-making authority:
+
+- **Maintainer**: Patrick Roebuck (Deep Study AI, LLC)
+  - Email: [email protected]
+  - GitHub: @silversurfer562
+  - Role: Final decision authority, release management, security response
+
+### Future Governance Evolution
+
+As the project grows and attracts more contributors, the governance model may evolve to include:
+- **Core Contributors**: Regular contributors with merge privileges
+- **Technical Steering Committee**: For major architectural decisions
+- **Community Maintainers**: Domain-specific package maintainers
+
+## Roles and Responsibilities
+
+### Maintainer
+
+**Responsibilities**:
+- Final approval on all pull requests
+- Release planning and execution
+- Security vulnerability response
+- Roadmap planning and prioritization
+- Community management
+- License compliance
+- OpenSSF Best Practices Badge maintenance
+
+**Authority**:
+- Merge privileges on main branch
+- PyPI package publishing
+- Security disclosure coordination
+- Breaking change decisions
+
+### Contributors
+
+**Anyone can contribute** by:
+- Submitting pull requests
+- Reporting bugs and issues
+- Suggesting features
+- Improving documentation
+- Participating in discussions
+
+**Contributor Rights**:
+- Credit in commit history
+- Recognition in release notes
+- Co-Authored-By tags for significant contributions
+
+### Users
+
+**Users** can:
+- Use the framework under Fair Source 0.9 license terms
+- Report issues and bugs
+- Request features
+- Participate in community discussions
+- Provide feedback on documentation
+
+## Decision-Making Process
+
+### Standard Changes
+
+**Process**:
+1. Issue or pull request submitted
+2. Discussion and review
+3. Maintainer approval/rejection
+4. Merge to main branch
+
+**Timeline**: Typically 1-7 days depending on complexity
+
+### Major Changes
+
+**Criteria for "major"**:
+- Breaking API changes
+- New core abstractions
+- License changes
+- Architectural shifts
+- New external dependencies
+
+**Process**:
+1. RFC (Request for Comments) issue created
+2. Community discussion period (minimum 7 days)
+3. Maintainer decision with rationale
+4. Implementation and migration guide
+
+### Security Issues
+
+**Process**:
+- Reported privately to [email protected]
+- Maintainer acknowledgment within 48 hours
+- Fix developed privately
+- Coordinated disclosure after fix available
+- Security advisory published
+
+See [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) for full details.
+
+## Release Process
+
+### Versioning
+
+The project follows **Semantic Versioning** (SemVer):
+- **MAJOR**: Breaking API changes
+- **MINOR**: New features, backward compatible
+- **PATCH**: Bug fixes, backward compatible
+
+**Current Version**: 1.6.1
+
+### Release Cadence
+
+- **Patch releases**: As needed for critical bugs
+- **Minor releases**: Every 4-8 weeks for new features
+- **Major releases**: When significant breaking changes accumulate
+
+### Release Checklist
+
+1. All tests passing (1,247+ tests)
+2. Coverage requirements met (83%+)
+3. Security scans clean
+4. Documentation updated
+5. CHANGELOG.md updated
+6. Version bumped in pyproject.toml and __init__.py
+7. Git tag created (v{version})
+8. PyPI package published
+9. GitHub release created
+
+## Code of Conduct
+
+### Principles
+
+The Empathy Framework community values:
+- **Respectful communication**
+- **Constructive feedback**
+- **Inclusive participation**
+- **Professional behavior**
+- **Technical excellence**
+
+### Expected Behavior
+
+- Be respectful and considerate
+- Focus on technical merit
+- Accept constructive criticism
+- Acknowledge contributions
+- Help newcomers
+
+### Unacceptable Behavior
+
+- Harassment or discrimination
+- Personal attacks
+- Disruptive behavior
+- Spam or off-topic content
+- Violations of privacy
+
+### Enforcement
+
+The maintainer has the authority to:
+- Remove comments
+- Close issues/PRs
+- Block users (in extreme cases)
+- Ban contributors (for repeated violations)
+
+## Contributing Guidelines
+
+See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for detailed contribution guidelines.
+
+**Quick Summary**:
+1. Fork the repository
+2. Create a feature branch
+3. Make your changes with tests
+4. Ensure all tests pass
+5. Submit a pull request
+6. Respond to review feedback
+
+## Communication Channels
+
+### Primary
+
+- **GitHub Issues**: Bug reports, feature requests
+- **GitHub Discussions**: General questions, ideas
+- **Pull Requests**: Code contributions
+- **Security Email**: [email protected] (private security reports)
+
+### Future
+
+As the community grows, we may add:
+- Discord/Slack community
+- Monthly community calls
+- Office hours for new contributors
+
+## License and Intellectual Property
+
+### Code License
+
+All contributions to the Empathy Framework are licensed under **Fair Source 0.9**:
+- **Free**: For individuals, students, educators, and organizations with ≤5 employees
+- **Commercial**: $99/developer/year for organizations with 6+ employees
+
+### Documentation License
+
+Documentation is licensed under **Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)**.
+
+### Contributor License Agreement
+
+By contributing to this project, you agree that:
+1. Your contributions will be licensed under Fair Source 0.9
+2. You have the right to contribute the code/documentation
+3. Deep Study AI, LLC may relicense the project if needed for sustainability
+
+## Roadmap and Planning
+
+### Current Focus (Q1 2025)
+
+- ✅ 70% test coverage (ACHIEVED: 83.13%)
+- 🔄 90% test coverage target (229 lines remaining)
+- 🔄 OpenSSF Best Practices Badge
+- Production/Stable status (Development Status :: 5)
+
+### Near-Term (Q1-Q2 2025)
+
+- PyPI v2.0.0 release (after 90% coverage)
+- Claude Code partnership case study
+- MemDocs integration showcase
+- Book chapter publication (Q1 2026)
+
+### Long-Term (2025-2026)
+
+- Silver/Gold OpenSSF badges
+- Enterprise adoption case studies
+- Multi-model LLM support expansion
+- Domain-specific plugin ecosystem
+
+## Changes to Governance
+
+This governance document may be updated by the maintainer with:
+1. Advance notice (minimum 14 days)
+2. Rationale for changes
+3. Community input period
+4. Final decision documented
+
+**Last Updated**: January 2025
+**Next Review**: July 2025 (or when contributor base exceeds 10 active contributors)
+
+---
+
+## Quick Reference
+
+- **Maintainer**: Patrick Roebuck ([email protected])
+- **License**: Fair Source 0.9
+- **Code of Conduct**: Respectful, professional, inclusive
+- **Security**: Report privately to [email protected]
+- **Contributions**: Welcome via pull requests
+- **Releases**: Semantic versioning, regular cadence
+- **Community**: GitHub Issues/Discussions
+
+For questions about governance, open a GitHub Discussion or contact the maintainer directly.