Jeff: I'm using this page to jot down some ideas for a proposal on an expanded role for the "team" email list

Proposal:

Team is currently a group of people who "keep PLOTS going" - both staff and volunteer. This page explores the idea of renaming the group "core" and expanding it's role in leading the PLOTS community in a more participatory and representative way.

• Rename "team" to "core"?
  • back it with a google group for moderation etc.
  • (export/backup google groups)
• Post an open invitation to the "core" list
  • vote required to join?
  • requirements? have organized an event?
  • nomination?
• Core gets voting power
• Core can join working groups?
  • some working groups are nonprofit-only, like retail?
  • clear delineation of responsibilities, decisionmaking
• Core is intended to outgrow staff but not to render it obsolete
• Concretize staff support responsibilities:
  • production: retail, print publications
  • infrastructure: archive, software & web hosting
  • legal entity to negotiate with institutions
  • umbrella to raise money for community works and paid positions
  • beholden to community (mandate)?
• Convert one of the staff calls to an open call (friday)

Related

• Change nonprofit titles from "Director of Research" to "Director of Research Coordination" or "Director of Research Practices" or something.
• Reduce private meetings and locked pages, including weekly staff call notes
• "how to start a chapter" page
• in general, "how to become an organizer of PLOTS community/events/projects" info
• more "how to organize X" pages like:
  • http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/host-a-balloon-mapping-workshop

Narrowed proposal

• Recognize that not everyone in our community considers themselves to be working for or supporting the nonprofit entity PLOTS, but may consider themselves to be working in the interests of the PLOTS community

• Also that the two are distinct and one of the roles of the nonprofit is to support the PLOTS community. Naming ramifications: what does Public Laboratory refer to? Options:

  • Public Laboratory = staff, vs PLOTS community
  • Public Laboratory = community, vs. PLOTS nonprofit arm or equiv. name
  • Public Laboratory = both, always refer to "staff" or "community"

• That we recognize contributors to PLOTS programs and infrastructure (not just the research itself) by inviting them to join a group called "core" which "makes PLOTS work" but is not formally affiliated with the nonprofit. All staff would be part of this group.

  • it would enable organizational activities and programs which is not "run by" the staff but would likely be in close collaboration with it
  • some criteria for joining, starting with a brief published statement about the mission statement
  • being on "core" is prereq. for joining working groups
  • no power over staff or vice versa

Main role for Core: to enable people to organize PLOTS events and become involved in the structure of participation.