[OSGeo-Discuss] Question(s) for board candidates

[Suchith Anand]

Hi Jody,


Thank you for your insightful inputs. I would like to also use this opportunity to invite Industry like Boundless team who are committed to OSGeo ideals be more actively involved in Geo4All as Industry partner for rapidly expanding opportunities.


I discussed this with Marc Vloemans (cc in ) last week when we met at SASIG 2015  http://osgeopt.pt/sasig2015/   in Lisbon. So i look forward to hear from Marc and others in the industry for closer collaborations in both education and research collaborations (esp. for H2020 opportunities). For example have a look at the Open City Smart activities  http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Opencitysmart


All - Please do join our mail lists , so you all get updated on the developments  http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/ica-osgeo-labs/


Best wishes,


Suchith

________________________________
From: discuss-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [discuss-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] on behalf of Jody Garnett [jody.garnett at gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2015 9:26 PM
To: Darrell Fuhriman
Cc: OSGeo Discussions
Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Question(s) for board candidates

Great set of open ended questions Darrell, and difficult to answer as there is a gap between what OSGeo is in position to do as a volunteer driven organization and all the opportunities available in our industry. Since OSGeo is a transparent organization we all had a ring side seat for the decline in sponsorship leading to the board scaling back ambitions a few years back.

My strategy is to work with a number of organizations to get the job done. I have worked with OGC in the past on standards. I volunteer with LocationTech currently on industry outreach. And perhaps most importantly with the Boundless team as they work across a range of our OSGeo projects, tribes and timezones.

OSGeo is providing a lot of value and opportunities for everyone involved and I have accepted this nomination to step up and take part.

1) What do you see as OSGeo’s purpose today?

Same as it always has been, to foster a healthy environment for open source spatial software to succeed.

The fun part of this is with such a diverse community there are many different ways to succeed (as pointed out by your other email). Developing the software, and reaching out to new projects, being my passion. Working with groups like the OGC to foster an level playing field of standards for our software to grow. Working with Geo4All to produce course materials for our software to be useful in an education context.

1a) What is OSGeo doing today that it shouldn’t be doing?

Waiting: As a volunteer based organization our response is often measured by drumming up interest in the short term, or painting a long range strategy that inspires. Waiting provides a hesitation that kills the enthusiasm on which we thrive. Please don't wait - dive in.

2) What do you see as OSGeo’s purpose in five years?

In five years OSGeo should be even more of a force to be reckoned with. Our open source software is gradually taking hold, and we will see the first harvest from the seeds Geo4All is planning in our education system. We need to make good on this harvest and responsibly direct the future of our industry.

2a) What should OSGeo be doing in five years that it *isn’t* doing today?

Building reliable lines of communication/collaboration with external organizations. Spearheading RnD collaborations to fill in holes in our open source ecosystem.

We should take the bigger picture and *start* projects based on our vision rather than wait for software to come to us. As an example some five years after WPS servers started popping up we are finally getting decent client support. OSGeo should be in position to collaborate with the OGC and make sure a reference client and server are available for each new specification as they are produced.

We should follow the OGC "Test Bed" model and give projects an opportunity and funding to address interoperability issues.

3) How do we get from (1) to (2)?

Treasuring our volunteers, promoting our sponsors (direct and indirect) and fundraising (rather than complaining about lack of resources).

Staying focused on our mission, and redirecting projects/questions/causes to a more appropriate venue if they are not ours to answer.

3a) How can you help that?

By staying focused on the health and happiness of our projects, measuring success by number of employed developers, growth in the number of pull requests.

By celebrating and caring for our volunteers, pride in each accomplishment, joy in each new member ... and keeping an eye on each other so we do not burn out.

By recognizing that the board members are also volunteers, asking as much from our membership as we do from the board.

--
Jody Garnett

On 21 September 2015 at 11:03, Darrell Fuhriman <darrell at garnix.org<mailto:darrell at garnix.org>> wrote:
I have a set of inter-related questions for board candidates.

1) What do you see as OSGeo’s purpose today?
1a) What is OSGeo doing today that it shouldn’t be doing?

2) What do you see as OSGeo’s purpose in five years?
2a) What should OSGeo be doing in five years that it *isn’t* doing today?

3) How do we get from (1) to (2)?
3a) How can you help that?

Darrell


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