[OSGeo-Conf] MOTION : Conference Committee - Updating Membership Policies and Process

[Steven Feldman]

Jachym

Board
=====

Just to clarify 2) the board is only invited to vote in the selection of new conference committee members to ensure that we do not become a self perpetuating body. The board does not vote in the selection of the conference proposals 3) although it has the final right to approve or reject the recommendation of the conference committee.

Conflict of interest
==============

I agree with you.

This came up as a possible issue in the 2017 selection process and there was no clarity about whether a member of the committee could/should vote if they had an interest. The intention is that in the voting process a committee member should not vote if they are part of the bid team or employed by a company active in the bid. Usually we would expect a member to withdraw voluntarily but in the event that that did not happen or that there was dispute, the Chair has the ability to decide.
______
Steven


> On 12 Sep 2016, at 11:42, Jachym Cepicky <jachym.cepicky at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Steve,
> 
> thank you for taking this action (we need this on every level of OSGeo, we lack on people with little bit free time).
> 
> Some issues inline: 
> 
> pá 9. 9. 2016 v 16:41 odesílatel Steven Feldman <shfeldman at gmail.com <mailto:shfeldman at gmail.com>> napsal:
> This mail is aimed at the current members of the Conference Committee (we do not have a private list). 
> 
> Only committee members can vote on these proposals, others on this list are welcome to comment and committee members will hopefully take note of those opinions when voting on the matters proposed.
> 
> The current membership of the conference committee is listed at https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Conference_Committee#Current_Members <https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Conference_Committee#Current_Members>. We have 19 members after Dave McIlhagga resigned and after we co-opted Till Adams as the chair of FOSS4G2016. There is currently no policy or rule for eligibility nor for requiring a member to retire after a period of time. 
> 
> I have suggested in the past that we needed to have an open and fair process for selecting members and limiting the maximum number of committee members. At the face to face it was agreed that I should propose a policy.
> 
> I propose the following:
> 
> Goals
> =====
> 
> The conference committee have the responsibility to run the selection process and voting for the global FOSS4G, to vote on other proposals submitted to the committee and to advise the board on other matters relating to FOSS4G events.
> 
> Role of the Committee and the broader community on the Conference_Dev list
> ============================================================
> 
> 1) Everyday topics will be decided upon by an open vote of all list participants in a clearly designated separate mail thread (+1/-1) over a minimum of two business days with a minimum participation of 3 votes. Ideally we aim for consensus falling back on simple majority vote where necessary. The result will be clearly declared afterwards (or whatever is decided).
> 
> 2) Election of conference committee is by secret vote and restricted to the remaining conference committee members and board members who are not members of the conference committee.
> 
> So far, it was Conference committee who gave "clue" to the Board and board did the final decision (after all, they are "sitting" on the money). I think, this works well. Board's voice was important only if Board would strongly disagree with Conference committee (never happen afaik), or when there was a tie (happend twice, AFAIK).
>  
> 
> 3) FOSS4G Selection - All Letters of Intent and subsequent proposals will be posted to the list for open comment by all participants. The selection of the winning proposal is by secret vote of conference committee members only. Any committee member who has a potential conflict of interest is expected to withdraw from vote. In the event of a disagreement the committee chair will decide.
> 
> Please define conflict of interest! It was FOSS4G 2014 vote (DC vs. Portland), where several members of LOC in DC were told, they might be in conflict of interest. Their relationship to LOC was only "supportive", they had no real relationship to any decision and in the matter of fact, they hoped to help the LOC and being connection betweeen LOC and OSGeo, if they are both - in Conference Committee and in LOC. This was (IMHO) one of biggest crises of OSGeo and it should be clearly stated for the future, that membership in LOC and Conference Committee is either to be seen as OK or conflicting.
> 
> Today I think: there is no reason for having one person in both - LOC and Conf. comm.
>   
> 
> Votes in 2 and 3 are to an online voting service or by email to an independent teller appointed by CC Chair
> 
> Conference Committee membership policy and process
> ==========================================
> 
> 1) The conference committee aims to retain up to 11 active members, preferably an odd number
> 
> 2) The committee aims for half of these members to be chairs (or vice chairs) of the most recent FOSS4G global events. The chair of the most recent FOSS4G event will automatically be invited to become a member
> 
> ... or any other member of LOC, suggested by the chair of most recent FOSS4G
>  
> 
> 3) The remaining membership is open, ideally attracting people from earlier past chairs or active LOC members from past Global, Regional FOSS4G or related conferences
> 
> 4) Each year (after FOSS4G) the 3 committee members should stand down:
> a) The longest standing past FOSS4G chair
> b) The longest standing 2 committee members remaining
> 
> 5) Each year, prior to putting out the Global FOSS4G RfP, the old committee should vote for their replacement committee, using the above criteria as voting guidelines.  OSGeo Board members who are not on the conference committee will also be invited to vote. 
> 
> 6) Past committee members including those who have stood down due to length of service may stand for re-election
> 
> 7) Votes will be secret either using an online voting system or by email to a designated teller who is not a voter. The mechanism will be selected by the committee chair.
> 
> I would ask committee members (and list participants) to comment on this proposal by 18.00 GMT Wednesday 14th September. I will then call for a vote amongst committee members only, the vote will close at 18.00 GMT on Sunday 18th September. 
> 
> Once the membership policy has been agreed we will then need to apply the policy to the existing membership. I suggest that we ask all current members to confirm whether they wish to remain committee members and then hold an election (if needed). To this end it would be helpful if each committee member could update their record on the wiki page to show when they joined the conference committee (see my example). 
> 
> The intention is that a 2016-7 committee of 11 will have been selected before we vote on the LoI’s for 2018, which is likely to be before the end of October.
> ______
> Steven
> 
> 
> Jachym 

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