Well they say there's no such think as a new idea... Good job and good luck with the decision on the question of a permanent PCO. <div><br></div><div>For what it's worth (and having organized and co-organized several conferences) I think it's an excellent idea. <br clear="all">
<div><br></div><div>- Dan</div><div><br></div><div>--------------------------</div><div>Daniel P. Ames, Ph.D. PE<br>Associate Professor, Geosciences<br>Idaho State University - Idaho Falls<br><a href="mailto:dan.ames@isu.edu" target="_blank">dan.ames@isu.edu</a><br>
<a href="http://geology.isu.edu/" target="_blank">geology.isu.edu</a><br><a href="http://www.mapwindow.org/" target="_blank">www.mapwindow.org</a><br></div><br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 8:09 AM, Jeff McKenna <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jmckenna@gatewaygeomatics.com">jmckenna@gatewaygeomatics.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
That is exactly what the OSGeo Conference Committee is Dan. You might not be aware of the committee, so you can check out its members at <a href="http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Conference_Committee" target="_blank">http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/<u></u>Conference_Committee</a> Actually now the committee is in the final stage of the 2012 bidding process (<a href="http://www.osgeo.org/conference/rfp/" target="_blank">http://www.osgeo.org/<u></u>conference/rfp/</a>).<br>
<br>
-jeff<div class="im"><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 11-08-20 12:18 AM, Daniel Ames wrote:<br>
</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">
Tyler and Cameron, I suggest you form a "blue ribbon panel" of the<br>
conference chairs from each of the past conferences and ask them to<br>
study this issue and make a recommendation.<br>
<br>
- Dan<br>
--------<br>
Daniel P. Ames Ph.D.<br>
Idaho State University Dept. of Geosciences<br>
</div><a href="mailto:dan.ames@isu.edu" target="_blank">dan.ames@isu.edu</a> <mailto:<a href="mailto:dan.ames@isu.edu" target="_blank">dan.ames@isu.edu</a>><div class="im"><br>
--------<br>
Sent from my Droid<br>
<br>
On Aug 19, 2011 3:11 PM, "Tyler Mitchell" <<a href="mailto:tmitchell@osgeo.org" target="_blank">tmitchell@osgeo.org</a><br></div><div><div></div><div class="h5">
<mailto:<a href="mailto:tmitchell@osgeo.org" target="_blank">tmitchell@osgeo.org</a>>> wrote:<br>
><br>
>> Jeff, Arnulf and myself have been approached by an international<br>
consortium of Professional Conference Organisors (PCOs), offering to<br>
take over the hosting of FOSS4G around the world for us.<br>
><br>
> Hi Cameron,<br>
><br>
> I have also been approached, informally, by some of our past<br>
organisers who are plugged into these kinds of international consortiums<br>
and can work with others around the globe on our behalf - e.g. Sea to<br>
Sky who ran FOSS4G 2007 was interested. GITA from this year would be<br>
interested as well. I assume 2008 Tour Hosts, etc. would be too. I like<br>
the idea of having a dedicated PCO. It would make a serious change to<br>
the way bids are prepared each year, which would need to be considered,<br>
but also think it would help lower the barrier to LOCs that may be<br>
intimidated.<br>
><br>
>> I believe that we have reached the point with FOSS4G that it would<br>
make sense to have a paid staff role, or a partner organisation,<br>
dedicated to managing the hosting of FOSS4G, this providing continuity<br>
of knowledge about FOSS4G from city to city.<br>
><br>
> It would be great to hear about what isn't working well, beyond just<br>
the lessons learned we capture on the wiki. We know that, for example,<br>
it takes PCO (companies) a while to get up to speed with our way of<br>
running things - e.g. community voting for presentations, specific<br>
timelines, system requirements. Much of which is smoother if they ran it<br>
a second time.<br>
><br>
> I wonder how this would shake out financially - annual retainer<br>
needed, bridge funding throughout the year required? How do we make it<br>
profitable yet easy to run and without making major impact on your<br>
current budget. Did you have any gut feel on that side of it?<br>
><br>
>> This would help reduce the very high learning curve that each LOC<br>
faces when running FOSS4G, and will allow us to set up websites and<br>
infrastructure which is passed on.<br>
><br>
><br>
> The approach so far has been that OSGeo Board has a rep on the LOC,<br>
OSGeo conference committee chair is on the LOC and OSGeo staffer is on<br>
the LOC. It would be worth reviewing how well this is working at the<br>
moment so we can see where the holes are. These roles have been adapted<br>
over the years to help pass on that knowledge and continuity that you<br>
mention, so I think it's a good place to start. e.g. are there areas<br>
that these roles are not covering off well enough that a PCO might do<br>
better; are there some "business systems" steps for FOSS4G planning that<br>
need to be documented to improve things, etc?<br>
><br>
> Count me in for further discussions on both aspects!<br>
><br>
> Thanks for bringing it up - it's been on my mind too.<br>
><br>
> Tyler_________________________<u></u>______________________<br>
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