[OSGeo-Discuss] Board Nominations - thinking about the next board

Thu Sep 28 14:15:10 PDT 2017

As we are coming into elections, I expect that many of you will be 
thinking about:

1. Who should I be inviting to join the OSGeo board?

2. What qualities do we want to see in board members?

3. How much commitment should we expect from board members (noting that 
they are volunteers)?

4. Am I worthy of being a board member, and if so, do I have the 
bandwidth to commit to the task.

If you have been considering being on the board, but feel you are 
already over-committed to other OSGeo coordination activities, then you 
will likely be an excellent candidate. :) Please do consider stepping up 
- OSGeo needs people like you, and people like you can make a big 
difference at setting the tone for an effective organisation.

Successful Open Source leaders tend to be good at both leading by 
example (doing the hard work), as well as empowering others to do the 
hard work. Ie, "inspiring and enabling" rather than "delegating".

*Time commitment:* In Arnulf Christl's Board Retrospect [1] he estimated 
board members should expect to spend ~ 2 hours / week on board 
activities. I think this is reasonably accurate. (Arnulf's retrospective 
is well worth a read). The key message is that we need to recognise our 
board members are volunteers with a primary focus on stewardship and 
encouragement rather than doing the work. Work should be done in 
projects, chapters, and working committees which have been empowered by 
the board (and which often include board members).

*Vision:* I also recommend board members and the board as a whole should 
have clear vision about what should be achieved. (Arnulf mentioned this 
too). The OSGeo board of 2013 followed through on this by setting board 
priorities [2].

*Makeup:* It is best to see the diversity of OSGeo represented in the 
board - covering projects, outreach, education, user communities, 
science, etc.

Any questions or comments? I'd be happy to discuss either publicly or 
privately with anyone considering joining the board.

Warm regards, Cameron

[1] 
http://arnulf.us/sevendipity/archives/49-OSGeo-Director-Retrospective.html

[2] https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo_Board_:_Board_Priorities_2013

On 27/9/17 6:21 am, Jody Garnett wrote:
> A couple notes:
>
> We recently revisited the board member manifestos when asking 
> directors for a status update on their own activities: 
> https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Face_to_Face_Meeting_Paris_2017#2._Director_Update
>
> This makes for excellent background reading ahead of the nomination 
> process.
> While a couple hours a week is a starting point for a director, how 
> much time it actually takes depends on your leadership style and what 
> needs to be accomplished in a given year. One of the big things in a 
> volunteer organization (much like taking part in a project steering 
> committee) is filling in gaps either with inspiring our community, 
> participating yourself, or delegation. All of these leadership 
> techniques, even delegation, take time.
>
> The questions asked of candidates 
> <https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Election_2017_Candidate_Manifestos>:
>
>   * About me
>   * My vision
>   * What you have done within the community in the past
>   * What your interests are in terms of the board
>   * Any things that you would like to change or introduce
>   * What role you would wish to fulfil on the board (if any)
>
> The board has a number of responsibilities in our organization; while 
> the last question touches on this aspect of being a director the "if 
> any" does indicate the full weight of responsibility.
>
> --
> Jody Garnett
>
> On 25 September 2017 at 01:56, Vasile Craciunescu 
> <vasile at geo-spatial.org <mailto:vasile at geo-spatial.org>> wrote:
>
>     Dear all,
>
>     It's time for the 2017 OSGeo Foundation Board Elections.
>
>     The nominations for the OSGeo Board of Directors start today
>     [1]. Please take a minute to understand what the board actually
>     does[2]. A director should plan to spend several hours a week on OSGeo
>     business in order to do a good job. The current board members will
>     know best.
>
>     To nominate a candidate for the board please first confirm with the
>     person that they would like to stand for election as a Board member.
>     Then send an email to cro at osgeo.org <mailto:cro at osgeo.org> CCing
>     the candidate by 12:00 GMT
>     on Sunday 08.10.2017[3] consisting of:
>
>     - name and e-mail
>     - current country of residence
>     - a paragraph describing why you think this person would make a good
>     Board member.
>
>     Remember that only Charter Members are eligible for a seat on the
>     Board and for voting but that *anybody* can *nominate* a board member.
>
>     Last years, the nominated persons were asked, after public
>     nomination, to write some kind of manifesto about their plans for
>     their term [4].
>     This is not mandatory at all but a good starting point for discussions
>     and to let the community know what are your ideas about the
>     Foundation.
>
>     Thank you.
>
>     Best regards,
>     Vasile & Jeff
>     CRO 2017 Elections
>
>     [1] http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Election_2017#Board_Election
>     <http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Election_2017#Board_Election>
>     [2] http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Director_Responsibilities
>     <http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Director_Responsibilities>
>     [3]
>     https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20171008T235959&p0=136&msg=OSGeo+Board+of+Directors+nominalizations+2017&font=cursive
>     <https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20171008T235959&p0=136&msg=OSGeo+Board+of+Directors+nominalizations+2017&font=cursive>
>     [4] https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Election_2017_Candidate_Manifestos
>     <https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Election_2017_Candidate_Manifestos>
>
>     _______________________________________________
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>     Board at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Board at lists.osgeo.org>
>     https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board
>     <https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Cameron Shorter
Open Technologies Consultant
Geospatial & Software Architect
Open Source Developer

M +61 (0) 419 142 254
http://shorter.net

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