A Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) is the formal process used by the Bitcoin community to propose ideas, suggest changes, and make improvements to Bitcoin.
Proposed changes usually fall into one of three categories – consensus BIPs, standard BIPs or process BIPs.
Anyone that runs a Bitcoin node can propose a BIP.
Once a BIP moves from the draft phase to the proposed phase, a BIP can be withdrawn, rejected, or accepted.
Bitcoin is meant to be open, decentralized, and accessible to anyone.
The BIP process is aimed at being transparent, with decisions made by the community.