Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Jachym Cepicky]

Hi,

I'm not standing for re-elections, because I think, I did not achieved some
tasks I had, and see no way currently, how I could do better as board
member. Also I lack of energy and therefore I cut-off some roles I managed
to play during last couple of years. Being on the board, raised more
questions to me, then clear answers I was able to provide, maybe I just
need to get older (or "more experienced" if you prefer). I hope to return
back some time in the future. I hope to be able to contribute as OSGeo
member and hope to finish some tasks as secretary next years.

Being on the board is not necessary time demanding. But as Bart stated:
it's just up to you, how many time you can dedicate to OSGeo. Having clear
vision where we want to go and accept what is currently possible certainly
helps to get things done. However: if you have to choose between volunteer
work for OSGeo and volunteer work at your open source project, you are in
trouble.

Jachym

pá 25. 9. 2015 v 11:34 odesílatel Arnulf Christl <
arnulf.chri...@metaspatial.net> napsal:

> -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
> Hash: SHA1
>
> There are several really good answers to this question. Michael Gerlek
> provided the stats and Hans Gregers Peterson nailed it in his post here
> (thanks to both!):
> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/discuss/2015-September/014892.html
> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/discuss/2015-September/014888.html
>
> This is a really good insight and worthwhile to read.
>
> Some more personal notes here:
> http://arnulf.us/sevendipity/archives/49-OSGeo-Director-Retrospective.ht
> ml
> 
>
> Thanks,
> Arnulf
>
> On 23.09.2015 09:17, Gert-Jan van der Weijden wrote:
> > Hello list,
> >
> > Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4
> > (Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of the
> ir
> > 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne
> > decided not to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)
> >
> > Some questions arise:
> > - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always
> > resign after 2 years?
> > - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who ar
> e
> > tied to their seats?
> > - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to rea
> ch
> > their goals?
> >
> > Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning
> > board members and the current candidates are especially invited to giv
> e
> > their humble opinion on this.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Gert-Jan
> >
> >
> > Gert-Jan van der Weijden
> > Voorzitter Stichting OSGeo.nl
> > ___
> > Discuss mailing list
> > Discuss@lists.osgeo.org
> > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>
> - --
> Arnulf Christl (Director)
> The metaspatial Institute Certification:
> Open Source - Open Data - Open Standards
> http://www.metaspatial.net/en/institute
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> fZoAn21KwKsOdd3h7lQfMkAp8B8MNagR
> =Rt6X
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Arnulf Christl]

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
Hash: SHA1

There are several really good answers to this question. Michael Gerlek
provided the stats and Hans Gregers Peterson nailed it in his post here
(thanks to both!):
http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/discuss/2015-September/014892.html
http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/discuss/2015-September/014888.html

This is a really good insight and worthwhile to read.

Some more personal notes here:
http://arnulf.us/sevendipity/archives/49-OSGeo-Director-Retrospective.ht
ml

Thanks,
Arnulf

On 23.09.2015 09:17, Gert-Jan van der Weijden wrote:
> Hello list,
> 
> Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4
> (Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of the
ir
> 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne
> decided not to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)
> 
> Some questions arise:
> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always
> resign after 2 years?
> - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who ar
e
> tied to their seats?
> - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to rea
ch
> their goals?
> 
> Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning
> board members and the current candidates are especially invited to giv
e
> their humble opinion on this.
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Gert-Jan
> 
> 
> Gert-Jan van der Weijden
> Voorzitter Stichting OSGeo.nl
> ___
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss@lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss


- -- 
Arnulf Christl (Director)
The metaspatial Institute Certification:
Open Source - Open Data - Open Standards
http://www.metaspatial.net/en/institute
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=Rt6X
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Michael Gerlek]

A few data points:


* The OSGeo board has existed for nine years, with nine members each year, for 
a total of 81 positions. Except one year had an unfilled slot, so it’s actually 
80.

* 33 different people have served on the board.

* The distribution of how-many-people served-for-N-years looks like this:

1 year: 6 people
2 years: 18 people
3 years: 3 people
4 years: 1 person
5 years: 1 person
6 years: 2 people
7 years: 0 people
8 years: 1 person

* Only 1 person has ever served non-consecutive terms.

* There does not appear to be any statistically meaningful change in 
average-length-of-term over the nine years.

* With 8 consecutive years of service, Frank holds the coveted OSGeo "Mr. 
Popularity" award.


For extra credit:
- has the "geographic diversity” changed over the year?
- what does the board chair (president) representation over time look 
like?
- weight the board members by the % of meetings they attended: what can 
be learned?
- weight the board members by the ratio of +1/-1 votes: who is the 
most… umm… “unharmonious”?


(data taken from http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors)

-mpg




> On Sep 23, 2015, at 3:17 AM, Gert-Jan van der Weijden  
> wrote:
> 
> Hello list,
> 
> Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4 
> (Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of their 
> 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne decided not 
> to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)
> 
> Some questions arise:
> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always resign 
> after 2 years?
> - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who are tied 
> to their seats?
> - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to reach 
> their goals?
> 
> Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning board 
> members and the current candidates are especially invited to give their 
> humble opinion on this.
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Gert-Jan
> 
> 
> Gert-Jan van der Weijden
> Voorzitter Stichting OSGeo.nl
> ___
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss@lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Dirk Frigne]

I had the same reflection as Gert-Jan.

My comments & thoughts:

- I agree with Jeff, but I think we must keep things 'fun'. Reaching a
goal with an organisation (bringing it to a next level) can also be 'fun'.
- I think it is important that the board has different skills, can
develop a vision, can passionate the community to create a platform to
execute that vision.

- I personally think that a term of 2 years is to short to be a board
member. I think that for the continuity and stability of an
organisation, terms of 3 years are better, with every year an election
for 1/3the (or 3) board members.
This gives a good structure to transfer experience to newbies, and 2/3
continuity in the team.

- Re-election should not be the problem, if the skills of a certain
board member are still relevant for the organisation. The charter
members should decide if that is the case and re-elect that candidate.

- I don't follow the argument that rotation is necessary to get in new
and fresh idea's. I think board members should represent the whole
organisation and listen to what is happening in the organisation and
pick up good idea's.

- As Jeff is telling, a community like OSGeo is very 'demanding'. Many
people, many opinions, resulting in -1 votings. If we want to grow as an
organisation, we will have to accept to do things where we are not
always in favour of (but others of course are). Sometimes it is good to
trust someone, and be happy when we book a new milestone or success. And
we should have respect for these things wich turned out negative, stand
up again, and go on.

my 2c
D.


On 23-09-15 09:38, Jeff McKenna wrote:
> Hi Gert-Jan,
> 
> My own opinion is that the OSGeo community and its projects are maturing
> and we are facing new issues that might not seem as "fun" as in the
> past, such as: renewing bylaws, FOSS4G structure, financial, training,
> certification, sponsorship, relations with other foundations.  Sure all
> of those topics have existed for a long time, but suddenly they are
> becoming more important for the foundation.
> 
> As we/community members mature, we're more confident and speak our minds
> more, and that leads to the occasional "-1" in the voting, and this
> takes time to find another solution.
> 
> With Anne moving onto another life path and the other 4 members stepping
> down, I see this as a wonderful opportunity to expand our leadership, to
> give that stage to other members and let them grow.
> 
> I hope these
> (late-night/early-morning/my-body-has-no-idea-what-time-it-is) thoughts
> give a hint.
> 
> -jeff
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 2015-09-23 4:17 AM, Gert-Jan van der Weijden wrote:
>> Hello list,
>>
>> Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4
>> (Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of their
>> 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne
>> decided not to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)
>>
>> Some questions arise:
>> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always
>> resign after 2 years?
>> - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who are
>> tied to their seats?
>> - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to reach
>> their goals?
>>
>> Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning
>> board members and the current candidates are especially invited to give
>> their humble opinion on this.
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Gert-Jan
>>
> ___
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss@lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

-- 
Yours sincerely,


ir. Dirk Frigne
CEO

Geosparc n.v.
Brugsesteenweg 587
B-9030 Ghent
Tel: +32 9 236 60 18
GSM: +32 495 508 799

http://www.geomajas.org
http://www.geosparc.com
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Gert-Jan van der Weijden]

Hello list,

Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4  
(Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of  
their 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that:  
Anne decided not to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)


Some questions arise:
- Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always  
resign after 2 years?
- Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who  
are tied to their seats?
- Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to  
reach their goals?


Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning  
board members and the current candidates are especially invited to  
give their humble opinion on this.



Regards,

Gert-Jan


Gert-Jan van der Weijden
Voorzitter Stichting OSGeo.nl
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Jeff McKenna]

Hi Gert-Jan,

My own opinion is that the OSGeo community and its projects are maturing 
and we are facing new issues that might not seem as "fun" as in the 
past, such as: renewing bylaws, FOSS4G structure, financial, training, 
certification, sponsorship, relations with other foundations.  Sure all 
of those topics have existed for a long time, but suddenly they are 
becoming more important for the foundation.


As we/community members mature, we're more confident and speak our minds 
more, and that leads to the occasional "-1" in the voting, and this 
takes time to find another solution.


With Anne moving onto another life path and the other 4 members stepping 
down, I see this as a wonderful opportunity to expand our leadership, to 
give that stage to other members and let them grow.


I hope these 
(late-night/early-morning/my-body-has-no-idea-what-time-it-is) thoughts 
give a hint.


-jeff





On 2015-09-23 4:17 AM, Gert-Jan van der Weijden wrote:

Hello list,

Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4
(Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of their
2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne
decided not to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)

Some questions arise:
- Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always
resign after 2 years?
- Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who are
tied to their seats?
- Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to reach
their goals?

Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning
board members and the current candidates are especially invited to give
their humble opinion on this.


Regards,

Gert-Jan


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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[María Arias de Reyna]

On Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 9:17 AM, Gert-Jan van der Weijden  wrote:

> Hello list,
>
> Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4
> (Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of their
> 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne decided
> not to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)
>
> Some questions arise:
> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always resign
> after 2 years?
> - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who are
> tied to their seats?
> - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to reach
> their goals?
>
> Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning
> board members and the current candidates are especially invited to give
> their humble opinion on this.
>
>
Maybe if the board has so much work we should have also workgroups that
assist them? What are the tasks for the board that takes so much
time/effort?

I like rotating the board, but indeed is quite suspicious that few people
want to repeat.


> Regards,
>
> Gert-Jan
>
>
> Gert-Jan van der Weijden
> Voorzitter Stichting OSGeo.nl
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Bart van den Eijnden]

Hi Gert-Jan,

just my personal opinion here. I think there are a lot of growing pains, making 
the issues to deal with larger and more complex, with no obvious easy solutions.

The time aspect was not the problem for me, the energy / friction aspect was.

Btw, Jachym has been around for more than 2 years, and so has been Anne. They 
had a (half-)term before this term.

Best regards,
Bart

> On 23 Sep 2015, at 09:17, Gert-Jan van der Weijden  wrote:
> 
> Hello list,
> 
> Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4 
> (Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of their 
> 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne decided not 
> to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)
> 
> Some questions arise:
> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always resign 
> after 2 years?
> - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who are tied 
> to their seats?
> - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to reach 
> their goals?
> 
> Respones from anybody are as always appreciated, but the 4+1 resigning board 
> members and the current candidates are especially invited to give their 
> humble opinion on this.
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Gert-Jan
> 
> 
> Gert-Jan van der Weijden
> Voorzitter Stichting OSGeo.nl
> ___
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss@lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss

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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Hans Gregers Petersen]

Hi,

The below is my experience as (unpaid) boardmember in a few Danish
voluntary organisations (ranging from 30 members to around 5-700
members).

> Some questions arise:
> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always resign 
> after 2 years?
> - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who are tied 
> to their seats?
> - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to reach 
> their goals?

Usually, say in a board of five people, I have seen (been one of) two
or three longterm members. These are the ones pulling the large boring
cart of all the admin stuff, making sure that "we do what is legally
required". They are also the persons ensuring the traditions formed
over the years are carried on in the "next board". I've seen some
people last decades in that position, most have lasted two to four
terms. Then you have the "normal" guy/girl, who in a foreseeable
future would like to do his/her duty, and pull the large cart of the
actual activities of said organisation (for instance FOSS4G, a great
pull on a certain area that has been neglected). They are usually
relatively honest and clear about this (if not towards the general
public, then to themselves and/or the board) at the time of their
election - think of it as "I enjoyed the fruits of this organisation
for a while, and now it I would like to give something back by tending
the garden for a while".

Both types are important and valuable - and I have been both.
For some reason it was easier being the "old fart," when I had tried
being the "new energetic 2-years-only guy".

There are - that is no secret in life - also people who get along
better than others. When I have been in a board, I have had (for
formed) at least one strong relation to someone else there. If you
cannot do that you will feel alone. It is really like any other
"friendship" or "relationship".


Cheers,

Greg
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Mr. Puneet Kishor]

> On Sep 23, 2015, at 9:17 AM, Gert-Jan van der Weijden  
> wrote:
> 
> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always resign 
> after 2 years?



I didn’t realize there was no term-limit. In fact, I believe there *should* be 
one to get new ideas, new representation, and simply new energy. Two years is 
not a bad term.


--
Puneet Kishor
Just Another Creative Commoner
http://punkish.org/About

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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Board election: no re-elections this year?

[Jorge Sanz]

Hi Gert-Jan, thanks for raising the question and will answer as an
exit board member.

On 23 September 2015 at 09:17, Gert-Jan van der Weijden
 wrote:
> Hello list,
>
> Preparing to cast my vote for the board election, I noticed that all 4
> (Jáchym, Bart, Gérald, Jorge) board members who reached the end of their
> 2-year term are not standing for re-election. (besides that: Anne decided
> not to stay for her 2nd year of her 1st term)
>
> Some questions arise:
> - Is the board membership such a demanding job that members always resign
> after 2 years?

Not a huge demanding job, I spend more time for the foundation in
other tasks, but it also depends on how much time you want to spend,
there's work for everyone :-)

In my case where I switched jobs this year time was an issue, yes.
Also the lack of energy and the feeling that others could do better
than me. I'm incredibly happy to see so good board candidates.

> - Is this a good thing, to make sure we dont'have board members who are tied
> to their seats?
> - Or is this a bad thing, with board members switching too fast to reach
> their goals?
>

If I had a clear goal unaccomplished and the energy to do it I'd apply
for re-election, anyway I'd had a hard time to get elected again with
such good candidates this year.

The way the Board is renovated assures projects and know how are well
passed along new members and nobody can be tied to their seat as long
as the community decides they are doing a good job and deserve it.

Finally, I've had a great time working at the Board, I've learned a
lot and enjoyed to team with the rest of the members, they all deserve
my biggest respect. I hope some day to get again the time, energy and
support to apply for the Board and serve this community at the most
committed level.

All the best
-- 
Jorge Sanz
http://www.osgeo.org
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Jorge_Sanz
GPG: 86F8 3EA0 BD19 0CA2 801D  4FB2 6B45 68E4 6FB2 D89D
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