[OSGeo-Conf] FOSS4G 2021 Buenos Aires BID - Full proposal

Mon Dec 2 07:11:05 PST 2019

Dear Michael,

thank you for your questions and observations!

The BALOC will be responding ASAP.

Cheers

Malena

El dom., 1 dic. 2019 a las 17:45, michael terner (<ternergeo at gmail.com>)
escribió:

> Malena and the BALOC:
>
> (Also posted to the Wiki
> <https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Q%26A_Stage_2_Buenos_Aires#Michael_Terner>.)
>
> Excellent, and well thought out proposal. I appreciate your efforts to
> innovate. Below are a few questions and a couple of comments that refer to
> the dialog in other question threads.
>
> Due to the fact that sponsorship is such an important part of the budget,
> ranging from providing 24% to 36% of expected revenues, I have several
> questions in this area. While the amount of sponsorship revenue you are
> seeking may be "typical", due to your lower costs the *percentage* of
> revenue from sponsorship is higher than typical. Indeed, it is at the
> “base, break-even scenario” where sponsorship would provide ~36% of
> revenue. To the sponsorship questions:
>
>    - *When you talk about outreach to companies, you state you will
>    “contact local and regional companies. We will start with those that have
>    already sponsored previous FOSS4G events.” Is there any plan for outreach
>    to companies that aren’t “local and regional” and might include
>    international companies? Do you have a sense of how many “local and
>    regional” companies have sponsored “previous FOSS4G events”? Have any of
>    these companies previously sponsored the global conference?*
>
>
>    - *Can you elaborate on the “foyer in the CEC” that will be used for
>    the sponsor booths? Will this foyer be connected/adjacent to the main hall
>    and/or eating areas? Such an arrangement can help to create more natural
>    encounters with the sponsor community vs. having to travel to a specific
>    location to find the sponsor exhibits.*
>
>
>    - *What are the number of sponsor booths/exhibits you’re expecting to
>    accommodate? Based on the budget spreadsheet it looks like you’re expecting
>    10 “exhibition stands” from sponsors. The proposal indicates there will
>    also be 10 table top exhibitions for the Silver sponsors. Is it accurate
>    that the exhibit area is expected to accommodate 20 sponsors with a mix of
>    table top exhibits and exhibition stands? Have you spoken to any
>    representative sponsors about their exhibiting expectations? I might
>    observe that some Silver Sponsors - who could be paying $5,000 USD - may
>    have a reasonable expectation of having more than a table-top exhibit.*
>
>
>    - *Can you elaborate on how many, if any, “free conferences passes”
>    will be included at each level of sponsorship from Diamond - Supporter?*
>
> Non-Sponsorship questions:
>
>    - *Can you elaborate on the phrase “82.11 The estimated change for
>    2021 by the Argentinian Government”? Fully understanding that exchange
>    rates can be very difficult to predict does your budget change (for
>    better/worse) if this exchange rate is not achieved/is exceeded (noting
>    that the current exchange rate is ARS ~$60 = USD $1)?*
>
>
>    - *Pleased to learn that you will be using a “Professional Conference
>    Organizer” (also referred to as the “Productora del Evento”) and that you
>    have worked with them previously. Can you elaborate on their role and
>    responsibilities (e.g., will they be doing banking? Contracting?
>    Registration? Audio/visual? Etc.)?*
>
> Relevant observations:
>
> *Steven relayed that the typical "advance" from OSGeo was $40,000 USD. I
> can report that Boston received a $70,000 advance, and that we modeled our
> "ask" on previous conferences. I also know that Dar es Salaam did not seek
> any advance. So from my vantage, the number has moved around a bit.*
>
> *As someone whose attendance will likely be funded by a corporation, I
> would strongly +1 both Steven's and Paul's suggestions that the semantics
> of registration costs matter a great deal. For me, it would be more
> difficult to get an expense reimbursement/approval for a "voluntary higher
> cost contribution" than it would be to simply pay a higher advertised fee.
> I think both notions of having an advertised market price with multiple
> options for "need-based discounts" (Steven) and/or a "corporate rate"
> (Paul) would make sense and would help with revenue, while providing
> flexibility for need-based discounts.*
>
>
> Congrats on getting the proposal and best of luck!
>
>
> MT
>
> On Sat, Nov 30, 2019 at 8:23 AM Malena Libman <malena.libman at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear Eli and CC,
>>
>> please find the answers to the latest questions in the Wiki.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Malena
>>
>> El vie., 29 nov. 2019 a las 15:15, Malena Libman (<
>> malena.libman at gmail.com>) escribió:
>>
>>> Hi Eli,
>>>
>>> Thank you for your questions, will let you know as soon as we upload the
>>> answers
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> Malena
>>>
>>> El vie., 29 nov. 2019 a las 14:50, Eli Adam (<eadam at co.lincoln.or.us>)
>>> escribió:
>>>
>>>> BALOC,
>>>>
>>>> In the schedule it appears as if the code sprint is essentially the
>>>> same time and duration as the conference.  This is further explained
>>>> about having mentoring sessions available.
>>>>
>>>> Some projects use the code sprint not only to write code but as high
>>>> bandwidth face to face interaction about making project decisions.
>>>> Finding a time that everyone can meet from a project during the
>>>> sessions could be difficult (many of these people will also be
>>>> presenting sessions).
>>>>
>>>> Before eliminating the separate-day code spint, can you poll this
>>>> list, https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/tosprint ?
>>>>
>>>> Maybe I've misread this, but it seems that the vast majority of the
>>>> conference (workshops, sessions) is taking place at the law school.
>>>> Is that correct?  Is the large venue being used for more than Opening,
>>>> Closing, AGM, and Lunch?  If the large venue is only being used for
>>>> Opening, Closing, AGM, and Lunch, can other venues but explored for
>>>> those functions?  Does the Law school have any larger spaces?  It
>>>> seems like a large expense and high risk for minimal use.  Maybe I've
>>>> misread it.
>>>>
>>>> On the wiki in short form, here,
>>>> https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Q%26A_Stage_2_Buenos_Aires#Eli_Adam
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, Eli
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Nov 29, 2019 at 4:21 AM María Arias de Reyna <delawen at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> > Hi,
>>>> >
>>>> > Questions and answers posted on the wiki page.
>>>> >
>>>> > On Thu, Nov 28, 2019 at 11:34 PM Malena Libman <
>>>> malena.libman at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Hi Paul,
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Thanks so much for your questions, we are working on the answers
>>>> and will upload them to the wiki.
>>>> > >
>>>> > > cheers
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Malena
>>>> > >
>>>> > > El jue., 28 nov. 2019 a las 19:14, Paul Ramsey (<
>>>> pramsey at cleverelephant.ca>) escribió:
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >> Hello All,
>>>> > >> Your proposal is very nicely structured and well done!
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >> - Your plan to scale back facilities in the event of shortfall in
>>>> registrations is wise. A question on that: what are the deadlines for
>>>> cancellations? How much of the deposit will they retain? Unfortunately you
>>>> will not have a clear feel for potential attendance until the early bird
>>>> registration period closes, which can be only a few months before the final
>>>> date. At some point, the venue will ask for full payment. Do your schedule
>>>> points for things like early bird line up with your decision points for
>>>> things like venues?
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >> - If you'll excuse my language, the facility prices you quote seem
>>>> very "international", that is, they would be not surprising in any other
>>>> major global city. At the same time, the entry fees seem very low, compared
>>>> to the general foss4g trend. I see that the A/B and food costs are lower
>>>> than I would "expect", have those been validated in the marketplace?
>>>> Generally expensive venues have exclusive catering arrangements with firms
>>>> that are equally expensive, are you allowed to use your quoted catering in
>>>> the venues you have chosen?
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >> - How much of your $122K in budgeted sponsorship is "sure"
>>>> already? That is, have the government corporate sponsors of this proposal
>>>> made some kind of non-binding statement of interest in sponsorship?
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >> - Not a question, but one way of squaring the "can afford it"
>>>> pricing problem is an "individual" rate vs a "corporate" rate. The
>>>> community pgcon.org conference in Ottawa uses this construction.
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >> Thanks again for a great proposal.
>>>> > >>
>>>> > >> P
>>>> > _______________________________________________
>>>> > Conference_dev mailing list
>>>> > Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>>> > https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>> Conference_dev mailing list
>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
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>
>
>
> --
> Michael Terner
> ternergeo at gmail.com
> (M) 978-631-6602
>
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