Greetings To answer Dave's last question first, *I'm in to help in whatever way possible*. I can attend any of the dates suggested, and I can arrange an appropriate venue for them to take place if that is needed. I've been around the process of setting up companies etc. and served as a company secretary before (though I can't ultimately be that for OSM).
I think Martín's comment is a good concern to have. However, I believe that OSMF wants local chapters formally set up, composed of responsible groups in each country to make accountable decisions about how the maps of each country evolve, and to have oversight of licencing, manage upload efforts, interpret increasing sources of open data and organizing truly OPEN (yes I just shouted) meetings that are well publicised, and held in appropriate venues to allow lots of different map stakeholders attend. I think that you have hit the nail on the head in terms of the sequencing. A healthier sequence of informal meetings drawing in people who are interested is a good way to *lead in*, but the other thing is inevitable. Not everyone has to go forward for participating on the structure, but anyone who does would be accountable to everyone else. Back to what Dave said. My forty two cents on the issues set out at the top are: - Groups like this need monthly or bi-monthly networking, bi-annual speaker sessions and an AGM and anything else is based on energy. Mostly I think the informality doesn't assist the activities members have away from the table. I find myself teaching OSM to schools, without only two or three members interested in that experience. Brian gave a super talk to the Geneology Society about boundaries which he hasn't had a chance to do for us, Dave has headed off to talk to the OGP, Dermot is doing propeller stuff ... literally.. you get the picture. These talks should be between ourselves initially, with a feeling for what is then used to engage others. Each SOTM conference concludes that face to face engagement is key for success, that then goes outwards and invites new people in... each national group does it... Ireland has no good reason to stand outside that. - The new mapper engagement needs a schools/colleges exposure and some sort of recruitment plan, with a sense of how particular skills and experiences are constantly required to boost the community. Obviously we need to be present in the sector with more regular participation at IRLOGI and that sort of forum. There are also professional bodies for Engineers, Planners, and Geographers who would fling their doors open if we could supply this sort of engagement. There are also NGOs who would love to have a group to liaise with, and Point here is that we need to increase the engagement in these sectors, and we cant do that with the present structure in my opinion. These are the things that increase the numbers of contributors and ultimately the usefulness of the map. - Getting out of Dublin is necessary if there's demand outside Dublin. I think Maynooth is a good venue as a compromise for the west (don't laugh its pragmatic). I think you cant get a compromise for the likes of Cork other than to decamp down to Cork but only if there's demand. I don't think its unreasonable to use something easy like Meetups or Eventbrite to confirm attendance and ensure those who end up travelling are travelling with good cause, and its easy for people to cancel right up until the last second. That hasn't always been the case. I don't mean to sound negative here, nor pat anyone on the back. Considering the great work done over the years before I got involved there's plenty worthwhile to talk about and co-ordinate our efforts on, and that is befitting a proper level of organisation to support the goals raised. None of the things Dave mentioned are difficult to do, they just take a little time and consideration. Looking forward to other views. On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 1:00 PM, <talk-ie-requ...@openstreetmap.org> wrote: > Send Talk-ie mailing list submissions to > talk-ie@openstreetmap.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-ie > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > talk-ie-requ...@openstreetmap.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > talk-ie-ow...@openstreetmap.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Talk-ie digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. OSM Ireland chapter - reboot (Dave Corley) > 2. Re: OSM Ireland chapter - reboot (Martín Ferrari) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2017 02:52:23 +0100 > From: Dave Corley <davecor...@gmail.com> > To: Discussion of Open Streetmap in Ireland > <talk-ie@openstreetmap.org> > Subject: [OSM-talk-ie] OSM Ireland chapter - reboot > Message-ID: > <CAHwD_AF1yM8hFdEJeROpk4t+35-kXnWWYzy7J1cw2gxZCZJDOQ@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Hi, > > First, I want to apologise, this is a long email, but if you are at all > interested in moving OSM in Ireland to the next level, please read on and > give your feedback when you're done. > > Efforts to get the OSM Ireland group set up as a legal entity and > established as a recognised chapter have never really got out of the > starting blocks for us, mainly because it's an exceptionally long, boring > process to get it all done. > > Back when Rory gave the Townlands presentation at a Sotm or two ago, I > contacted everyone who took part and asked a number of questions to allow > for some stats to be included in the presentation. I asked a few questions > specifically around the topic of setting something up properly. If I recall > correctly, all but one were interested in joining an official OSM Ireland, > but less than half wanted to be involved in setting it up. But that ratio > is to be expected. If I'm honest, it was a lot higher than I originally > expected. > > What I would love to see is a functioning OSM Ireland body which, at an > absolute minimum, could do the following > > - Scheduling regular meet up's - These would have some organisation > around them e.g. guest speakers, break out groups, objectives etc. This > could be monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly, doesn't matter, just even > setting up a schedule and sticking to it would be a great achievement > - Work on increasing the qty of daily contributors - Some simple things > like automating messages to first time mappers, or a tool to ensure > every > new contributor's edits are reviewed for accuracy/vandalism etc. > Basically, > just setting up some structure around it to ensure we engage with new > folks > in the most efficient and effective ways possible. I see no reason why a > number of 50 a day shouldn't be achievable within an 18 month period if > this is done right. > - Setting up an Import strategy - There is an ever growing pool of open > data being released. To make full use of it is going to require a > signficant body of up-front work (selecting, categorising, prioritising, > tools and import process). > - Lining up other, structured, mapping tasks - For example doing a 1 > month blitz on lane mapping, or a 3 month clean-up of errors using Osmi > or > keepright etc etc etc. We did this with the enormous townland mapping > project. Smaller scale versions, with a little work, could have a real, > lasting impact on the map > - Commiting to organising a State of the Map yearly. This doesn't need > to have a load of bells and whistles, hell, year one would likely be one > day, but it has to be possible to get a 2 day conference going within 2 > years, whatever format it may take (barcamp, unconference etc). There's > enough going on now between mappers, govt, commercial and academic folks > that is easily within reach. > - Lastly, getting out of Dublin. I know Dublin has the biggest > population of mappers, but what about having the meetup in a location > outside of Dub once or twice a year. Or there could be a night away > where > we do a load of ground work on the basemap first, then hit the ground > in a > town and get every street name, address, business and attraction all in > one > day, then meet back somewhere, have a bite to eat and a few drinks. > > In my head, I'm seeing each of those things needing 2-3 people to work on > them, i.e. working groups, to ensure nobody gets left holding the bag and > to avoid burnout. > > Now, I'd like to say, all of the above is purely what *I* think OSM Ireland > should be about. Others may feel differently, and that's totally fine. It's > kind of the point of this email :) > > With all of that in mind, to get us formally set up, what I am proposing is > the following > > 1. A meeting in early Sept (the 2nd or the 9th) where we will come > together to hammer out a lot of the basics of setting up OSM Ireland. Note, > this will involve people coming together, agreeing on the structure and, > most importantly, some people agreeing to take some work e.g. research > whats involved in setting up a bank account, what are the legal > requirements, how will we manage membership, etc etc > > 2. A second meeting in early Oct where the majority of the structure is > locked down. Work to start on Articles of Association etc if required at > this point. Again, some people would need to agree to take on some tasks to > keep the process moving. > > 3. A third meeting in Nov and a fourth in Dec, to lock down any last > elements. At this point we would need to agree a provisional board > probably, to allow for paperwork to proceed for banks, govt. etc. Note, > this board would step down at the first general meeting of OSM Ireland and > elections would be held at that first meeting. > > 4. Jan, get all the paperwork sent to whoever > > 5. TBD, once paperwork is approved by relevant bodies, agenda for first > general meeting to be determined and election process to begin > > There you go. With a bit of luck, before the next round of green milkshakes > hits McDonalds, we would be a formal entity and we could start talking > about moving to the next stage, which would be completing the OSMF chapter > application, not to mention any other objectives we might have. > > So, who's in? > > Dave > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2017 00:17:12 -0400 > From: Martín Ferrari <tin...@tincho.org> > To: talk-ie@openstreetmap.org > Subject: Re: [OSM-talk-ie] OSM Ireland chapter - reboot > Message-ID: <742a4cb4-2f2c-94f3-9e97-cd796fd8a...@tincho.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Hi Dave, > > On 13/08/17 21:52, Dave Corley wrote: > > > What I would love to see is a functioning OSM Ireland body which, at an > > absolute minimum, could do the following > [snip] > > Excuse me for the possibly dumb question.. But why is a legal entity > needed to achive any of these goals? Seems to me all of that could be > done as an informal group... Actually, I would say that there is no > point in setting a formal structure unless there is an already > functioning group. > > My 2¢. > > -- > Martín Ferrari (Tincho) > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Talk-ie mailing list > Talk-ie@openstreetmap.org > https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-ie > > > ------------------------------ > > End of Talk-ie Digest, Vol 99, Issue 7 > ************************************** > _______________________________________________ Talk-ie mailing list Talk-ie@openstreetmap.org https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-ie
