[OSGeo-Board] Some whining from the outside

[Frank Warmerdam]

On 8/11/06, Michael P. Gerlek <mpg at lizardtech.com> wrote:
> - What is the status of our budget?  And what is the state of OSGeo's
> finances?  (How much do we actually have?  Is it "our" money, or is it
> still Autodesk's?)

Michael,

As noted, the budget is approved essentially in the form discussed
at the F2F.

> - What is the status of getting an Eexecutive Director?  Several weeks
> ago at the F2F some consensus was reached, and some candidate names were
> mentioned, but we have not seen any action on this.

Hopefully underway.  Input on the "job requirements" welcome.

> - What is the status of doing a binary stack?  Again, this was discussed
> at the F2F but I'm not sure what action has been taken.

No progress to speak of.  I have created a wiki page touching
on some of my ideas. I have also been looking into getting some
funding  for work on it.  I have also talked to a few folks who might
work on it.  But essentially no real progress on any of these fronts.
While tempted, I have avoided trying to launch and lead a project to
do this on a mostly volunteer basis.

> - What is the process for approving a move to the new Drupal-based site
> Jo and Tyler are working on?  It appears to be the right move, and
> people are putting time and effort into it as we speak, but I'm not sure
> this has been "blessed" yet.  What needs to be done?

I think the best approach would be for webcom to help work out
details of a transition and then bring a plan forward to the board
for this.  In the meantime working on transitioning all www.osgeo.org
content to the new site.

Note that manpower for webcom/website activity is limited so I'm
concerned we will just stall all other content creation to work on
a transition, but that may still be the right thing to do.

> - It appears that the board only posts minutes to the Wiki, but no real
> summary of what is transpiring (not everyone reads the Wiki updates or
> watches IRC or subscribes to the board list, for example)  This gives
> the appearance of either inactivity or behind-the-curtain activity,
> neither of which are desirable.

We certainly are not going out of our way to publicise board decisions
and activities.

> - Did we ever formally announce when the next board will be elected?  At
> least one person has (privately) suggested the current board is not
> optimal anymore.

I don't think we have made any announcement.  I think the approach
would be update the FAQ on the public web site, and to send an
announcement to the discuss and/or announce list.

> I think that the immediate hiring of an Executive Director would do
> three important things:
>   - show our members that we are moving confidently forward
>   - provide a mechanism for the board's agreed-to high-level goals and
>     wishes to be acted on
>   - provide a mechanism for the foundation's lesser goals and everyday
> needs
>     to be acted on swiftly

Agreed.

Note, I do not see an ED as a benevolent dictator at all.
Ultimately the board and committees need to have
authority in their area of responsibility.  But the ED also
needs to have latitude to get things done.

Best regards,
-- 
---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | Geospatial Programmer for Rent