[OSGeo-Discuss] FOSS4G NA 2016 Report

[Kristin Bott]

Thanks for sharing the synopsis; I'm especially encouraged by (1) gender
(identity) parity in the planning committee (2) strong presence of
female-identifying folk at the conference and (3) continued financial
support for attendees.

I'd be curious what the gender split was across attendees v. speakers --
possibly something worth tracking across years of conferences to get a
sense of any shifts in attendee demographics.

cheers -
-k.bott


On Fri, May 27, 2016 at 7:09 AM, Mark Lucas <mlucas17 at mac.com> wrote:

> I had the pleasure of serving as the OSGeo representative for the 2016
> FOSS4G NA conference selection and planning.  I thought the team did an
> excellent job in selecting, planning and running the conference.  The team
> made the decision to not pursue a 2017 NA conference so as not to compete
> for resources with the OSGeo international conference.  Our efforts will
> focus on 2018 planning and selection for the next NA regional conference.
>
> On a personal note I was initially concerned about how the relationship
> with Location Tech and OSGeo would evolve.  Our teaming has resulted in yet
> another successful conference that I believe plays to the strengths of both
> organizations.  I was very pleased with the openness and collaboration that
> I witnessed.
> — Mark
>
>
> The synopsis from Andrea Ross is included below:
>
> FOSS4G NA 2016 Synopsis (please feel free to re-use this data)
>
>
>    - The conference ran from May 2-5, at the Raleigh Convention Center,
>    in Raleigh North Carolina. The code sprint & unconference ran May 6 & 7 at
>    Red Hat’s headquarters, a few blocks from the convention center. A Tour of
>    the NCSU OSGeo Research and Education lab took place on May 6th.
>    - The conference featured 1 day of workshops, 3 days of sessions, a
>    code sprint, an unconference, and social events every night. There were 93
>    full length (35 minute) sessions, 36 short length (15 minute) sessions, 10
>    workshops, and 3 keynotes. This represented an increase in full length. The
>    rooms were generally always near full or slightly overflowing for
>    particularly popular talks, despite them being big rooms.
>    - The conference grew by 33% . There were 558 attendees. This level of
>    increase is very positive, when so many other conferences are in decline.
>    - Like 2015’s team, 50% of the 2016 committee were women. Also like
>    2015, a significant proportion of speakers and attendees were women (in the
>    30% range), which is great to see.
>    - 23 people were at the conference who wouldn't have otherwise been
>    without the financial support we gave them.
>    - From the attendee survey, people were clearly thrilled about the
>    conference... 99% positive feedback. (n=102). The one negative response
>    said they were disappointed there was no lunch served. We’re not sure how
>    they missed it! The venue, the strong program, and the positive &
>    supportive atmosphere were the things people commented (positively) on most.
>    - People loved the keynotes, and especially Tamar Cohen's entitled
>    Extreme Mapping.
>    - The video recordings of sessions are being uploaded to Youtube, with
>    dozens up, and more each day.
>    - 90% of sponsors rated the value excellent. 10% rated it very good.
>    The layout of the conference was especially appreciated as it meant plenty
>    of traffic for sponsors at all times.
>
>
> This year’s conference was produced by Andrea Ross and the team at the
> Eclipse Foundation, the same as 2015. Sarah Cordivano served as Community
> Chair. Rob Emanuele was Program Committee Chair, repeating the same role he
> performed in 2015.
>
>
>
>
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