[OSGeo-Board] Board Priorities

[jo at frot.org]

dear Gary, all,

On Wed, Mar 22, 2006 at 05:52:09PM -0800, Gary Lang wrote:
> Here is the list of how we prioritized our mission, sorted by weighted
> vote. It obviously does not include our newest members.
> 
> Take a look at it. What does it say to you folks? 

It looks like a useful way of setting out priorities to one another,
so that board members know where each other wants to be most active in
encouraging and supporting Effort.

It suggests that there's been a good balance, that high priorities
for some people here are matched by low priorities for others.

http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Board_tasks says that a core task for 
the full board is to approve the wording of a Mission that can be projected 
on the public face of http://www.osgeo.org/ and provide a reference point 
for everyone: thus http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/OSGeo_Mission

A quick search of the list archives shows there's been no
discussion of this yet, this makes sense, suspended animation.
https://board.osgeo.org/servlets/SearchList?list=board&searchText=mission&defaultField=body&Search=Search
( I'm working on absorbing it all, but there's a lot there ) 

The tasks page above jumps quite suddenly from one point to another:
#  Approve a OSGeo Mission and Goals statement.
#  Publish a plan for implementing the Mission.

Prioritising the elements of the Mission, makes designing a
coherent Plan easier, indicating what can provide best value to the
Foundation for any given amount of Effort. 

But those bits of the Plan that get implemented, will get implemented 
largely by volunteer Effort, goodwill and socialising of activity, 
amongst everyone who has a stake in any element of the Plan; 
all the active members of the Foundation. 

If a prioritisation exercise like the spreadsheet gets used in future 
either to come to terms with the Mission or to help with the design of 
the Plan, I think everyone who wants to make Effort should be able to
participate in doing that, and it could be a useful expression of
collective will to work with.


I don't know if the spreadsheet said all that to me itself, I might
have got a bit carried away in interpreting its mystical tables.

best wishes,


jo