[OSGeo Oceania] [Meeting invite] OSGeo Membership discussion and OSGeo Oceania election debrief

[Hamish Campbell]

Chipping in to say I support the Membership Policy as it stands, for the
reasons outlined by John and Ed, and I would encourage us to defer
revisiting it.

I wanted to note that the policy already gives us a starting point
answering what it means to be a member (see Eligibility), which could be
summarised as "contributing to OSGeo Oceania in some way". This could be
more clearly stated outside of that document perhaps, but it seems like the
engagement questions are the important ones at this time. If we have a
welcoming environment with clear opportunities to get involved with OSGeo
activities and better reach into the wider region, the question of "what
does it mean to be a member" answers itself.

One question that is worth adding is "how do members currently engage with
OSGeo Oceania and how do they *want* to engage with OSGeo Oceania". FOSS4G
highlighted that different communities engage in different ways and we
really need to ask people about what works for them. E.g. there is no
requirement to be in this mailing list (and public mailing list discussions
are definitely not for everyone). One approach here might be for the
Membership WG to deliver a series of on-boarding emails for new members
specifically aimed at (1) providing a welcoming and inclusive introduction
to the organisation, (2) highlighting the ways they can engage with the
organisation, (3) enumerating ways the member can contribute and (4)
specifically asking about the needs of their local communities.

This is a timely discussion. On the Outreach & Comms WG we're starting to
put together the wider comms strategy (more on that later), and having
engaged members who can tell us how their communities operate would be
invaluable.

On Thu, 17 Dec 2020 at 18:27, John Bryant <johnwbryant at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for this discussion. My thoughts:
>
> Official "membership" of OSGeo Oceania is an important way to keep the
> organisation accountable. By maintaining a register of engaged people
> willing to pay attention and vote, we make sure there is a way to fix
> things if they go wrong.
>
> I like that there's a low threshold for belonging to our community,
> because it feels inclusive and welcoming. But maybe it would be better to
> apply these principles in a broader sense, making sure it's easy to join
> the *community*, and take a narrow view of the role of "membership". This
> is how I see it: "membership" is simply about participating in board
> elections and voting on resolutions, as needed to maintain a democratic
> organisation. Embracing this would mean putting a low emphasis on
> membership as a day-to-day concern of the organisation.
>
> This feels approximately similar to the OSGeo model Bruce has linked to:
> Anyone can join the OSGeo community (we have the same, but maybe this is
> not well enough articulated). OSGeo has "charter" members who must pass an
> eligibility threshold and can vote, but the organisation is focused on
> serving the whole community.
>
> Related: the topic of "how do we deliver value to members" has come up a
> few times in the past, but I think it's the wrong approach. For me, I think
> members are best served when the organisation keeps its focus on the
> mission of supporting a healthy community, rather than providing any
> special access, benefits, or services to members. As a member, that's what
> I want to see :)
>
> On Thu, 17 Dec 2020 at 11:39, Bruce Bannerman <
> bruce.bannerman.osgeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I encourage everyone involved in our community to contribute to evolve
>> how we want to work together. You may not think so, but your thoughts and
>> opinion **are** important.
>>
>
> Hear hear!
>
> John
> _______________________________________________
> Oceania mailing list
> Oceania at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania
>
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