[Board] Suggested text for "Expectations for Board Membership"

Daniel Kastl daniel at georepublic.de
Wed Aug 13 08:30:02 PDT 2014 

I agree with Michael, that it's a good idea to write down the expectations,
and I don't think the timing is a big issue.
Because it's not a bad but a good thing for board members to know what the
community expects from them.

If OSGeo goes well, then it's very easy for the board to justify that they
did a good job. But if troubles occur or there is a lot of work but not
much visibility, then it's easy to blame the board. Having some
expectations defined before is for each board members safety and to have
some rough guideline.

Daniel


On Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 5:14 PM, Jeff McKenna <jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com
> wrote:

> I must admit, when I first glanced at this initial message early in the
> morning my thoughts in my head were 'this is the wrong time, in the middle
> of the Board election, to start defining roles'.  The time for this should
> have been before asking nominees.
>
> Regarding clarifications about the expectations of being a Board member,
> could those vocal in this thread (Cameron, Frank, Daniel, mpg) mind
> drafting a new page on these expectations, and the new Board in September
> can review it and edit accordingly?
>
> However my experience tells me that we must be very careful with
> expectations, within a volunteer organization.
>
> -jeff
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2014-08-13 11:48 AM, Michael P. Gerlek wrote:
>
>> +1 to Cameron here from me too. He's trying to clarify the expectations
>> of a board member, not setting any rules - these are good things to be
>> thinking about as we all think about the next round of Board Members.
>>
>> .mpg
>>
>>  On Aug 13, 2014, at 7:07 AM, Daniel Morissette <dmorissette at mapgears.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I don't think Cameron is inventing or changing any rules, he is just
>>> proposing to collectively document what is and has always been expected
>>> from a board member for the posterity.
>>>
>>> FWIW I am also in favor of documenting our processes and expectations
>>> (in general) as much as possible to help future boards in their work, and I
>>> find that Cameron has exceptional patience to help with that documentation
>>> process (he managed to walk the membership to a consensus on the new
>>> charter member election process, something nobody managed to achieve
>>> before), so instead of shooting down his initiatives, I think that more
>>> charter members should help by contributing to them.
>>>
>>> All that being said, I do not have the time and energy to argue this
>>> point any more, so this will be my one and only email on this topic.
>>>
>>> Daniel
>>>
>>>
>>>  On 14-08-13 8:54 AM, nicolas bozon wrote:
>>>> Cameron,
>>>> I agree that rules and documents must/should not change during
>>>> elections, because this is confusing.
>>>> I also think that all past, present and future board members must/should
>>>> already know what they should do, and what is working or what is not.
>>>> Let us the Board change the many needed rules after elections, so it can
>>>> also benefit from upcoming new director's visions, and hopefully from
>>>> Charter Member's and Committee's input too.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> Nick
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 2014-08-13 14:29 GMT+02:00 Venkatesh Raghavan
>>>> <raghavan at media.osaka-cu.ac.jp <mailto:raghavan at media.osaka-cu.ac.jp>>:
>>>>
>>>>     Board elections have already started and I have made my first
>>>>     nomination.
>>>>     Please don't try to invent new rules after the process has begun.
>>>>     Whatever
>>>>     changes needs to be made can be discussed and made by the upcoming
>>>>     new board.
>>>>
>>>>     Venka
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>      On 2014/08/13 20:36, Cameron Shorter wrote:
>>>>>     As we move into a board election, I think it would be beneficial
>>>>>     to document what we consider should be expected of board members.
>>>>>     I think that it would be helpful for potential board members when
>>>>>     considering joining the board, and also something that board
>>>>>     members can point toward if community members complain about lack
>>>>>     of action from the board.
>>>>>     Maybe think of it as a moral contract.
>>>>>
>>>>>     If others think it is a good idea, I suggest we add to this page:
>>>>>     http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors
>>>>>
>>>>>     Are there other points which should go on this list?
>>>>>
>>>>>     What is expected of a board member? Boring legal details are
>>>>>     listed in section 3 of ourbylaws
>>>>>     <http://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/incorporation/bylaws.html>
>>>>> <http://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/incorporation/bylaws.html>,
>>>>>     but I think it would be helpful for us to extend this to practical
>>>>>     guidelines. Something like:
>>>>>
>>>>>     * The board's primary responsibility is to efficiently and
>>>>>     effectively make decisions regarding the day to day running of
>>>>>     OSGeo (bylaws
>>>>>     <http://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/incorporation/bylaws.html>
>>>>> <http://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/incorporation/bylaws.html>
>>>>>     section 3.1).
>>>>>
>>>>>     * Board members should expect to spend 1 to 3 hours per week on
>>>>>     board activities.
>>>>>
>>>>>     * Board members should sometimes contribute a little more, maybe
>>>>>     negotiating with the community or external organisation, collating
>>>>>     or developing ideas and writing them up, doing some extra research
>>>>>     to back a decision, or helping with administrative work like
>>>>>     taking minutes.
>>>>>
>>>>>     * Board members should attempt to attend all board meetings, which
>>>>>     happen at a frequency of ~ once per month, which take ~ one hour.
>>>>>     (Selection of meeting timeslots are to be negotiated to try and
>>>>>     suit all members.) If unable to attend, the board member should
>>>>>     attempt to provide opinions on issues before hand, and vote on
>>>>>     motions afterwards.
>>>>>
>>>>>     * Board members should monitor and contribute toward discussions
>>>>>     on the board email list, and aim to vote on motions within 2
>>>>>     working days.
>>>>>
>>>>>     * Board members are not paid for their service (bylaws
>>>>>     <http://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/incorporation/bylaws.html>
>>>>> <http://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/incorporation/bylaws.html>
>>>>>     section 3.4), but should not be out of pocket if working for the
>>>>>     board. For instance, a board member should be refunded travel
>>>>>     expenses if requested to travel on behalf of the board.
>>>>>
>>>>>     * Ideally some board members should be prepared to speak on behalf
>>>>>     of OSGeo at events.
>>>>>
>>>>>  _______________________________________________
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-- 
Georepublic UG & Georepublic Japan
eMail: daniel.kastl at georepublic.de
Web: http://georepublic.info
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