[OSGeo Oceania] [talk-au] OSGeo Oceania as a not-for-profit entity? Your feedback, please

[John Bryant]

Hi Sebastian, the question of the available pool of volunteers is a great
question. I feel in the short term, we have sufficient levels of
volunteerism and enthusiasm to get it started, but will need to work on
growing the pool to make it sustainable.

We will need new people getting involved every year. The FOSS4G SotM
Oceania conference will be one way to draw in fresh energy, but there are
other branches of this community, such as these mailing lists and other
events, that can also give people the chance to get involved. Setting up
OSGeo and OSMF local chapters will hopefully be a step in the right
direction, and operating transparently will be important to make sure
people can see opportunities to contribute where they have specific
interests and skills.

For the purposes of setting up an entity - we probably need a core group of
at least ~6 active people to fulfil the executive/director roles and
provide sufficient oversight. The annual conference requires a committee of
something like 5-15 people (it's only the 2nd time around so we're learning
as we go), and there could be additional subcommittees depending on
people's initiative & interest.

IMHO it's the more, the merrier, and the sky is the limit. I think we can
keep this alive with a relatively small group, but the point is to get
people involved and engaged, and collaborating to make things happen, so I
hope we can grow a large pool of contributors.

Anyway - good question, the answer is 'we will see' but I'm optimistic!
This community has a bright future.

Cheers!
John

On Wed, 3 Apr 2019 at 05:41, Sebastian Spiess <mapping at consebt.de> wrote:

> Hi all,
> I do welcome the initiative to put OSM and OSGEO interested people onto a
> more solid foundation. Personally I hope this can be a starting point for
> more face-2-face interactions and engagement.
>
> I did read through your proposal and I see no issues with Option2 as
> suggested as favourable.
> For all options there is the need for several people to fill positions
> with varying degrees of liability. Do you have an understanding how big the
> pool of active volunteers is and how many would be required for Option 2?
>
> Cheers,
> Sebastian
>
>
> On 18/3/19 8:01 pm, John Bryant wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> As promised, following on the heels of the successful FOSS4G SotM Oceania
> conference <https://foss4g-oceania.org/> in November 2018, we have
> embarked on a journey to lay down a strong foundation for the growth of
> this community. In addition to planning a new instance of the conference in
> Wellington, New Zealand, for November 2019, we are also doing significant
> ground work on establishing a not-for-profit that can manage funds, enter
> into agreements, and act as a local chapter of OSGeo and OSMF.
>
> We have developed a recommendation for an initial path forward, and we'd
> like you, the community, to provide your feedback. If you have experience
> or knowledge here, and can provide insight, or wish to contribute your
> thoughts, please chime in. Your comments are most welcome, and can be
> provided by responding to this email, or by commenting in the Google Doc.
>
> The draft recommendation is attached as a PDF, and a live Google Doc
> version is linked here
> <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LCoaNY9xACkpE_E1pTn3pGkNV41rqmoK5QkKl2FAfwY/edit?usp=sharing>.
> We will take input until the end of next week (29 March). At that point,
> we'll make adjustments where warranted, and hopefully be in a position to
> raise a motion to the OSGeo Oceania board to accept the recommendation, and
> begin the process.
>
> If this is all new to you, and you're wondering what the heck OSGeo
> Oceania even is, please check out this basic wiki page
> <https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Oceania> that will give you a bit of
> background. We'll be fleshing this out in the coming months, but I hope it
> gives you enough of an idea. We will certainly be aiming to increase our
> outreach, and get people involved from across the region.
>
> Any questions, please ask!
>
> Cheers
> John Bryant
> on behalf of OSGeo Oceania
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
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