[OSGeo-Conf] FOSS4G 2018 Dar es Salaam Submission

[Mark Iliffe]

Hi Steven,

Thanks for such a detailed assessment - very much appreciated. In direct response to your bullets:

Our $100 budget is for students and innovation hub members, we still aim to have the $500 for local delegates that aren’t in study or have concessionary circumstances;
There is potential for us to raise the prices in this case - as discussed in the email with Till, at $500 conference ticket, this makes a Dar FOSS4G comparable to Bonn 2016 and cheaper for a European/Asian Delegate than Boston. This isn’t a competition on price, however, it’s a price point that we have chosen to maximise participation - we want to have this as low as possible;
$100 is for both workshop days - again this could be pushed up with a multiple tier pricing structure;
Agreed. We’ll incorporate these levels in, thank you for the initiative on the discount for local entities. We aim to gain more sponsorship too - these figures reflect conversations already ongoing;
Thanks for the advice on the marketing, we’ll take that onboard - we were following prior conferences;
I like the idea of eliminating the large program booklet - however, I think we’ll end up with something slightly smaller and agile - the discussion on this list has been a rather good indication of the pulse of the conference committee on this;
On the PCO - yes;
This was calculated on the cost of having a dedicated parallel system that is ensured to not go down. It was based on preliminary discussion with Rahanet, an internet/wifi provider in Tanzania - we simply wish to ensure that this critical piece is ensured;
We have the alternative of holding the closing party in Dar es Salaam and moving the Zanzibar components as this seems to be a step too far - logistically this would dramatically decrease the costs. We would look at using Oyster Bay to replicate the beach party setting and utilising the dLab (one of our partners) as a space for the code sprint. I propose that we reach out to the developers communities’ of the OSGeo stable and poll what they would prefer;
It would be planned that the PCO is contracted by the WB sponsorship;
Completely agree on the need for contingencies, especially a worst-case scenario budget, partly this is the rationale behind the 15% contingency fund.

It’s not a lot of questions at all - apologies for the slight delay in answering them, I wanted to ensure that we got the right answers lined up. We’re confident that we can deliver FOSS4G 2018 in Dar es Salaam. This drive is not just through the local geo networks, but also through the quality and passion of the LOC a constellation of many past FOSS4G stars - and hopefully future ones. Our LOC isn’t just from Tanzania, it’s Pan-African. By having this make up, we’re hoping to let OSGeo take root in Africa, while delivering an exciting FOSS4G in 2018.

Best,

Mark



> On 28 Nov 2016, at 13:17, Steven Feldman <shfeldman at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Some thoughts and suggestions from me.
> 
> I am a little concerned that your margins are quite low (although I like your 15% contingency). Some comments on your budget
> I suspect you may have a higher proportion of local delegates - whilst your $100 price is admirable, you make a substantial loss per delegate. Perhaps consider increasing local price slightly
> I would be surprised if you got more than 300 delegates from Europe and NA - this may mean that your overall attendance is lower than 500 (450 paid)
> Are the workshop prices $75/100 for 1 or 2 days?
> You might want to consider slightly higher rates for your sponsorship tiers e.g.. Platinum $20k, Gold $10k etc - or even a little higher. You could offer a 25%-50% discount to local organisations. 
> Most sponsors will want to generously support a FOSS4G in Africa and I would hope that they will dig deep to make the event successful.
> I think/hope that you will get quite a bit more sponsorship which will ease the budget
> The marketing expenses look high to me (even at European rates). 
> You should look to drive them down and consider eliminating or greatly reducing paid advertising. 
> I would also question whether it might be time to stop printing a massive program book that is hardly read and to do more online - perhaps just a simple programme schedule that enables delegates to plan their days.
> Are you sure that the costs from the PCO/Venue include recording and streaming all tracks? This has become an important part of a FOSS4G and we want to reach the people who cannot travel to Dar.
> The PCO fee looks high but might not be if it includes the costs of recording/streaming
> The wifi cost seems high, can you explain how this was calculated? Are there any alternatives?
> The $150 cost of the closing party is quite high (particularly as pope will have to pay for a hotel as well) and is unlikely to be affordable for people on a low budget (i.e. those availing themselves of the concession for ‘locals’).
> Is there a lower cost alternative?
> Do the numbers work if you only get 50 people?
> Does the cost of travel limit attendance at the codesprints?
> 
> I would encourage you to run through a ‘worst case’ budget which is based on lower attendance from outside of the region and overall. See what compromises you need to make on expenditure to balance your books. Hopefully it will be completely unnecessary but it is best to be prepared for the worst rather than having to react if bookings or sponsorship fall below target.
> 
> What organisation will be contracting with the PCO and venue? Or does the PCO contract with the LOC and then book the venue etc?
> 
> This sounds like a list of tough questions, so I want to add that I am confident that you and your team will be able to adapt to whatever comes up and that in my opinion (as a committee member not as chair) a FOSS4G in Dar in 2018 is enormously exciting for the whole OSGeo Community.
> 
> #mtfbwy
> ______
> Steven
> 
> 
>> On 25 Nov 2016, at 00:20, Mark Iliffe <markiliffe at gmail.com <mailto:markiliffe at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> 
>> Habari FOSS4G Conference Selection Committee, 
>> 
>> Please find attached our proposal and budget for FOSS4G 2018 in Dar es Salaam. On behalf of our Dar LOC we wish you all the best in making your decision. We are at your disposal for any questions or queries that may arise. We are looking forward to this question period and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our viability for the 2018 FOSS4G in Dar es Salaam.
>> 
>> Mark Iliffe and Msilikale Msilanga
>> Co-Chairs, Dar es Salaam FOSS4G 2018 Exploratory LOC 
>> 
>> <FOSS4G 2018 Dar Proposal.pdf><dar-foss4g2018-conference-budget.ods>_______________________________________________
>> Conference_dev mailing list
>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org>
>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev
> 

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