Some public mailing lists are open to such discussion, and it is possible to submit your documents to the W3C as a Note if you can find a sympathetic member to claim your proposal. If your project is really about Internet infrastructure, look into the IETF for possible synergy. You may also choose to run your development on its own site, without affiliating it with a particular standards body. The XML-RPC effort is an example of such an independent process. Companies, individuals, and other orgnizations can all operate in this way.
Processes vary from completely open to completely closed.
You'll have to ask within your organization. Even members of the W3C don't necessarily want their employees spending all their time pondering standards rather than doing their job. A good place to start is by finding your organization's W3C Advisory Committee representative. The W3C keeps that list private, so you'll have to ask within your organization. You don't need to be a W3C member to translate W3C Recommendations.