[OSGeo-Discuss] What is the point in formalising OSGeo Local Chapters?

Alex Mandel tech_dev at wildintellect.com
Thu Jan 26 13:03:48 PST 2012


http://www.osgeo.org/content/chapters/guidelines.html
You need to meet once per year in some way.
Have an mission statement.
Select a Liason to the board.
Apply to the board for approval.

That's it.

Benefit, you are allowed to use the OSGeo name and brand as you now
represent OSGeo in your Geographic or Linguistic defined chapter area.
Essentially you become part of the existing incorporated org. As noted
before you also get to be listed on the osgeo website, have an annual
report in the journal and give a oral report at Foss4G.

Now as per the other definition of "Formalising", some chapters find it
necessary to become legal entities in their home countries in order to
deal with money, or to be recognized as a real group for say getting a
booth at a conference. If and when a local chapter needs this depends
entirely on what activities they want to do and in what country/ies they
operate.

Enjoy,
Alex


On 01/26/2012 12:55 PM, Jody Garnett wrote:
> Nice - so Aust-NZ may already qualify :-)  
> 
> --  
> Jody Garnett
> 
> 
> On Friday, 27 January 2012 at 1:11 AM, Daniel Morissette wrote:
> 
>> Please also note that you do not need a legal entity to qualify as a  
>> local chapter, so being an OSGeo local chapter can be very lightweight  
>> contrary to what was suggested in the thread. Several OSGeo local  
>> chapters are only virtual groups with a small steering committee,  
>> mailing list, website and in some cases ad-hoc face to face meetings.
>>  
>> Daniel
>>  
>> On 12-01-26 2:32 AM, Jody Garnett wrote:
>>> The magic of cross posting…
>>>  
>>> This conversation started as a discussion on a different topic -> is
>>> there any interest in having a conference, unconference or code sprint
>>> in the Aust-NZ region :-)
>>>  
>>> As for the benefits of a local chapter; it may in fact being limited to
>>> running a regional conference (with the NA group as an example of a
>>> local chapter being formed for this purpose). The prospect of reporting
>>> in the Annual meeting or OSGeo newsletter is another benefit of a local
>>> chapter - however I tend to promote direct involvement in OSGeo projects
>>> and committees as an alternative.
>>>  
>>> --
>>> Jody Garnett
>>>  
>>> On Wednesday, 25 January 2012 at 7:30 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
>>>  
>>>> OSGeo Discuss,
>>>>  
>>>> In Australia/New Zealand we have been discussing whether we should
>>>> legally "formalise" the Aust-NZ OSGeo chapter, and come to the
>>>> conclusion that we gain little, and loose a lot by becoming legal.
>>>> Email discussion here:
>>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/aust-nz/2012-January/thread.html
>>>>  
>>>> Highlights:
>>>>  
>>>> On 3/01/2012 1:12 PM, Jody Garnett wrote:
>>>>> Where did we get to on this Aust-NZ local chapter stuff? As I recall
>>>>> we still need to register as a non profit; have a meeting with
>>>>> minuets, and set up a back account.
>>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>> On 5/01/2012 11:06 AM, Jody Garnett wrote:
>>>>> The benefit would be an OSGeo local chapter; right now we have not
>>>>> "formed" as I understand it and are still listed as under
>>>>> construction on the OSGeo wiki.
>>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>> On 6/01/2012 6:51 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
>>>>> Right, so osgeo aust-nz would change from unofficial to official in
>>>>> the eyes of osgeo. I see very little benefit from that. I don't think
>>>>> we will attract any more osgeo converts from such a title. (If we
>>>>> need an official title, we can always call upon the greater OSGeo
>>>>> organisation).
>>>>>  
>>>>> However, I do see a large drain on volunteer time. As soon as we
>>>>> require money to run, we need to worry about chasing people or
>>>>> organisations for membership fees, which is an unpleasant task which
>>>>> sucks up lots of valuable volunteer times.
>>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>> On 6/01/2012 7:58 AM, mapbutcher wrote:
>>>>> In this modern age of 'meetups' do such chapters have a place? What
>>>>> does a chapter actually provide?
>>>>>  
>>>>> The organic development of groups across the country in the past year
>>>>> has evidenced a growing interest and adoption of open source. It has
>>>>> not required a chapter to support this growth. There are adequate
>>>>> means of communication to support cross pollination between these
>>>>> groups IMO. We even managed to organize a [international foss4g]
>>>>> conference without a chapter if my memory serves me correctly
>>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>> On 6/01/2012 8:49 AM, Bruce Bannerman wrote:
>>>>> I see greater benefit from a ‘virtual’ community, particularly
>>>>> considering the broad geographic region the we cover.
>>>>>  
>>>>> We don’t necessarily need an ‘entity’ as the ‘go to’ body for the
>>>>> Local Chapter. The mailing list and Wiki could perhaps suffice.
>>>>>  
>>>>> As I see it we have a reasonably robust community as it is (if rather
>>>>> quiet at present).
>>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>> --
>>>> Cameron Shorter
>>>> Geospatial Solutions Manager
>>>> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
>>>> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>>>>  





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