[OSGeo-Conf] Conference_dev Digest, Vol 89, Issue 15

[Jeff McKenna]

On 2015-02-24 4:12 PM, Peter Mooney wrote:
> Hello Jeff,
>
> Just to finish our response to your queries and questions. I've selected
> the two questions which are waiting for answers.
>
> - Section 7: I am not so sure the budget should assume 1,000 attendees
> only.  I would be good to also account for less, such as numbers for
> 600, 800, and 1000 attendees.  I do value your passion and goals for
> 1,000 though.
>
>  >> MCI (our PCO) will update our budget accordingly.
>
> *** MCI and I have worked on updating the budget as requested. I have
> emailed two variations of the budget to you Jeff which you can
> distribute to the OSGeo committee on my behalf – one at 850 and one at
> 600 delegates. One of the key variables in managing the budgets under
> these circumstances is the room hire – we plan to confirm space with the
> CCD for the numbers we know we can get, and hold options on the
> additional space that we hope to need. The auditorium is the best room
> for plenaries (seats 2,000) but if our numbers are below 900 then we can
> use Liffey B instead – a room that is 50% cheaper to rent. As the
> numbers dip down towards 600, we move down into Liffey A, giving another
> saving on room hire. Thus we can scale the room hire to best match our
> likely numbers.
> We will need to asses previous meetings and their booking patterns (who
> books and when) as this will help us to negotiate this arrangement with
> the CCD.

ok thanks.  I have distributed your additional budget files to the 
Conference Committee.

>
> - I don't see any proposed expenses for Workshop machines (this is often
> a major expense).  I wonder if, as a worst case scenario, you could
> provide an estimated budget that includes costs for hosting the
> workshops at the CCD venue (will be very pricey, compared to a
> university setting, but you can later examine the university option).
> Or, outline costs for the university hosting the workshops and providing
> the machines and tech support.
>
>  >> MCI (our PCO) will investigate this and revert quickly to you.
>
> **** To answer this question we shall provide a more clearer idea of our
> planning. Our intention is not to run the workshops in the CCD – due to
> the cost of venue hire and the cost of the required infrastructure and
> machines.
>
> The CCD is within three minutes walk of the National College of Ireland
> (NCIRL) [you'll see it on the map http://peterm7.com/foss4g2016/], which
> has 6 labs with between 35 and 70 machines that are available to rent
> for rates in the region of €500 to €800 per day per lab. Obviously the
> technical requirements of the workshop may have an impact of the rental
> figures, but this is a good guide.
>
> Part of our overarching ethos of open doors and partnership is to bring
> in as many stakeholders as we can to the community – so we are actively
> talking to NCIRL, University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College
> Dublin (TCD) etc about becoming partners in the event so that we can
> either access internal staff rates for these labs or remove the cost
> entirely.
>
> Likewise, we intend to work with our commercial partners to identify lab
> space that we can access without cost in some of the many technology
> companies located near the CCD. This would be particularly useful for
> workshops which will be "bring your own device" workshops. This also
> integrates those companies into the very fabric of FOSS4G 2016.  All of
> these company locations are within easy walking distance of CCD allowing
> easy access for 1/2 day labs in different locations.
>
>
>

ok thanks for this explanation on workshops.  The National College of 
Ireland sounds like a great option (but with only 6 labs available I 
think you'd need to find more, as you could likely be using 8 to 10 
concurrent lab rooms).

This is great information from you, and now I will the Conference 
Committee ask their questions.

-jeff