Cameron, thanks for bringing this up for discussion. A couple things to note:
- in some cases, the Board might decide that it is important enough to have an Ambassador at an event that the Foundation would cover travel expenses - it is unlikely that the Foundation would be able to cover the costs of the Ambassador's time, however; aside from the expense involved and trying to determine a fair uniform hourly rate, I could see that turn into a fight for who gets to go; but on the other hand, a nominal fee might help enable some of us who are self-employed or similar to fill the ambassador role - some events/functions might require the Ambassador be a Board member as well (as in the case of the email of mine which Cameron quotes) -mpg > -----Original Message----- > From: discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org > [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Cameron Shorter > Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 2:24 PM > To: OSGeo Discussions > Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] Defining an OSGeo Ambassador role > > On 20/04/2012 4:06 AM, Michael P. Gerlek wrote: > > Do we have any policies and cost structures for the Ambassador function yet? > > I've seen a few people talking about creating an OSGeo Ambassador role. > Arnulf I think might have been the first to mention it, and I think it > is an excellent idea. I'm also aware that the OGC are considering > developing OGC ambassadors too. > > So I'd like to open the floor and see what people think an ambassador's > role could involve, which leads into the qualities we would wish our > ambassador's to have, which leads into the ways we may select an ambassador. > > Let me start by noting some of the driving factors: > 1. Arnulf has noted that as OSGeo president, he has spent a significant > amount of time on areoplanes travelling around the world to talk on > behalf of OSGeo. He has suggested that this role should be shared. > Conference organisors, who have a primary goal of attracting attendees, > look for authoritative figureheads to talk at conferences. They are > expected to have a deep insight into a specific domain, such as OSGeo. > They should also speak well, even better if they are entertaining. > > 2. OSGeo is a sexy topic has many conferences, and there are hundreds, > if not thousands of conferences around the world which would like to see > an OSGeo presence. > > 3. OSGeo is fortunate to draw membership from around the world, > including boasting a number of very healthy local chapters. As such, we > are likely to have potential ambassadors in most counties. (We might be > a bit short in Antarctica) > > 4. There are times when negotiating MOUs or similar with other > countries, it would be useful to have someone local speak with authority > on behalf of OSGeo. > > 5. Note that there are conflicting interests here of wanting to open up > the role for anyone who volunteers, verses maintaining a selectiveness > and prestige for the role which is the key selection criteria for > conferences asking for an ambassador. > > As such, I think it important that ambassadors can only be voted into > the position, and not handed out to anyone. We already vote for a board, > and charter members. > I think board members should be considered ambassadors by default. > Should charter members be considered ambassadors? Charter members only > get this role after demonstrating a commitment to OSGeo, so will likely > have a reasonable depth of OSGeo knowledge. Maybe we should ask for a > history of speaking well (as demonstrated at conferences), to the > ambassador criteria. > > Then lastly, do we wish to invite ambassadors from a greater circle? At > this point, I'd probably err on saying no, as if the entry bar to > becoming an ambassador is too easy, then the mystic of the role will be > lost. > > > -- > Cameron Shorter > Geospatial Solutions Manager > Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050 > Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254 > > Think Globally, Fix Locally > Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source > http://www.lisasoft.com > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.osgeo.org > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss