I am attending the AMIA to see the exhibits on Sat and Sun of this week. Info on any Open Source meetings would be appreciated.
Thanks Harold Mackey MUSC -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, November 02, 2001 12:08 PM To: openhealth list; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: An inclusive consensus building process for OSHCA At the OSHCA 2001 meeting in London, there was one important motion made at the session on OSHCA business. The motion followed a long discussion about the role, organisation and goals of OSHCA. After some discussion Adrian Midgley proposed that "OSHCA establish and publish a list of members and that otherwise the organisation continue to run in the fashion it had in the previous year." This motion was seconded by Joseph Dal Molin. Brian Bray then proposed an ammendment that "membership be based on a simple agreement with the OSHCA charter and the membership list be used as a voting list to decide the democratic future of OSHCA." This motion passed by acclamation. ---- This motion has resulted in the creation of the [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list as a temporary membership system and considerable innovation and excitement around OSHCA's role and member services. I think this activity is very healthy and is a strong sign of the growing maturity of OSHCA as an organisation independent of and growing beyond its founders. Many new participants in the open source health care community are learning about OSHCA and the various community resources and projects. Some of the old debates about the purpose of OSHCA and its role in society are being revisited in the light of changing circumstances and the OSHCA experience over the last two years. There are at least two or three groups working on proposals for the incorporation or constitution of OSHCA as a democratic organisation. Virtually all of these proposals will involve some modification to the OSHCA charter. As a minimum, the charter needs to be ammended to include a process for its ammendment over time and to tie it to the proposed democratic legal entity. With or without a charter ammendment, it is clear that their is at least as much variation in the expectations that people have for OSHCA now as there was during its creation. Some proposals will surely include expanding OSHCA much beyond an annual meeting. I am sending this message in an attempt to make this decision making process inclusive of all interested parties and a way of consensus building so that OSHCA continues to build and grow. I propose that: 1) We need to allow reasonable time for people to develop their proposals without feeling that this is a race, or that decision can be made while they are on vacation. Specifically, I suggest that we ask for concrete proposals from those interested to be drafted by March 31 for e-mail discussion in the summer, for in person discussion at the OSHCA 2002 meeting, with an electronic vote shortly thereafter. 2) No change in OSHCA in the meantime. Particularly, that we not create either implicitly or explicitly a partnership. We should continue to accept and use the term OSHCA supporter. We should continue to support the independence of the OSHCA supporters from each other. No OSHCA supporter has ever agreed to be represented by or be bound by the decisions of other supporters and this should not change now. 3) The focus of the discussion should be on the [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list which requires acceptance of the OSHCA charter to join. The list moderators (Joseph Dal Molin and Ignacio Valdes) need to ensure that diverse opinions can be heard without bullying by members with different views. 4) That we undertake a membership drive between now and OSHCA 2002 to include as many people as possible in this decision. 5) That if the proposals before the "voters" are numerous or extremely divergent, that we use a process of elimination to ensure that as much consensus as possible is built. 6) That the voters list be public (name and city), but that voting be anonymous. I feel that these steps would go a long way to building OSHCA and avoiding rifts in the organisation. Participation at this stage of OSHCA's development will translate into long term, committed, and well educated support. Exclusion of anyone or any point of view would lead to OSHCA achieving less than its full potential. If you are interested in participating in this process, please join the [EMAIL PROTECTED] list. Instructions are on the OSHCA web site http://www.oshca.org/ Thanks, -Brian -- Brian Bray Minoru Development Corporation; Minoru Development SARL The home of Openhealth(tm): http://www.openhealth.com 3, rue du Colonel Moll, 75017 Paris France +33.6.8750.2465
