[foss4g2014] Status Update 2013-08-27

[Eli Adam]

Darrell and all,

Some comments inline below.


On Tue, Aug 27, 2013 at 5:56 PM, Darrell Fuhriman <darrell at garnix.org>wrote:

> There's a lot in here, but your attention in reading all of it is greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Next meeting will be September 9th, 17:30 at Renewable Funding:
> http://calagator.org/events/1250464774
>
> At our last meeting we came up with a rough calendar (I've also added a
> couple of things).
>
> ASAP   - Hire PCO and book venues
> Sep 1  - Choose designer for logo
> Sep 15 - Finalize Logo (soft deadline, but would like it for Nottingham)
> Oct 1  - Finalize sponsorship packages
> Dec 15 - Have site ready to accept proposals
> Dec 31 - Early bird sponsorship deadline
> Jan 1  - Send Call for Papers/Presentations
> Feb 1  - Academic paper deadline
> Mar 31 - Call for Workshops
> Apr 15 - Regular Track presentation deadline
> Apr 16 - Open community comments
> May 1  - Close community comments
> Jun 1  - Send out first invitations for Invited Talks
>

I think that invited talks (at least keynotes and probably others) should
be invited and announced before Academic paper deadline, like Jan 15th.
Also, these are busy people, the sooner we book them, the better.


> Jun 15 - End of Early Bird Registration Discount
>
> We also came up with some subcommittees, which Percy and I added to, but I
> can't remember the full list now, and Percy isn't on IM for me to find out.
>
> We could really use people who are willing to focus on some specific
> topics.
>
> *Notes and TODOs on the subcommittees*
>
> General
>   - we are looking to hire a PCO
>     - Percy and Darrell met with John Kirkland to fill this role.
>     - However, recent discussions on the board and conferences lists makes
> it seem that hiring a company is a better idea, so they can handle signing
> of contracts, etc. Darrell has contacted two commercial companies so far,
> and is waiting for replies.
>

>From the discussion so far, it sounds that the PCO should be able to sign
contracts, hold and distribute funds, be at least somewhat knowledgeable
with local venues, negotiate contracts, keep the schedule, chase down
details, etc.  Let's evaluate our options based on the proper criteria.
Steven mentioned something about their PCO (or similar) that was charging a
very low amount and appeared to be proficient (at least in the UK).  They
know what a FOSS4G should feel like and other details so I think it is at
least worth asking this company if they are qualified and interested in the
same thing in the US/Portland.


>     - Tanya, Neil, and Darrell visited OCC to check out the space we have
> reserved.
>   - Discussions with other organizers have put the fear of god into us
> about overcommitting on hotel rooms.
>   - We will probably wait to sign contracts for hotels and with the OCC
> until we have hired a PCO.
>     - we have gotten preliminary contracts from the DoubleTree and
> Marriott downtown
>   - PSU offers conference registration services for a minimal fee
>     - Percy is going to look into whether this can be used by us, or if
> it's only applicable for
>   - There is a foss4g-private list for discussing things that should not
> be in the public archives.
>     - However, please feel free to subscribe:
> http://lists.osgeo.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/foss4g2014-private
>     - Subscriptions do require approval
>
> Sponsorship
>   - no head yet (volunteers?)
>

I'll work on this.  Not willing to head it but will work on it and get
things going.  Won't be for a few weeks though.


>   - Darrell will contact previous committees for sponsor contact list
>   - It has been decided not to hire a person to solicit sponsorships at
> this time
>   - We will (tentatively?) offer an early-bird discount of 10% to sponsors
> who pay before a certain date (see above)
>     - this may not be necessary if we find that we don't need to get the
> money in the bank quickly
>

I think that a 10% discount is worth peace of mind and getting other
sponsor to join as well.


>
> Design, website, etc.
>   - no head yet (volunteers?)
>   - Darrell sent out RFQ. We're still accepting submissions. There are
> three so far.
>   - If you haven't seen the RFQ, it's on the website:
> http://2014.foss4g.org/posts/2013/08/rfq-foss4g-2014-design-services/
>     - Please distribute it to your networks!
>   - A website is up and running at http://2014.foss4g.org/. This is a
> github hosted page, using Jekyll, so anyone can contribute.
>     - if you have time to devote to the website, that would be awesome!
>
> Academic Track
>   - headed by Percy
>   - will focus on getting academics involved
>
> Program Track
>   - no head yet (volunteers?)
>   - As this is one of the more challenging jobs, it has been suggested
> that an honorarium of some amount would be appropriate to whoever tackles
> it.
>     - suggestions? $1k, $2k? Keg of beer?
>   - There needs to be a discussion of how to accept and review paper
> proposals
>     - one option is to modify the code used by OS Bridge (
> https://github.com/osbridge/openconferenceware)
>     - we should also look at the software used in previous years
>
> Invited Talks
>   - No head yet (volunteers?)
>   - The schedule has nine slots for invited talks, plus 3(?) slots for
> plenaries.
>   - We are tentatively planning to cover some (all?) of the invitees
> expenses.
>     - This may be contingent on getting complimentary rooms as part of our
> hotel block.
>   - Suggestions for interesting speakers welcome at any time.
>     - There are a few "go to" names that should be obvious, but I'd like
> to see if we can find ones that might be popular, but not necessarily
> obvious.
>
> Workshops
>   - no head yet (volunteers?)
>   - Six of the computer labs at PSU are booked. We're working on the other
> two.
>   - We will probably need BYO Laptop rooms, but those can be gotten at a
> later date
>
> Entertainment (Gala, Field Trips, etc)
>   - no head yet (volunteers?)
>   - Darrell got info on reserving a section at a Timbers game, though this
> obviously can't be done until the schedule is out.
>   - Looking for more Gala location suggestions beyond OMSI, which is all
> Darrell can think of.
>
> Hackathon
>   - no head yet (volunteers?)
>   - Reid of Stumptown Syndicate wants to coordinate WhereCampPDX for the
> final saturday of the conference.
>   - We are thinking that holding the hack-a-thon at the same time, in the
> same venue, would be a good idea.
>     - Metro may not be big enough, especially for break out hack rooms, so
> the Eliot Center has been suggested. (Where OS Bridge is held.)
>     - Reid, I believe you were going to look into venue pricing, yes?
>

I can help on the code sprint some too, mostly it will be to poll this
email list, http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/tosprint to determine
requirements.  (I think that 2014 will be similar to 2011 which will
require 1-2 nearby rooms that together can hold 60 people, wifi, power
strips, etc and a few smaller/quieter not necessarily immediately adjacent
areas.  I've never felt Metro to be crowded during WhereCampPDX.  If
WhereCampPDX is similarly sized as previous years, we could probably all
fit, but then probably would start to feel that Metro is full.  Reid will
obviously have the best idea of what is going on here.

Promotion/Publicity Committee
-I think that this is a needed committee
-blog posts, emailing certain people to help spread word, tweeting, media
releases, videos, etc
-I can head this committee and it sounded like Neil knew some people
interested too, if they were interested in heading it, then I would happily
help

Eli




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