The Grid Deployment Board (GDB) is part of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid Collaboration (WLCG) and represents in particular the resource centres.

The GDB has several roles, including:

• to make agreements between the resource centres and the experiments (VOs) - in practice this will require background agreements with other organisations that run various parts of the infrastructure - such as grid operations, certificate authorities, organisations providing VO management, network providers, etc.;
• to make agreements between resource centres; to make agreements between resource centres and CERN;
• to review schedules, service performance, resource utilisation, etc.;
• to exchange information;
• to act as a forum for technical discussions and planning.

The GDB meetings are open to all interested members of the WLCG collaboration.  Other parties may be invited for specific discussions.   

Usually decisions should be reached by common consent.  In case there is a need for voting, each country has one vote. For a vote during a meeting only people present may vote. Votes may be delegated from the official country delegate to other people if announced to the GDB chairperson prior to the meeting.

The GDB chairman is elected for a two-year period (see the election rules). Re-election is possible but only with a two-thirds majority. Candidates, who do not have to be members of the GDB, are proposed by members at least one month in advance of the meeting at which the election is to be held.

The GDB reports to the LCG project leader. The chair of the GDB is an ex officio member of the WLCG Management Board, in which he represents the interests of the resource centres.

The GDB meets every month. Normally those meetings are held at CERN and exceptionally in other places. Meetings may be held during two consecutive days, the first day for more technical issues, the second day more managerial.

The GDB may start and stop working groups when needed to address technical issues.