diff --git a/reference/dropping-projects.rst b/reference/dropping-projects.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..46679e6bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/reference/dropping-projects.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+=================================================================
+ Guidelines for dropping project teams from OpenStack governance
+=================================================================
+
+Dropping project teams is hard. There is no reason to remove low-activity
+but functional teams. And there are teams that cannot be dropped, even if
+dysfunctional. Here is a set of guidelines to help with that process.
+
+Triggers
+========
+
+Triggers are events which may trigger an inquiry on the opportunity of
+dropping a specific project team. They are generally a sign that the team
+is struggling to continue to be part of the OpenStack release cycle
+requirements.
+
+- No PTL candidate during a PTL renewal
+
+  This is generally a signal that there aren't enough people maintaining
+  the project, or at least nobody willing to engage to be the default
+  contact point and ambassador for a project. Alternatively, it may signal
+  that the team is out of touch with the mailing-list and the release cycle
+  and misses the window for self-nomination.
+
+- Missing RC1 signoff or triggering forced releases
+
+  The release management team expects some confirmation from the PTL or
+  their release liaison at critical points in the release cycle. In case
+  such signoffs are not provided, the release management team forces
+  releases, at the risk of producing non-functional deliverables. This is
+  obviously not sustainable and a good sign of a dysfunctional project team.
+
+- Failure to communicate with community goal champions
+
+  We set common goals at each cycle that bring more value if all project
+  teams and OpenStack deliverables complete them. In some corner cases,
+  teams are unable to complete the goal, and should communicate why to
+  the goal champion(s). It is also expected that changes pushed by the
+  goal champion(s) in support of the goal get reviewed in a reasonable
+  timeframe. Failure to communicate at all with the goal champion(s)
+  signals a dysfunctional team.
+
+Criteria
+========
+
+Triggers alone are not a reason for removal. They just trigger an inquiry,
+which may result in proposing their removal, or actively looking for new
+volunteers to take over the project and/or adding the team to the
+:doc:`upstream-investment-opportunities/index`.
+
+The criteria to evaluate how "critical" a project is is based on:
+
+- Usage
+
+  If the user survey shows that the project is used in more than 5% of the
+  deployments, it is necessary to continue the project to support those
+  existing users that have invested in that technology, or at least provide
+  a clear migration path to some alternative solution.
+
+- Dependency
+
+  If the project is a dependency of other projects, it should also be
+  continued in order to support that other project team. For example, we
+  could not ever consider dropping Glance, as Nova depends on it.
+  Dependencies are documented in the OpenStack Map (osf/openstack-map
+  repository).
+
+Process
+=======
+
+Whenever a project generates one of the triggers, TC members may raise an
+inquiry. If the project is deemed critical, the TC should raise a public
+call for help and report to the Board to encourage more engagement in this
+area. However if the project is not deemed critical, calling for help can
+be counter-productive: it is very likely that a volunteer will step up to
+"save" the project, when that volunteer's energy could be better spent on
+more critical things. Therefore the TC should just start a thread about
+removing that project team from governance and future releases of OpenStack.
diff --git a/reference/index.rst b/reference/index.rst
index 69c9cb244..a800f9f22 100644
--- a/reference/index.rst
+++ b/reference/index.rst
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ Reference documents which need to be revised over time.
    role-of-the-tc
    new-projects-requirements
    new-language-requirements
+   dropping-projects
    licensing
    base-services
    working-groups