[OSGeo-Conf] Call to discuss FOSS4G 2017 proposals prior to voting

Fri Nov 6 11:04:50 PST 2015

Steven,

Some additions from Ottawa:

Room Rates - Because we are not tied into a particular hotel, and the event is right downtown - attendees would have flexibility on where to stay. Ottawa rates at the high end for that time of year would be about $175 per night, with many reasonable options available in the $100-$150 range.

I’d echo the apples-to-apples comparison issue regarding line items for PCO / Production costs — they are bundled for Philadelphia and Ottawa, de-coupled for Boston.

Workshops - same as Philadelphia

Maximum capacity is 2,000+
Concurrent tracks = 10
Wifi = free
Venue conditions - none

Thanks,

Dave

> On Nov 6, 2015, at 1:01 PM, Robert Cheetham <cheetham at azavea.com> wrote:
> 
> Steve,
> 
> Thanks for pulling together a summary table.  A few suggestions and some additional info for Philadelphia:
> 
>  * Maximum capacity: 2000+
>  * Concurrent tracks supported:  10
>  * free wifi:  yes
> 
> Some additional suggestions:
> 
>  * Add a row for hotel rates - affordability was a significant concern in the pre-proposal questions.  Philadelphia's rate is $209
> 
>  * "Workshops" should be "Workshops Only" and "Workshops Only EB" as the actual workshop price will likely be only $100/half day ($200 total) for anyone that attends the full conference.  It's not clear from the Boston proposal, but I think $100 workshop fee is a per half day number added to the regular conference price, which suggests it should be listed as $200 added to the conference fee in the "Conf + Workshop" and "Conf + Workshop EB" lines, rather than $100 in the "Workshop Only" line, but perhaps Michael Terner can clarify.
> 
>  * In order to support an apples-to-apples comparison, the "PCO" line should probably be re-labeled "Production" or "Operations" with a line each for PCO fee and "Other Production Costs".  The Eclipse Foundation included marketing efforts and other labor activities in the PCO fee, and it's not clear to me how best to compare this fee between the three bids, but the the Philadelphia and Ottawa proposals broke out the PCO fee from other operations and production costs while the Boston bid included the PCO in a $149k production costs.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Robert
> 
> 
> ------------------
> 
> 
> On Fri, Nov 6, 2015 at 10:37 AM, Steven Feldman <shfeldman at gmail.com <mailto:shfeldman at gmail.com>> wrote:
> Michael
> 
> Thanks for the clarifications and suggestions. I have updated the comparison.
> 
> Any other changes?
> ______
> Steven
> 
> 
>> On 6 Nov 2015, at 03:53, Michael Terner <mgt at appgeo.com <mailto:mgt at appgeo.com>> wrote:
>> 
>> Steven:
>> Thanks for generating and distributing the summary. It is very helpful to see everything lined up in one place. As per your request I would like to offer the following clarification/observations to some of your data:
>> Code Sprint: As per our proposal and subsequent Q&A response, we have identified the code sprint as a "co-located" event that we would potentially hold during the workshop days (8/14-8/15). We would like to have a co-located code sprint and will work energetically with community organizers of the event to find the right time and place.
>> Venue Max Capacity: Our venue could potentially exceed 1,200, if needed. It would take some additional planning but we are considering attracting 1200 people an excellent goal, and it would be a "good problem" and feasible to be stretched a bit beyond that.
>> Venue Condition: As per earlier Q&A, the 810 room block is what has been offered. Specific conditions and any potential penalties are subject to negotiation if we are awarded the conference. The current proposal we have from the hotel does not mention any penalties, only that this is the maximum block of rooms that is being held for the conference.
>> Distribution to OSGeo: Yes, Boston has committed at least 80% of net revenues to OSGeo (with the balance being used to establish/endow a Boston Chapter of OSGeo). We also capped the amount of that endowment to $20,000 so if we were to net our estimated profit of $145,000, OSGeo would receive $125,000, or 86.2%. We would respectfully suggest that your table also include the "net distribution" to OSGeo, not just the % as that may be misleading. Per the Philadelphia proposal's 1000 attendee number, even providing 90%, the total net return to OSGeo is $75,000, compared to Boston's $125,000 at the same attendance level. Even at an attendance of 850, Boston would still provide $73,900 to OSGeo. At 700 people, Boston would provide $31,860 to OSGeo, while Philadelphia estimates they would break even - i.e., no return to OSGeo - at 785 attendees (per the Q&A). Boston's net numbers also compare favorably to Ottawa's when looked at not only by %, but by the net, estimated contribution to OSGeo, although Ottawa anticipates holding a smaller conference in terms of attendees. In short, the budgetary comparison in the table is not "apples-to-apples" and we encourage the selection committee to closely review the nuanced differences in the "distribution to OSGeo" approaches and estimated outcomes.
>> Thanks again for preparing this very helpful summary table and encouraging our comments/fact checking.
>> 
>> MT
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Thu, Nov 5, 2015 at 7:12 PM, Steven Feldman <shfeldman at gmail.com <mailto:shfeldman at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> I thought it might be helpful to prepare a short summary of the bids (primarily financial).
>> 
>> Bidders let me know if I have misinterpreted or have errors
>> 
>> Cheers
>> ______
>> Steven
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Michael Terner
>> Executive Vice President
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