Hi, folks. There is a proposed change on the November Board Agenda that you need to be aware of.
TL;DR: The proposal is that ComDev will be changed from being a PMC to being a President’s committee. The rationale for this is, in brief: * It will be a function of the Foundation, rather than of a PMC, which gives it the ability to speak to projects with the voice of the Foundation, rather than as a peer. Please understand that this does NOT mean that it can impose its will on projects, and this is *explicitly* stated in the resolution - that all project participation in ComDev initiatives would be voluntary and at the complete control of those projects. * The ability to request budget for some of the programs that we wish to begin to fund, which is much harder as a PMC. * More visibility to the entire Foundation, and oversight of the President and board. The full proposal — https://boxofclue.com/comdev-reorg/ — describes how this would work in practice, but the basics are that rather than being a PMC, the VP Community Development would create Working Groups, with a chair/lead/Grand Poobah of each, who would be delegated the responsibility for those functions. Most of the people are already doing the work, so this isn’t a change in that regard. This proposal was already sent to members@ a while back, and so many of you have already seen this and commented on it, which has led to some edits and clarifications. But all of this is subject to further discussion, refinement, and iteration. I’ve also included the full text of the resolution itself below. It’s long, because it both dissolves ComDev and establishes VP Community Development. I invite every one of you to step up to the Working Group roles, and brainstorm new ones. Any suggestions, comments, edits, improvements, are all welcome. I hope that none of this is a surprise to anyone, but it occurred to me this morning that I had not actually explicitly send this message to this list. For that, I apologize, and hope that this doesn’t surprise anyone too much. But please do feel free to yell at me if I’m springing this on anyone. —Rich WHEREAS, the Board of Directors established the Apache Community Development Project Management Committee in November 2009 to create and maintain resources to help people become involved with Apache projects; and WHEREAS, the Apache Community Development Project Management Committee has since developed and maintained programs, resources, processes, and advice to help Apache projects build and sustain their communities; and WHEREAS, the Board of Directors deems it in the best interests of the Foundation and consistent with the Foundation's purpose to continue and expand this work as a Foundation support service, with clear officer accountability and the ability to request and manage an operating budget; and WHEREAS, the continued existence of a separate Project Management Committee for Community Development is no longer necessary once its responsibilities are assumed by a Foundation office; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the existing office of Vice President, Community Development, associated with the Apache Community Development Project Management Committee, be and hereby is terminated; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Apache Community Development Project Management Committee be and hereby is terminated; and be it further RESOLVED, that the office of Vice President, Community Development be and hereby is established, the person holding such office to serve at the direction of the Board of Directors as a Vice President of the Foundation, and to report to the President; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Vice President, Community Development be and hereby is charged with the creation and maintenance of programs, tools, processes, and advice that help Apache projects build and sustain their communities, including but not limited to mentoring for projects, committers, PMC members, and individual maintainers; project activity metrics and outreach; project ambassadors; university outreach; the Apache Local Community (ALC) program; and onboarding and training for committers, PMC members, and ASF Members; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Vice President, Community Development is authorized to request and manage an annual operating budget in support of these activities, subject to approval through the Foundation's normal budgeting and financial processes; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Vice President, Community Development may establish and maintain an officer's committee to assist in carrying out the responsibilities of the office, and may organize its activities into working groups, each with a designated lead and participating contributors, all operating under the direction of the Vice President, Community Development; and be it further RESOLVED, that engagement with the office of Vice President, Community Development by any Apache project shall be voluntary, and that the office shall provide guidance and services without exercising authority over the projects it serves, which shall remain self-governing; and be it further RESOLVED, that participation in, or a decision to decline participation in, any Community Development program shall not be a condition of a project's standing with the Foundation; and be it further RESOLVED, that Rich Bowen (rbowen) be and hereby is appointed to the office of Vice President, Community Development, to serve at the direction of the Board of Directors until death, resignation, retirement, removal or disqualification, or until a successor is appointed; and be it further RESOLVED, that the responsibilities, assets, mailing lists, repositories, websites, and other resources previously under the purview of the Apache Community Development Project Management Committee be and hereby are transferred to the office of Vice President, Community Development; and be it further RESOLVED, that all programs, services, and ongoing work previously carried out by the Apache Community Development Project Management Committee shall continue without interruption under the direction of the Vice President, Community Development; and be it further RESOLVED, that the members of the former Apache Community Development Project Management Committee are thanked for their service and invited to continue their contributions as members of the officer's committee or its working groups, under the direction of the Vice President, Community Development. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
