[Marketing] EGU General Assembly 2014: FOSS / OSGeo Townhall Meeting - Overview

Cameron Shorter cameron.shorter at gmail.com
Wed Mar 5 11:49:48 PST 2014


Hi Peter,
I'm surprised that board members haven't commented on your proposal. 
Your proposal is not a standard request and we don't have specific 
guidelines to go buy.
I think the closest is the Code Sprint Guidelines:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Code_Sprint_Guidelines

I expect you will have better luck if you can do a bit more ground work 
and provide:
1. A list of volunteers willing to help.
2. Source another sponsor, I expect that OSGeo would be able to provide 
matching funding.
3. Only request minimal funds from OSGeo. (Ie, it will be difficult for 
OSGeo to justify paying for a bar, and likely will question whether it 
should pay for food).
4. Once you have that in place, put a motion forward, that OSGeo should 
pay $XX for YY, which the board can then vote on.

On 04/03/14 03:51, "Peter Löwe" wrote:
> Hi Cameron,
> can you please give me a hint on how long the decision processes of 
> the OSGeo usually take ? This is of course a classic case of RTFM - 
> but I'm not sure where this info can be looked up. The planning for 
> EGU is progressing and it would be sensible to request a a timeslot 
> for the OSGeo townhall sooner than later.
> Also, to request money from the marketing committee for the production 
> of a stack of OSgeo Live DVDs for EGU - does a semi-formal E-mail 
> request suffice ?
> Best,
> Peter
> <peter.loewe at gmx.de>
> *Gesendet:* Sonntag, 23. Februar 2014 um 04:48 Uhr
> *Von:* "Cameron Shorter" <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
> *An:* "Peter Löwe" <peter.loewe at gmx.de>, board at lists.osgeo.org, 
> marketing at lists.osgeo.org
> *Betreff:* Re: Aw: Re: EGU General Assembly 2014: FOSS / OSGeo 
> Townhall Meeting - Overview
> Forwarding to OSGeo board list, as apparently Peter was blocked from 
> sending to the list.
>
> On 23/02/14 05:17, "Peter Löwe" wrote:
>
>     Dear OSGeo board, dear OSGeo marketing committee,
>     I'm forwarding the following info to you all about an opportunity
>     to launch an OSGeo themed event within the EGU General Assembly,
>     as suggested by Cameron Shorter. Feedback about the feasibility of
>     funding for the event would be very welcome.
>     Best,
>     Peter
>     http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/User:Peter_Loewe
>     *Gesendet:* Freitag, 21. Februar 2014 um 20:37 Uhr
>     *Von:* "Cameron Shorter" <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
>     *An:* "Peter Löwe" <peter.loewe at gmx.de>, "Margherita Di Leo"
>     <margherita.di-leo at jrc.ec.europa.eu>,
>     jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com, "yann.chemin"
>     <yann.chemin at gmail.com>, "Markus Neteler"
>     <markus.neteler at fmach.it>, "Dominik Reusser"
>     <reusser at pik-potsdam.de>, massimiliano.cannata at supsi.ch, "Helmut
>     Kudrnovsky" <alectoria at gmx.at>, "Alessandro Frigeri"
>     <alessandro.frigeri at iaps.inaf.it>, "Jens Klump"
>     <jens.klump at gfz-potsdam.de>, "Jens Klump" <jklump at uni-bremen.de>,
>     markus.metz.giswork at googlemail.com
>     *Betreff:* Re: EGU General Assembly 2014: FOSS / OSGeo Townhall
>     Meeting - Overview
>     Hi Peter,
>     If ok with you, do you mind including board at lists.osgeo.org and
>     marketing at lists.osgeo.org to the email CC list on this thread?
>     (If you wish sponsorship $$, then these communities need to see
>     the proposal and vote on it).
>
>     This event looks like a valuable promotional opportunity for
>     OSGeo. The question is whether it is more or less valuable than
>     the many other opportunities. I refer you to consider the board
>     priorities:
>     http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors#Board_Priorities
>     In particular: "Support initiatives which support themselves", and
>     "Packaging and Marketing".
>     Sourcing a co-sponsor would be compelling, and noting that you
>     will have numerous volunteers already attending the conference
>     helps your case.
>
>     I note also that the marketing committee is mostly ineffective due
>     to a lack of volunteers to support requests such as these. In
>     particular, we are missing a process for approvals and
>     distribution of funds. (This is a thinly veiled suggestion that
>     you might wish to help out).
>
>     On 22/02/14 02:52, "Peter Löwe" wrote:
>
>         Hi all,
>         [cc: Cameron Shorter for the OSGEO Marketing Board]
>         [cc: Jeff McKenna, OSGEO Prez]
>         Thank you very much for all your feedback concerning the
>         current discussion on options for FOSS/OSGeo meetings during
>         the upcoming EGU General Assembly (Vienna, April 27 –May 2 2014).
>         Here is an (exhaustive) update on the topic, based on past
>         experience organising one Townhall and various Splinter
>         Meetings in the past. Beware - this is a rather long posting.
>         It boils down to two questions:
>         - Do we want/need to raise awareness for OSGeo within EGU ?
>         - Are we willing to invest about 1500 Euro / 2000 USD for a
>         one hour reach-out event, which will pave the way to make
>         OSGeo a stakeholder within EGU/AGU   ?
>         *Background Info:*
>         *What is this European Geoscience Union (EGU) ?*
>         EGU, the European Geosciences Union, is Europe’s premier
>         geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in
>         the geosciences and the planetary and space sciences for the
>         benefit of humanity, worldwide. It was established in
>         September 2002. It is a *non-profit international union of
>         scientists* with over *12,500 members from all over the
>         world*. Membership is open to individuals who are
>         professionally engaged in or associated with geosciences and
>         planetary and space sciences and related studies, including
>         students and retired seniors.
>         What is this *Americcan Geophysical Union (AGU) ?*
>         [Wikipedia] The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a
>         nonprofit organization of geophysicists
>         <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophysicist>, consisting of
>         over *62,000 members from 144 countries*. AGU's activities are
>         focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific
>         information in the interdisciplinary and international field
>         of geophysics. The geophysical sciences involve four
>         fundamental areas: atmospheric and ocean sciences; solid-Earth
>         sciences; hydrologic sciences; and space sciences.
>         *Researchers in the Geosciences can be members of either EGU
>         or AGU *- a membership in one of the organisations allows to
>         benefit from from both AGU and EGU offerings, including
>         attending annual conferences like the EGU General Assembly. In
>         a nutshell: *The EGU General Assembly is open to the 62,000
>         members of AGU as well. *
>         *What is a EGU General Assembly ?*
>         The annual EGU General Assembly is *the largest and most
>         prominent European geosciences event*. It attracts *over
>         11,000 scientists* from all over the world, *of which more
>         than a quarter are students.* The *meeting’s sessions*,
>         typically *over 500*, cover a wide range of topics, including
>         volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal
>         structure and atmosphere, climate, as well as energy and
>         resources. General Assemblies have around *4,500 oral
>         presentations* and *over 9,000 posters*. Aside from
>         disciplinary sessions, dealing with the topics covered by each
>         scientific division, the meeting also features Union-wide
>         sessions such as great debates, Union symposia (including the
>         EGU Awards Ceremony), medal lectures, short courses and
>         education and outreach symposia.
>         *What is a Townhall Meeting, what’s a Splinter Meeting* *?*
>         (http://geolog.egu.eu/2013/11/19/townhall-and-splinter-meetings-at-egu-2014/)
>         Both types of Sessions are open (only) to EGU participants and
>         be booked free of charge (*no cost for the venue!*).
>         *Townhall Meetings* are *meetings open for all participants*
>         in the conference. During these meetings new initiatives or
>         decisions are announced to a larger audience following an open
>         discussion on the matter. Townhall Meetings will be scheduled
>         from Monday to Friday from 19:00 to 20:00 in the conference
>         centre’s lecture rooms. *Townhall Meetings last 60 minutes in
>         the evening, fit 50 to 350 people, and are announce in the
>         Information&Schedule Book.  They attract large crowds,  as
>         they are staged in the evening after the scientific sessions.
>         Usually people linger after the official ending of the
>         Townhall to discuss the topics raised and to network. *During
>         this informal part, *beverages* and *finger food* are consumed
>         by the attendees (*this has to be funded *– more on this below).
>         *Splinter Meetings* are *side meetings* on non-commercial
>         purposes organized by participants. They can be organized
>         during the course of the conference and they can be public or
>         by invitation only. *Splinter Meetings last up to 90 minutes
>         and are held during the day. Scientific sessions are held in
>         parallel, which can prevent interested people from attending.
>         They fit 36 to 60 people and are announced in the Programme
>         (Information & Schedule Book) if booked early.*
>         *OSGeo related background:*
>         *Since 2012*, there have been “*FOSS in Earth Sciences*”
>         themed events at the EGU General assembly, hosted by
>         *OSGeo/FOSS volunteers*. This started with an improvised
>         Splinter Session which drew a surprisingly large crowd.
>         References to OSGeo software can be spotted rather often every
>         year during the poster sessions (> 9000 posters!). Last year
>         we had the first session on FOSS in the Earth and Space
>         Science Informatics (ESSI). *This year there will be two
>         independent FOSS sessions *(ESSI and Hydrology). *This is a
>         significant step ahead.* *By now, researchers can apply to
>         attend the conference, to showcase the FOSS aspects of their
>         work.* Before this, everything “FOSS” had to be
>         relabelled/closeted since there was no recognition for this
>         kind of scientific work.
>         While we have two FOSS sessions this year,  I strongly believe
>         that *many people already doing FOSS-based research, or
>         wanting to learn about OSGeo, have not been reached.*
>         FWIW: ESR! and Microsoft Research usually have nifty booths at
>         EGU.
>         *Options for OSGeo:*
>
>          1. We can opt to apply for a *Splinter Meeting on FOSS (GIS)
>             in Earth Science* like in the past years. This will cause
>             only moderate effort. We can structure the session as we
>             like. There can be presentations, show&tell, discussions
>             etc. This has been done before and it's fun. We will reach
>             an audience of *30-50 people* (- in comparison to 11,167
>             attendees in 2013). Since there are FOSS-related sessions,
>             a FOSS-themed Splinter Meeting is logical, while *a
>             Splinter Meeting title referring to OSGeo would be
>             difficult to justify - until now OSGeo has not stepped
>             forward within EGU*.
>          2. We can apply for a *Townhall Meeting on OSGeo* *and its
>             impact on Earth Science*. This will allow us to step
>             forward and officially *put OSGeo on the map within EGU*.
>             The Townhall could include presentations on what OSGeo is,
>             why it’s significant for Earth Science, latest
>             developments like OSGeoLive [option: *OSGeo-Live demo +
>             OSGeoLive-DVDs as giveaways*], etc., making it a genuine
>             reach out event. However, *this requires financial support
>             and volunteers*:
>              1. Putting the *Townhall programme* together would be a
>                 *collaborative effort by OSGeo volunteers* attending
>                 the conference. I am sure *we can easily put together
>                 an one hour show *from existing material + what
>                 OSGeo/FOSS people activists will showcase at the
>                 conference.
>              2. The event *needs to be announced *before and during
>                 the conference. Since the FOSS/OSGeo attendees do
>                 their research in many different fields, *we should be
>                 able to reach out to a large interdisciplinary
>                 community*. While very large Townhalls draw over 350
>                 people, *an expected size of 100 people* seems more
>                 realistic to start with (this is already twice the
>                 size of a Splinter Session). Reality check: In 2012,
>                 Alessandro Frigeri and myself were able to attract at
>                 least 40 people by putting up posters made in a copy
>                 shop two days ahead of the Splinter Session -
>                 geoscientists dig FOSS !.
>              3. *Funding for OSGeo-Live DVDs*: The Townhall would need
>                 reliable funding for the production of OSGeo-Live-DVDs
>                 before the conference.
>              4. *Funding for beverages/food*:  Townhall sessions
>                 usally come with free “refreshments” (softdrinks,
>                 alcoholic beverages, finger food) for the attendees.
>                 The is only one company available for the catering:
>                  1. Their estimate for *limited catering* (water,
>                     beer, some wine. breadsticks) for *100 people* is
>                     about *1500 Euro (ca. 2000 USD).*
>                  2. A “*cash-bar“*, where the attendees (~100people)
>                     pay for themselves, costs about *1040 Euro (1450
>                     USD)*  for labour wages and general effort.
>                  3. Theoretically, having a *Townhall “on a diet”*
>                     without any beverages or food would be *possible*,
>                     but is rather *unusual.*
>
>         Thanks for reading through all of this!
>         I hope this overview will help you all to come up with a
>         "well-informed opinion". Your thoughts would be much appreciated.
>         Peter
>
> -- 
> Cameron Shorter,
> Software and Data Solutions Manager
> LISAsoft
> Suite 112, Jones Bay Wharf,
> 26 - 32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009
>
> P +61 2 9009 5000,  Wwww.lisasoft.com,  F +61 2 9009 5099


-- 
Cameron Shorter,
Software and Data Solutions Manager
LISAsoft
Suite 112, Jones Bay Wharf,
26 - 32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009

P +61 2 9009 5000,  W www.lisasoft.com,  F +61 2 9009 5099

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