[Board] Teach-in 2009

[Jeroen Ticheler]

Hi Paul & all,
My reaction to the proposal is and was that this is a great idea! In  
fact I have started thinking and discussing about replication of such  
an event in Europe.

I have been watching the discussion take several interesting moves. It  
is indeed good to have some fundamental discussion on whether or not  
OSGeo itself should be tightly associated with a for profit event.  
What I take from the discussions is (and I'm sure there are many  
nuances that could be made):

1- Everybody thinks that organizing such a workshop is a great idea
2- There is concern that such an event will draw away potential  
candidates from the FOSS4G conference
3- There is concern that it could compete with established courses
4- There is some concern of bias of OSGeo towards NA
5- There is the (for myself most legitimate) concern that OSGeo's non- 
profit character can be compromised by having strong interests in for- 
profit events and how they are vetted "OSGeo Teach-In".

(1) is a good sign :-)

I'm not scared that (2) draws away potential participants. I am  
concerned that it draws away some key project developers that, as  
Howard said, might choose to run the teach in instead of going to the  
conference. The conference is more than running workshops and thus  
there are enough reasons to get there to meet the crowd and refuel  
with new ideas and updates.

Can't say much about (3), although I think that FOSS4G is a bigger  
competitor in that respect than a Teach In. In fact, I was thinking  
that may want to discuss the conference strategy in that respect. I  
could see a model in which the workshops cover greater part of the  
conference cost and are more aligned with for-profit rates, giving a  
chance to lower the cost for the rest of the conference. This would  
(a) allow instructors to be compensated better for their efforts. (b)  
reduce the barrier to come to the conference for those that do not  
have a prime interest in following workshops. Instructors have more  
compelling reasons to come since their expenses are covered (no more  
complaining about fuel taxes ;-) ) and the conference benefits from  
them being there. (c) the conference does not compete that much with  
for-profit courses. Obviously this needs more thought. i wouldn't now  
want to make the workshops accessible to those that can afford only  
for instance. A scaled fee could be considered as well as sponsored  
participation. (Sorry, I could say much about 3)

(4) I don't agree. There are plenty of events organized in other  
places where OSGeo is promoted. Local chapters may need to do an even  
better job at emphasizing their local presence if they encounter such  
bias.

(5) This is the real concern. I come to the proposal that the name is  
changed to not lock it down on being "the" OSGeo Teach In. Find  
another name :-) "Tech In - Learn the OSGeo stack" . It could use  
OSGeo logos at the event and communication channels, just like other  
events do. Paul and Jef become OSGeo sponsor (through their companies)  
and can at that point use the logos on their website(s), marketing  
materials and what not. The board will be supportive of the event and  
obviously not be bad-mouthing (I think that's bad practice anyway).  
Taking this approach, we have no hard time vetting it and have no hard  
time doing just the same for any other Teach In alike event that wants  
to use (and support) the OSGeo foundation.

My 5 cents,
Ciao,
Jeroen


On May 26, 2008, at 7:24 PM, Paul Ramsey wrote:

> Board,
>
> Please see the attached prospectus regarding plans for a new event in
> early 2009.  We are very excited to continue the success of OSGeo
> events.    We would appreciate feedback from the board regarding this
> opportunity.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Paul Ramsey, Clever Elephant Solutions
> Jeff McKenna, Gateway Geomatics
> <Teach-in-board-prospectus-final.pdf><mime-attachment.txt>