I've been invited to contribute to the upcoming OSGeo Oceania annual report, as ex-chair. I was the chair of the organisation from its formation at the end of 2018 until I resigned on 29 May 2020. I'd like to offer a contribution here, on the public list, relating my perspective on the year.
2019-2020 was a two-act play, and the two halves of the year could hardly stand in greater contrast from each other. *Act One:* At 1 July 2019, we had just recently created the formal entity OSGeo Oceania Ltd, the Wellington conference team was in full swing, and there was much to do. In our inaugural Terms of Reference, we had laid out an ambitious plan for 2019 to deliver a number of key foundational pieces, while striving to maintain the high level of transparency and accountability this community expects and deserves. In 2019, we worked at a furious pace, cooperatively and collaboratively, and I feel we achieved everything we set out to do, to a high standard. There were many highlights, and a few low points. A few highlights: - organising a truly wonderful event in Wellington, thanks to a highly engaged organising team - being recognised as a local chapter <https://wiki.osgeo.org/images/7/7d/Face_to_Face_Meeting_2019_Bucharest.pdf> by OSGeo at FOSS4G in Bucharest - working through a challenging community consultation (on-list <https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania/2019-September/002115.html>) to produce a robust Membership Policy, so that we could recruit formal "members" to keep the board accountable - establishing a "Membership Working Group", enabling more people in the community to get involved in running the organisation, and running a successful membership drive - engaging with "Team Pasifika" to develop a successful proposal for the 2020 conference - successfully organising and running our first election, empowering the community to elect the board in a clear and transparent process, establishing a direct line of accountability Some low points: - realising we hadn't been fully living up to our promise <https://drive.google.com/file/d/13aZ6L08ke1-l32I7c00MahyEKgxeZkq8> to operate transparently, thanks to those who raised it on the list <https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania/2019-August/002047.html> - realising our initial constitution had been adopted in haste, with an inadequately defined purpose, requiring a major effort to update it <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pgwoyjRCwvG6a76u5__rdExrmcidjfaf08RgaQCGjzs> (fortunately we had some professional assistance, funded by OSGeo) - some internal conflict between directors over transparency and process, occasionally working at cross purposes All in all, I think we ended 2019 on a high point, feeling like we were moving in the right direction as an organisation, with a renewed board, and a highly engaged, activated community, with members from across the region ready and willing to participate. I had concerns about how we could fully restore our commitments to the community regarding transparency and accountability. I hoped that early in 2020, we could prioritise an update to our original Terms of Reference to make them relevant again, renew our commitments, and firm up some board processes, so that we could reduce conflict and move forward with purpose. *Act Two:* The year began well: - We held our first meeting of the new board on 9 Jan <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tlpx17SNeUpsuP10XorP0YqnZLpknA41>, appointed directors to formal roles (ie chair, deputy chair, treasurer, secretary), and kicked off a review of the Terms of Reference. - We began to look for ways to become more efficient as a board. One particularly promising development was the adoption of Loomio, making it easier to track decisions, improve clarity, and enhance transparency. - The Fiji organisers began to build momentum, forming a team, developing good collaborative processes, and empowering new people to step up and get engaged. At the end of February, the Terms of Reference review <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jcBeJQddyVHtNgOokLyKIKlE-MpXxhDSi9GdmFVhMm8> was completed and brought to the board. It was met with general support, but our commitment to open-by-default became a point of debate. I would have loved to resolve this debate, but the timing was poor, with a couple of other major issues competing for our attention: 1) the looming prospect of a global pandemic, and 2) an internal board matter causing deep conflict. As COVID captured everyone's attention, we agreed to pause board activities for a while. The new Terms of Reference never made it to a board vote, and we missed the opportunity to clarify a significant sticking point. When we returned from the pause in mid May, we had a positive board meeting, where Jonah brought forward the idea of a hybrid in-person/online conference <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qBSFrj_m6u7nYk4uMuZWGj5ZmOdxfE_f2dUooodH3Fs>, meeting with support from the board. This was the last board meeting with published minutes <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i1OP74QsTx0wh1FskCK_4vKUkRFQPZUW>. Unfortunately, the internal board matter from before the pause hadn't gone away, and couldn't be resolved. I felt deeply conflicted, I couldn't persuade the board to take action, and I found myself ethically unable to continue to participate. On 29 May, with profound regret, I handed in my resignation. *Epilogue:* In my opinion, transparency itself isn't the goal, but a vital tool to promote community health. When organisations operate transparently, the communities they serve can more easily find ways to engage, contribute, and hold leaders accountable. It's a fundamental part of how open communities work, and we can look at OSGeo and OSMF for examples of how openness can help a community thrive. In the last several months, we've seen an overall decline in board transparency, but some mildly positive moves to improve the situation, such as the creation of a public board mailing list <https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania-board/>. This (read-only) list offers a small peek behind the curtain, revealing some apparently broken processes, which is helpful because if we know they're broken, we can fix them. I'm hopeful that a major board renewal at the upcoming election will help move things back in the right direction. After the election, most of the board will be made up of new directors. It may be challenging for them to navigate the gap between OO's policies and practices, which hasn't been explained. But if the discussion is brought back into the open, there will be a whole community ready to support them. This is a wonderful community, full of positivity, made up of passionate people who want to see this organisation succeed in its mission. I encourage the community to vote thoughtfully, hold OSGeo Oceania accountable, and help it evolve into the organisation it needs to be.
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