[Board] Process for requests for keynote speaker requests

[Peter Batty]

Cameron,

I'm a bit concerned that the wording both in your email and the wiki is a
bit strong on covering costs and expenses, and may put people off inviting
OSGeo speakers. So here you say "Please confirm that you are in a position
to cover expenses as per ..." and then later that speakers will note if
they can waive costs, but if the conference has already confirmed they can
pay them then nobody is likely to waive costs at that point. And more
likely the conference may have just decided to look elsewhere for speakers
as they can't afford to cover full expenses plus daily fees.

I think the first question should be something more like:

Please indicate to what extent you would be able to cover costs for a
speaker, as discussed at ...   This is not a requirement, but of course the
more you can cover, the more likely it is we can provide one or more
suitable candidate speakers.

Also one other point is that I don't think we should refer to
"international speakers" in this context, I think "visiting speakers" would
be a better term. Travel expenses and lost time are factors whether you are
in your own country or not.

And lastly, I don't think that the process you mention here should be
restricted to board members, I think it should apply to all OSGeo advocates
... the conference indicates their request and ability to pay (or not), and
then all advocates including Board members can consider whether they could
be available on the terms indicated.

Cheers,
    Peter.


On Mon, Sep 3, 2012 at 5:02 PM, Cameron Shorter
<cameron.shorter at gmail.com>wrote:

> Following on from the last request to Arnulf (as OSGeo president) to speak
> at a conference, I suggest that we put a light process in place for
> requesting international keynote speakers.
> It should go something like:
>
> We suggest that events:
> * Have a look at the OSGeo-Advocate list, and see if there are suitable
> speakers within the region, or who are already coming to the event.
> * If you specifically wish to request a speaker from the OSGeo board, then:
> ** Please confirm that you are in a position to cover expenses as per:
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/**OSGeo_Advocate#Expenses<http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo_Advocate#Expenses>
> ** Then we will forward the request to board members. Available board
> members will respond, noting if they are in a position to waive some or all
> associated costs.
> ** Event can then select their preferred presenter.
>
> --
> Cameron Shorter
> Geospatial Solutions Manager
> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>
> Think Globally, Fix Locally
> Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
> http://www.lisasoft.com
>
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